Chi Extraordinary Kitchen

I saw on Eater SD that a new Thai eatery had opened on Adams...

Chi Extraordinary Kitchen is located across the street from the Adams Ave liquor store; the same lot that houses Cafe 21...

On the corner of Adams and Idaho is the newest Thai restaurant in San Diego. In fact, they opened just five days ago. The owner is the same one who owns nearby Plumeria, a vegetarian Thai restaurant on Park Ave near the University Heights sign. TC and I had eaten there back in Fall 2012. Chi's note of distinction is that they do not serve meat; they are a pescatarian restaurant serving only vegetarian as well as seafood items as their protein. And none of that mock meat crap either.

There is a side patio on the outside (no shade though)...

and pretty succulents beckoning you to come in...

The walls have the ubiquitous reclaimed wood panels and a succulent wall (it's fake; I asked). Like Plumeria, the decor here is beautiful. But would the food match the eatery's looks?

We were told we could sit wherever we wanted so I chose the corner by the window. The restaurant is L-shaped. The wall on the right has two large mirrors which give it a more spacious feel. In between the mirrors was a flat textured waterfall feature which wasn't on during the time of our visit.

You can see wedding balloons in the back. It turns out they were hosting a wedding party later that afternoon.

The menu is pretty simple, which is nice. No overwhelming list of choices. I'm sure as the weeks go on, they will get a feel for what their customers enjoy and may even adjust the menu.

We ordered the Miang Kham (having tried versions at Sab e Lee in Santee, Tamarind Thai in La Mesa; Supannee House of Thai in Point Loma also serves their version which I have yet to try)...

We also tried the Larb (filet of sole) and the Spicy Noodles with shrimp. We were told the spice level (on a scale of 1 to 10) was an automatic 5 for this one. We were apprehensive but ordered it since Bert really likes the flat rice noodles. 

As for our drinks, Bert got the Mate Siciliana while I tried the Tropical green passionfruit. It was so $%#@ hot today! Not listed on their menu were craft beers which our server told us they had.

As we were enjoying the ambiance, we noticed lots of folks walking by, peeking in, walking in and asking for copies of the takeout menu. Several of them said they lived nearby and had been watching the progress of the place and were happy that they were now open. Sadly, none of them sat in for lunch. We were the only customers in there for nearly an hour until another woman came in and sat at this long table (which faces one of the mirrors)

Our iced teas...(Bert's was the pink one, ha ha).  You can see the waterfall thing in the background. I'm sure it looks spectacular when it's on. The teas are served unsweetened and come with a side of sugar cane syrup to adjust the sweetness. Very nice!


Miang Kham - We noticed that these were not "deconstructed". Everything was on the lettuce leafs. The sauce in the middle was tamarind. We were instructed to dab some sauce on the top and to eat the wrap in one bite (which was hard for me since I can still only eat on one side due to my temporary crown).  The toppings were shrimp (fresh not dried), red onion, lime slices, coconuts, peanuts, minced ginger and fried shallots. I noticed this version was the "safe" one since there were no chilis in here at all, which was actually fine with me.  Like Tamarind Thai's version, the lettuce wraps were pre-loaded with the ingredients.


Spicy noodles with shrimp - We found out later that our server asked the chef to make this a '2' in spice level (which we originally requested not knowing it was supposed to be an automatic '5'). No wonder it wasn't as hot as we feared it to be. The red and yellow peppers were so lovely. I'm so used to just seeing red and green. The shrimps were so nice and plump; I believe there were about six or seven in there.


We were a bit surprised by the Larb. We were expecting the fish to be minced, like other preparations we've tried in the past (chicken, pork and even beef). The fish was actually breaded and fried. Hmmm. Not sure about this.  In the small white bowl was sticky rice.


There was a tiny bit of heat here as well (we only ordered a '2'  because we are spice wimps). Of the two dishes, Bert and I liked the spicy noodles the best although they weren't as spicy as we thought they would be. Bert was a bit disappointed by that. The larb was all right but threw me for a loop unless fish larb is supposed to be fried, which I don't think it is. The larb was also spicier than the noodles.

(cool tile seen at the receptionist area and also in the bathroom)

We love the strong and fresh flavors of each of our dishes. We enjoyed everything we had but ended up with leftovers since we wanted to enjoy some of it later for dinner. The portions are not big but they're not tiny either.

The service was really attentive. The ladies who work here are super nice. Their bathroom is nice and clean) for now and as beautifully decorated in there as well as the rest of the restaurant.

Articles:
"Thai restaurant adds new location, expands original". SD Eater, August 29, 2014
"Plumeria owner opens pescatarian Thai eatery on Adams" SD Eater, July 24, 2015
plus reviews from yelp (this morning there were ZERO reviews; now there are two and I'm sure more will pop up)

[Update - There were six reviews on Sunday evening]

Chi Extraordinary Kitchen
2789 Adams Ave (corner of Idaho St.)
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 795-9999

www.chi-kichen.com (FYI - their website isn't quite up and running yet )

I can't wait to go here again with the Educator GF's...