In my search for dog friendly Asian Restaurants in San Diego, I came across White Elephant Asian Kitchen in Hillcrest. Looking at the location, well, it brought back memories….not all of them good of Amarin Thai Restaurant, which was here for like 20 years? We ate at Amarin way back in the early 2000’s and even did a post on the Mira Mesa location way back in 2005! Still, when in the area, we preferred Bai Yook, which closed around 2013. How’s that for old timer memories?
Anyway, I noticed White Elephant was dog friendly and I hoped that the place wasn’t stereotypical Thai based on the location…so JJ and I headed over.
We arrived right past opening time and I peeked into the restaurant to get us an outside table.
The woman working was very serious, though that would change a bit later. JJ did well, since the area was nicely shaded.
The menu cracked me up as most of the dishes were “translated” into English…..
Along with the menu, an “anti-fly” device was also brought to the table.
I asked the woman if the “Crispy Rice Salad” was Nem Khao and the Waterfall Beef was actually Nam Tok and things immediately got friendlier. I got both dishes at a “7” on the spice scale.
The Nem Khao was a non-starter, there was no crisp, crunchy rice and it was really weak in spice.
The sausage lacked the sour tones of a good Thai/Lao sausage and no strips of pork skin either. The dish as a whole lacked that sour-spicy-herbaceousness and textural contrast of a good Nem Khao.
I was starting to understand that this was truly Ameri-Thai when my Nam Tok arrived.
Again, hardly any spice and really lacking in the toasted rice powder, fish sauce, and lemongrass flavors. It was in fact pretty mild overall, perhaps edging on too sweet. The one positive note was that the beef was quite tender and there was a decent amount of cilantro. As you can see by the amount of mixed greens; this was more of a salad, than Neua Nam Tok.
The woman was quite nice and came to ask me what I thought. So, feeling that she was really sincere, I told her. She smiled and said, “yes, I understand” and nodded in the direction of the other folks in the place. She then told me “please come again and say you want real Thai spicy, and I think you’ll enjoy it more.”
So, I decided to return one more time.
The really nice woman wasn’t working, but I decided to try my luck. Not being super hungry, I just ordered the Crispy Duck Salad, spice level 10, also indicating that I’d like it “Thai spicy”.
I didn’t know how I’d take to having pineapple in this; but it went fairly well with the dish, adding tart-acidic-sweetness. I liked the crunchy chunks of battered duck, good flavor and texture. While this was indeed more spicy that what I’d had on my previous visit, it was still lacking in bright-pungent-savory tones as a whole.
Oh well, JJ still enjoyed the shade.
In spite of being heavily Ameri-Thai, I’m glad we were able to try things out. I understand that places must appeal to their customer base and location. And of course, one never knows unless you try, right?
White Elephant Asian Kitchen
3843 Richmond St.
San Diego, CA 92103
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1130am – 3pm, 430pm – 9pm
Friday 1130am – 3pm, 430pm – 930pm
Saturday 12pm – 930pm
Sunday 12pm -9pm
Which came with a side of sticky rice; which was actually more hard and dry than "sticky". The dish consisted of two whole "wings" and another odd piece. The chicken was nicely fried, more crunchy than crisp, and very moist. The flavor seemed to be a bite "off" though. There was a hint of lemongrass and garlic; but it seemed to need a bit "more" savory-salty tones, and came thru as being on the bland side, an adjective that one really doesn't associate with Lao cuisine.
Well, this was quite a hefty lunch! The miso soup was fine; not watered down like many other versions these days.
The rice was moist, tender, and fragrant; though the portion size was a bit too large for me. I think if I go solo again I'll make sure to get a half portion of it. I was really heading into 
I waffle between getting the filet or loin cut….after this meal, I guess I'm back on "team loin"? I really like the meaty texture, fat content, and the porkiness. The sauce tends to the sweeter side in my opinion, so I use it sparingly.
First off, I actually thought the basic "wagyu" (heavy on the quotes) beef, while rather scarce was cut thinner, thus seemingly more tender. I liked the thin slices of oyster mushroom, which added a nice sweet-earthiness to the plate. To me, that egg is a must.
Which smelled heavenly. It came with a bowl of broth that had decent cilantro – white pepper tones, but was quite salty. And the dipping sauce, which did have a bit of spice was not my favorite as I prefer the Hainanese style white, ginger-garlic, pungent style sauce.
As for the chicken; well it was deboned, making it easy to eat, while being very moist and tender. It was a bit on the milder side in terms of flavor though. Again, if I had that ginger-garlic based sauce, I'd have been really happy. I ended up making sure I had some "chicken soul stealing" rice and chicken in each bite.
The hard boiled egg was nicely cooked, no off colors or flavors.
The curry was a bit "thin" for what I think of with regards to panang curry, which is usually quite thick. I was happy that it wasn't overly sweet and a nice, restrained touch was used with coconut. There was a faint kaffir lime flavor as well. I would have enjoyed it a bit richer and thicker. It also was not very spicy; but I noticed that you can chilies at the counter.
It came with a variety of "cuts"; I went for the chicharron right away. 
The Server recommended I get the rice noodles with this which reminded me of pho. It was perfectly prepared with a nice stretch to them.
I was happy to note that they actually use the appropriate noodle, the curly-rolled rice noodle sheets known as kway chap in this. Nice and chewy! 
The broth didn't have any spice, seemed a bit more porky and rich than the boat noodles. I ended up using the chili oil, which also had some nice acidity, and some chili flakes to help cut the richness.
The rice and egg were the same on this dish as well. The Missus loved the crisp, earthy-vegetal gailan. The spice was quite good for just a "medium". The sauce was closer to the saltier side of the scale, but was quite enjoyable. The hints of garlic, sweet, and the spice balanced things out nicely.
The fragrance really got my stomach growling. In terms of portion size, this was way bigger than the takeout I'd had from 
It usually has Sriracha drizzled on the egg, but the gentleman nicely asked if I'd prefer to have it on the side. I really didn't even need it. The egg was slightly crisp and quite fluffy. Nice savory tones; the ground meat used, I'm thinking it may be ground chicken was moist and tender. Nice savory tones; quite "eggy" without any off flavors. Quite nice!
