**** Thai Papaya has closed
Last week, the sun shone brightly and weather got a bit warmer, you could tell, in spite of the calendar that spring had sprung. So it made sense when the Missus told me She wanted to grab a bite at Thai Papaya. Strange thing, in spite of the chilies and spiciness, we tend to think of Thai and Lao food as something to have during spring-summer-early fall.
It had been a while since we'd been to Thai Papaya and we were pleased to see that menu was now quite large.
Still, the Missus had to have the Som Tom Khai Kem; the papaya salad with Salted Egg, heat level 5….we have to build our tolerance back up every year these days.
The nice salty-savory flavor off the salted egg plays well off of the acid and the flavor of dried shrimp. The papaya and tomato was decently pounded; the papaya still crunchy. I've had the papaya be a little mushy on occasion, but not on this day. The peanuts just seem to finish the dish for us. The Missus does love Her eggs.
Speaking of eggs…….how could we not order the Spicy Thousand Year Old Eggs. At first we thought they forgot the pidan when the dish arrived.
But a quick peek under that curtain of ground pork and veggies revealed the preserved egg. While it won't make us forget Yai Cuisine, this was a very nice dish, the "gravy" not too thin and full of Thai Basil flavor. This was just spicy enough for us at this point in the year. The one item that really added to the dish for us were the bamboo shoots which added a nice earthy-woodsy flavor. The Missus told me after two bites, "now this reminds me of Thailand….."
We also ordered the Issan Sausage; usually a favorite of mine. This time it seemed a bit dried out.
And while I wasn't expecting anything like the sausage at Supanee, but this wasn't quite as good as what I usually get here. It wasn't bad, just not at the level of what I expect. Too dry and strangely lacking flavor.
Still, this was an enjoyable meal and I'm sure we'll be back to try other items on the menu as the weather warms up.
Thai Papaya by Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111