A few months back I was at my favorite watering hole chatting about…..well, food of course, when I was told of a place that made "good papaya salad and pad see ew". I thought I'd definitely know or know of the place being referenced, but was quite surprised when the name "Tumeric Thai" was mentioned. And even a bit more surprised when I was told the restaurant was located on Mount Soledad! Of course I immediately did a search when I got home….and was fascinated enough to head on over the first chance I got.
I drove out and up Mount Soledad….from where PB becomes La Jolla. And right before the gated community of Windemere La Jolla is a small strip mall.
And there you'll find a discreet sign that says Tumeric Thai Kitchen. I walked down the hallway and noticed a restaurant dining room to my right and a nice, bright al fresco area, where a group of Thai folks were having a good old time.
I was told to sit wherever I wanted to….I didn't want to take up too much space so I chose the corner two-top….which remained my table on all three visits.
When it came time to order; I decided on just getting the Pad See Ew with Beef ($13). I'll often order Pad See Ew when trying to see how a kitchen stir-fries. There are few ingredients, you have to know how to use them judiciously; it's easy to over-cook and you still want that "breath of the wok" to add the smokiness and caramelization.
This was an interesting mixed bag. The stir fry was done well; the noodles still firm, with some "wok hay" going on. I didn't care for the fact that the noodles all seemed to chopped/torn into little pieces. Good soy and sugar balance….strangely, this was spicy……I ordered Pad See Ew not Pad Kee Mao.
The gailan was nicely cooked, not too raw, not soft and mushy.
The slices of beef were rather large and ponderous and were pretty tough.
The service was friendly and the of course it warranted another visit. This time I ordered the "good" papaya salad (spicy) and the Thai Beef Jerky ($8), which was my favorite of the two dishes.
Decent toothsomeness, perhaps a bit on the salty side, but that's kind of to be expected. Not a fan of that sauce; too much lime, not spicy enough. Still, not bad…I've had worse.
The Papaya Salad ($9) was definitely "Ameri-Thai".
While nice and crisp, this lacked spice, was too sour, lacking in savory tones, and was just kinda wimpy as a whole. The tomatoes lacked ripeness, the green beans too hard and raw. Just kind of weak overall.
But you know me…..I decided to visit one more time. so I headed back to Tumeric Thai.
And being quite hungry, ordered two items……
Starting with the Chicken Wings ($7), which were some fairly hefty wings.
Served hot and moist; though for some reason, kind of mild in flavor….there's some garlic and what I believe is lemongrass. Initially fairly crisp, the wings got soft fairly quickly and are a bit on the greasy side….so if you get these, eat them right away. Not a fan of the afore mentioned chili lime sauce; nor the overly sweet chili sauce.
I also ordered the Crying Tiger ($15) medium……what arrived was a bit beyond that.
Not sure if it was done intentionally, but all none of pieces were sliced all the way through….so you'd pick up a piece and end up with two other pieces attached. The meat lacked a good char and there was a bit of meat scum as well. It was also really salty; lacking in any sweetness…..the meat also had a slight metallic taste that I'm not fond of. I'd have appreciated a really nice jaew to help cut through the saltiness, but it was that chili-lime sauce that I'm not a fan of. I'm used to having this dish being a bit on the chewy side so that didn't bother me at all.
That sticky rice was done perfectly….too bad the Crying Tiger wasn't to my taste. 
So, what to say about Tumeric Thai? It's not overly Americanized, though it seems that your mileage may vary. It's not a bad option if you're visiting the Mount Soledad Veteran's Memorial. I was told that this is the only real restaurant on Mount Soledad. Prices are reasonable, the folks working were quite nice.
Turmeric Thai Kitchen
6435 Caminito Blythefield
La Jolla, CA 92037
Hours:
Tues – Fri 11am – 2pm, 4pm – 9pm
Sat 12pm – 9pm
Sun 4pm – 9pm
Closed on Monday
mixed bag
Odd spot for a restaurant. Bet they do good business with the locals.
Yeah, really +/- Kat.
I’m sure they do Junichi. I was told it’s the only restaurant on Mount Soledad!
According to that four lettered site, it’s been around since 2014 and was owned (not sure if still true) by the owner of J & T Thai. This really flew under the radar, didn’t it.
That’s interesting CC. The food here is quite different. Who would’ve thought of a Thai restaurant on Mount Soledad.
It is such a strange location. We went there after I discovered it when working for the Registrar of Voters for one of the elections. It was a nice French Restaurant then; when we returned, it had closed.
Yes, it’s quite a strange location….but they look like they’re doing pretty good business Cathy.
That’s good the chicken wings are good when fresh.
Yes, but it was on the greasy side and got soft fairly quickly Soo.