It's nice to have a local (and NICE) Thai place close by. This happens to be in Otay Ranch and is mixed in with other businesses which are on the bottom floor of senior living apartments...
I've been on a kick to try every Thai place's version of Tod Mun Pla (red curry fish cakes). The best so far has been from Supannee House of Thai (everything they make is excellent). This version was quie tasty but with a thinner patty. I'll have to say that it sure was full of flavor, with all of the lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves in there. The cucumber relish cools it down as well, although the patties are not really that spicy.
SIL's Panang Beef - She loved the sauce so much that she took it home so she could have it with rice the next day.
Bert's Cashew Shrimp - Lots of vegetables in there too.
My dad's Ginger Salmon with black beans - I just realized you can't even see the fish. It could be ANYTHING underneath all that, ha ha. I tried a tiny bit and didn't care for the black beans because they are so salty.
My Yellow curry salmon which I really enjoyed. The curry itself was mild and it had steamed vegetables on the side which made it somewhat healthy. I quite liked the cool fish plates here.
TC's pad thai with tofu and cousin's chicken version (neice got it with shrimp, not shown):
We really like their version of Pad Thai here. The noodles are not drowning in sauce but it's not flavorless either. There's a nice balance of flavors in here (sweet and savory).
Earlier this evening, Bert and I had a few hours to ourselves while TC was at dance practice. She and the troop are preparing for a high profile event performance next weekend, which will be in Los Angeles. She had to get back into the swing of things with dance which had to take a backseat this past school year. She was involved in sports and had to concentrate on her studies. We didn't want to be too far from where she was so we stayed nearby on the west side of CV. I wanted to revisit Krua Thai, which I heard was under new management.
When we walked in, we noticed the change in decor. The walls have been repainted. The Thai decorations are gone and replaced with more "modern" starburst mirrors. There are also banquettes along the wall rather than just tables.
We sat in our favorite table by the front window (more light).
Their menu has also been revamped to the more perfunctory Thai offerings (alas, no more Thai sausage, but then again, their version wasn't that great since it wasn't housemade). It's basically fried appetizers, a few salads, rice or noodle dishes and you choose the meat. Wierdly, they had "chow mein" listed (described as 'fried yakisoba' noodles) and while we we were there, a young lady and her young child ordered that very dish. Not really Thai food, is it.
Thai iced coffee served in a jar/mug.
We got our old favorite standby items - The curry puffs (this was vegetarian)...delicious filling and flaky crust just as we remembered it.
Papaya salad - spice level was 2. There was still a tiny bit of a kick to this. N
Crab noodles - this time, the crab was on top of the noodles instead of mixed in. I think this rendition seemed "crabbier" and "meatier" than the previous incarnations It also looked nicer this way as well.
As an afterthought, I also ordered a side of sticky rice to help "cool down" the heat from the papaya salad. This was the first time I've seen sticky rice wrapped in foil. Even though I peeled it carefully, I had a fear of ingesting a piece.
I'm not sure exactly when they changed ownership but the service was all right. The lady didn't really hover or come by too much. While we were there, a man came in for a solo dinner while two women and their kids came to pick up their orders (one of them was yakisoba lady). Our server was nice but not too warm or friendly like the previous owner/server.
Previous post on Bamboo Garden:
May 2014 - I know we've gone many times since then but the entrees were just repeats
Previous post on Krua Thai:
December 2014
Now that I'm on summer vacation, I hope to do more exploration of other places down south (most likely with TC, my dining partner during the breaks).
2 comments:
Those curry puffs look good! Looks like lots of layers of pastry, too. Funny that one place had Chow Mein on the menu - I wonder if they put it on there because a lot of people ask for it and they just have it as a standby dish for people too afraid to try Thai dishes, haha.
Hell yeah they are. I could have sworn they used to make it with meat back when Krua Thai first opened. It was originally owned by someone who used to work for the original Sab e Lee and they had the Thai sausage on the menu (which sadly is now gone). The pastry on those puffs is insanely flaky and so good!
Gosh, why even go to a Thai place and order Chow Mein of all things. Seriously, I think you're right - they want to acquiesce to those afraid to go out of their comfort zone.
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