Thai Restaurants – Page 15

Sab E Lee Santee – A first look

November 4, 2009 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of Sab E Lee has closed

Often times, a bit of information or a recommendation will allow me to order to the strength of a restaurant. When I first visited Sab E Lee, I was taken by the gentleman who ran the tiny restaurant. He eagerly provided me with the information I needed to order by telling me that the cooks were from “Issan” (Northeastern Thailand), and I ended up ordering to the restaurant’s strength. That was a whole fifteen months, and maybe over a hundred visits ago. Since then, I’ve gotten to know Kobe pretty well, and now with the opening of Sab E Lee 2 in Santee, it’ll be more of the same, right? Well, not so fast pilgrim……… During the past weekend when I went to check out Sab E Lee 2 and ran into Kobe, he shared the new menu with me, and information about the chef at this location. This Chef is more experienced in fine dining, having worked at several four star hotels…. I believe The Sukothai Bangkok was one of the hotels named. After looking through the menu, the Missus and I headed over, East on the 52, off at Mission Gorge, and arrived at Sab E Lee. As I mentioned in my previous post, the restaurant is maybe four times the size of the Linda Vista location, Kobe also showed me the kitchen which is about the same size as the dining area!

After we were greeted by Kobe, and several of the familiar faces, we got under way. First off, please forgive the pinkish tinged photos as the reflection of pink everywhere makes everything…. well, pink.

Kobe told me to try the Kra Thong Tong ($7.95):

You see, from what Kobe told me about the Chef, I figured that one of the streng SEL203 ths here would be what I tend to call “Royal Thai” cuisine, with it’s more intricate presentations, lighter fare, featuring many Chinese and Mon influences. And these wonderful, light, rice flour based pasty cups filled with minced prawns and chicken surely fill the bill. Royal Thai doesn’t mean dumbed down, but it presents itself with a wonderfully balanced flavors and textures. In this case a mild curry background, brought up with a cucumber relish that seems to use palm syrup. And yet, it is not overly sweet, but a very complex dish.

The Plaa Shrimp($8.95) was a good second choice:

Butterflied shrimp are quickly charred, and left in a “rare” state. The bracing and spicy lime sauce finishes off the “cooking” process. We quickly noticed that this chef uses a good bit more lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves in his dishes. The spice level was excellent, courtesy of Thai Bird Chilies, and with the slices of raw garlic and Thai Eggplant, this is a dish that would be right at home at Sab E Lee on Linda Vista.

The third dish we ordered was the Pine Cone Fish (Halibut – $16.95):

I’m sorry to say that my photos don’t do this dish justice. It is a good-sized Halibut, de-boned, crusted with panko and placed into the shape of a pine cone. The fish was fried to perfection, soft and tender. The line-chili-fish sauce dip was good if a bit salty. Kobe brought out a little dish of tangy tamarind based sauce which the Missus loved. Kobe told us that it was the sauce used for Three Flavored Fish, which is what we’ll be ordering in the future.

Overall, this was a wonderful meal….lovely presentations, well prepared food, and the prices weren’t too bad. And yes, there’s Koi Soi, Catfish Larb, and many of my other favorites on the menu. But I thought it would be good to play to the Chef’s strengths, and I think he did a great job. I’ll do my Koi Soi comparison on another day…..

Sab E Lee 2
9159 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071

Revisiting the Rotation: Sab E Lee, plus more info on Sab E Lee 2

November 1, 2009 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of Sab E Leee has closed

Yes, yet another post on Sab E Lee, though I'll keep it mainly to photos. Sab E Lee has only been open maybe 15 months, but has become a regular stop for us. As the weather gets cooler, I notice that we've started to transition from the various Larb and Beef Salads to more hearty dishes, like the Chicken with Spicy Mint Leaves:

And other stuff……

Though there are some dishes that I just won't give up, like the Spicy Raw Beef (Koi Soi):

Since we've been eating at Sab E Lee, I've never had to declare a "heat level". Kobe always knew how spicy we wanted our food to be. In the case where I was having lunch or dinner with friends, I'd always ask for things "less spicy", or in one rare case, "Lao Spicy"……. When having dinner with FOY JohnL, who told me that he could eat spicy, I ordered everything "less spicy" except for the Koi Soi, which I asked to be "the way I like it". Poor John could only eat one spoon of the Koi Soi….. Which got me wondering what level of heat was being ordered for the Missus and I. Also, since Kobe was soon to be manning Sab E Lee 2, I'll be having to tell the folks here how spicy I want my food. On one of our last visits, we asked Kobe what heat level he assigns to our dishes. The answer was surprising, most dishes are a 7, except for the Koi Soi, which is a 9!

And of course, the intimacy of Sab E Lee always means there's an interesting conversation floating through the air around you…… In this case, an over-dressed (for Sab E Lee) middle aged WASP couple, sampling some Pad Thai, Tom Yum, and Panang Curry (sigh…..Candice, Howie, and I have had conversations about this trinity). Female in a stage whisper; "this tastes really different…." Male: "yes, something's wrong, this doesn't taste anything like Taste of Thai and Thai House."

I really wanted to scream, "Amen brother, and I hope it never does……"

Sab-E-Lee Restaurant
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

More info on Sab E Lee 2:

Since I was in the area this morning, I decided to drop by and check out the new second location of Sab E Lee, which I posted about here.

The first thing I noticed was the size of the parking lot……..it looks like they won't be short of parking! So I snap my photo, and I hear a friendly little honk from a car to the rear of me….. and it's Kobe and his crew. I am so busted…… Kobe's all smiles, though he does look a bit tired. So I get a nice little tour of the restaurant, which is medium sized, but not large by any means. There's room for more tables and growth. Kobe told me that everything is on track, and they will opening for lunch at 11am tomorrow.

I also got a look at the menu, which is pretty hefty, with about three times the amount of dishes that Sab E Lee has. Luckily, many of our favorite dishes are on the menu (click to enlarge photos):

It does seem that some of the dishes from the Thai Restaurant at this location was kept, and the menu has a strong Bangkok Thai influence.

"Superwild Shrimp" sounds interesting, and there's Miang Kum and Kra Thong Tong.

To me, Sab E Lee is a wonderful success story. From a tiny hole-in-the-wall, to a second restaurant in fifteen months is quite an accomplishment. When we first moved to San Diego, the lack of the type Thai Food we enjoyed (non American-Thai) was a bit, well, depressing. We found a couple of places, that served a few dishes that we enjoyed. I distinctly remember a conversation with the owner of one of these restaurants. They had a few good dishes, and when I asked about some of our favorite Thai dishes using ingredients that I was used to eating in Thai Town I was told, "we could never have that on the menu. People in San Diego would never eat that, and it is economical suicide. There's no way a restaurant in San Diego could serve those dishes with Thai ingredients and survive." In a way, he is an excellent business man, as his restaurant empire has now expanded to several restaurants. But Kobe and crew has also proven him wrong…..you can get good un-Americanized Thai Food in San Diego. And I hope this is only the beginning…….

Some other info on Sab E Lee 2 – Grand opening date is Monday, November 2. Kobe also told me that during the first week, there will be a 15% discount on most dishes. So there you go…..

Sab E Lee 2
9159 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071

Open Daily 1030 am – 930 pm

619-328-1568

Chiang Mai: The Sunday Market

October 18, 2009 mmm-yoso Chiang Mai, Thai Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

Before I get to the wonderful Sunday Walking Market in Chiang Mai, I thought I'd share what I thought was an odd bit of "safety equipment" found in our room.

For some reason, the thought of placing a plastic bag over "mi cabeza" disturbs me……

Chiang Mai's Sunday Walking Market is something to be seen, stretching from the Tha Phae Gate all the way to Wat Phra Singh, streets in all directions are filled with booths selling all matter of goods.

Unlike the merchandising hell that is the Night Bazaar, the Sunday Market is more relaxed, especially since we got there just when the market started, at about 4pm. Our hotel was located just a half block from the the street the market was on, which made things very convenient for us.

When we arrived folks were still setting up…..

Not many tourists were seen, possibly due to the rain which seemed to fall for a short while every afternoon, scrubbing the sky and the streets clean. Of course the Thai locals took everything in stride….

And since this is Thailand, food stalls are everywhere. You couldn't go but a few steps without running into a food stall.

This is Thailand and snacking is a way of life here. I was more than happy to participate……

If you wanted to give up grazing and get something more substantial, we quickly learned that the courtyard of every Wat along the way was loaded with food booths.

The Wats it seemed, became de facto Food Courts.

And the range of food was amazing……

Bamboo Shoot salad….

Nam Prik…..

And of course things would not be complete without some TFC (Thai Fried Chicken):

And of course, there were scores of "items on a stick". Which got me wondering how many wooden skewers were used on every Sunday?

I wish I took a better photo of this woman. Her beef jerky was fantastic…..

I felt no need to partake in the surprising amount of sushi available from dozens of booths.

The variety was indeed breathtaking. From the "standards"…..

To items that were a bit more interesting….

And of course there were the items that were a bit more "challenging"…..

Fried silkworm is delici-yoso stuff…..

But there was stuff that I thought was even too strange for me…..

Before you knew it, we arrived at Wat Phra Singh…. and things had gotten pretty crowded.

It was time to turn around and head back to the hotel…but not without a couple of snacks along way……

Arriving back at the Tha Phae Gate we noticed a huge crowd of folks, and young men and women were dancing on a stage.

Apparently, there was some kind of dancing contest going on. We decided to get away from the crowds and head up to our room, where we snacked (yet again), and watched the proceedings.

The Sunday Market was an enjoyable experience for us…..

As much as we enjoyed the Sunday Market, we did have a few regrets. The Missus really wanted the quail eggs from this stand.

We decided to get them on our way back to our room, but couldn't find the stall….

And of course, we regret not being able to bolt on a second stomach…..

Wednesday wanderings – Sab E Lee 2 opening in November and Thai Cafe closes

September 23, 2009 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Sab E Lee 2 Coming Soon:

I dropped by and had an early lunch at Sab E Lee this past Sunday. Koby, the owner greeted me with a big smile, and told me, "I have some big news for you." Koby told me that he had found a space for a new restaurant, but wouldn't be sure until Monday. Koby then gave me his cellphone number and told me to call him. Instead, I told Koby that I'll drop by on Wednesday. So today, while I nosh'd on my Grilled Duck Larb:

Koby filled me in. So here's the scoop; the new restaurant will be called Sab E Lee 2 and is opening in Santee. The address will be:

9159 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071

Luckily for us, he is keeping the Linda Vista location of Sab E Lee open. The new restaurant will have most of the items on the current menu, but will also add some more "Americanized" Thai dishes. I dunno about that, but I'm happy that my favorites will still be on the menu. According to Koby, the Chef of the restaurant in Santee is a good friend of his that has a lot of experience and used to be a chef at a four star hotel in Bangkok. Target opening day is the first Monday in November. I'm happy for Koby, they sure have come far in a bit over a year.

A Sab E Lee story:

I thought this was pretty funny. Sab E Lee is a very tiny restaurant, and because of the closeness of tables, sometimes you can't help but hear what everyone else is saying. On this day, a woman was seated with who I believe was her young son (maybe four or five?), a smart looking blond haired young man. I give the woman credit, they were eating Papaya Salad and Grilled Pork Neck, and the young man was digging in like a trooper. Out of the blue, the little one tells the Mom, "do they eat horse-ies here?" The Mom tells him, "I don't think so…..why?" The boy points to the lettering on the windows and exclaims, "it spells, I eat hoof!"

I snorted so hard, that I could feel my Beef Salad coming out of my nose! I guess it kinda looks like "I Eat Hoof". What do you think?

Thai Cafe closes:

Unfortunately, with the current economic unrest, more restaurants are closing than opening. And for every new restaurant opening, there seem to be two or more closing. Thai Cafe on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard is the latest casualty.

RIP Thai Cafe……

Cooling off by turning up the heat? More from Sab E Lee

August 24, 2009 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of Sab-E-Lee has closed

I've been wondering why I crave spicy foods when the mercury rises…… it's a strange thing. Eating spicy food can make you sweat, which I do more than my share of, inducing the body's cooling mechanisms. Or perhaps it's the endorphins released by capsaicin, creating that "chili -high"…. who knows. I do know that I crave certain spicy dishes when it heats up; Sichuan Hot Pot need not apply, but by all means bring on the Larb! Since Sab E Lee made our rotation, I've pretty much stopped taking photos. Really, how many Sab E Lee posts can one deal with.

However, on some recent visits, I managed to whip out the camera, so here goes. My brow is damp already…

I'm pretty sure regulars readers are just waiting to see a photos of Koi Soi/Koi Nua, the spicy raw beef salad that is probably my favorite dish at Sab E Lee. But I've decided to leave that out of this post….mainly because everyone knows Ilove the stuff, it's become kinda, well, predictable. So predictable that when some FOYs dropped by for some drinks and eats, they brought along… youguessed it Koi Soi from Sab E Lee. And not just one order, but two!

Speaking of predictable, I've long noticed that most of my photos, like this one of the excellent Catfish Larb ($6.95), all look the same. It's the eye from above look….

So here's a better shot, of the savory, salty, citrus-y, Catfish Larb. The flavors are pushed along by the roasted rice powder. There have been times when the catfish was less than stellar, but when it's on, the combination of textures is wonderful.

And of course, I just can't get away from that up from above shot, like in the case of the Bamboo Shoot Salad($6.95):

The savory fish sauce, when combined with the bright citrus flavor and crisp bamboo makes this a refreshing dish. The woodsy and mildly smoky flavor of the bamboo, I believe from the chemical para-cresol adds depth to the dish. When JohnL, a FOY (Friend of Yoso) had dinner with me one evening, he enjoyed this dish so much, went back for more the next day. Unfortunately, it was Monday, and Sab E Lee was closed. He had to wait an entire day for his fix.

I've covered our little dilemma of which beef salad to order before, but we still have the same problem. On some days, it's the Nahm Tok ($6.95):

Yes, yet another "bird's eye view". The Nahm Tok is a nice, savory, mildly sweet beef salad, the heat is slow burning, provided by dried chilies and chili paste. With nutty accents provided by the roasted rice powder. It is more suave and subtle (perhaps not the right term) than the Yum Nua, the Beef Salad ($6.95):

Fresh chilies, onions, and raw garlic give this dish some teeth! As you see, on occasion, the addition of Thai Eggplant adds a mild astringency, though it is nowhere near as bitter as Lao versions of this dish. It is upfront, in your face, and plain delicious.

And of course, you'll need an "eye in the sky" shot, right?

In the end, though my photos may be, as the Missus calls it, "boring and predictable" (I call it consistent), what Sab E Lee puts out on a daily basis is definitely not boring……

Here's a few other photos, just because:

The Salted Fish Fried rice….sooo good, but politically incorrect, don't take it back to the office with you.

Chicken with Spicy Mint Leaves:

Hope everyone had a great Monday….. I gotta go practice some new camera angles!

Sab-E-Lee Restaurant
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Chiang Mai: Food on the side of the road – Durian, Durian Rice, Mango and Sticky Rice, our Favorite Fried Rice, and yes, more Kanom Krok

August 8, 2009 mmm-yoso Chiang Mai, Thai Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

I was once told, "you won't have to eat in a restaurant in Thailand, it's all on the side of the road". Never have words rung so true. Though the scents of food doesn't waft down every street and alley in Chiang Mai, there is more than enough to keep you stuffed.

Much like Luang Prabang we quickly developed a routine of sorts. Up early, after a small breakfast, which was free at the hotel. Unlike other folks we didn't load up on the free stuff, saving ourselves for later. We'd get on our way early. On our first morning, we headed off to the Chiang Mai Cultural Center. As we took the turn on Ratwithi an "escort" joined us:

As if he knew that we weren't from around these parts, this mutt walked alongside the Missus making sure we made our way to the Museum.

He guided us almost to the doors of the museum, and seeing that his duty was completed, he looked up at us, with almost a smile on his face, and went on his way. It was pretty remarkable…..

We enjoyed the Museum, and learned a lot, but forgot even more!

There was a good collection of interactive displays.

There was one display that was a bit too realistic. We noticed this display, and kept wondering what part the stuffed cat played in the display. Then the cat sat up and yawned! I almost jumped out of my shoes!!! It seems this cat has found the perfect spot to take a nap……after all, what better than the lap of a (semi-) human????

On the way back we passed a small booth on the side of the road.

It was obvious that they made the classic sticky rice with mango, but the Missus pointed to one of the pots and even though the couple didn't speak any English, they knew what the Missus was asking about. When the young man opened the pot, the fragrance instantly hit me…….

It was the making of Durian Rice! The Missus ordered some Sticky Rice with Mango and Durian and tapioca pearls with sticky rice.

Which we brought back to our room and devoured…….

After our "snack" and quick shower, we'd head off, and grab some lunch (we'll cover that later), and do something like head off and visit a few Wats. The Missus loved the Wats, and She'd take advantage of every opportunity to ~~accost~~ talk to the Monks.

After the Missus saw this sign on the grounds of Wat Chedi Luang:

We returned the next afternoon, and while the Missus ~~high-jacked~~ did Her hour and a half "Monk Chat" I walked the grounds.

A Buddhist University is located on the grounds so this was a great chance for students to practice their English, and the Missus to talk to the young men, starting with the inevitable "I thought Monks are vegetarians, and aren't supposed to eat meat, how come monks in Thailand eat meat?" Sigh……..

The restored Chedi (Stupa) at Wat Chedi Luang clocks in at about 200 feet and is a good landmark when walking within the "Inner Moat" part of Chiang Mai. It was originally built in 1441 and was restored by UNESCO and the Japanese government. The Chedi lacks a spire because no one is really sure what it looked like. Another interesting tidbit. There are six Elephant sculptures along the Chedi, five of them are restorations. Only the one with no ears and trunk is an original.

After returning to our room, we'd head off for something to eat, often stopping off at Pratu Chiang Mai, or something up the street at one of the other markets.

There's always food in sight, and you will run into something. One night while walking up the Moon Muang we ran smack into a market, and a couple of food carts. One of which featured meat on a stick….who can resist?

These looked a spooky white in color….

OK, all the red specks were the only pieces of meat in this sausage……… it also tasted kinda strange….sour, but a strange sour.

And of course……

We could not pass a Kanom Krok cart without stopping. This Guy was busy, and couldn't keep up with demand. The Konom Krok we got was overcooked and solid in the center……it tasted fine, but was hard through and through. No molten, lip melting center for us this time.

Every evening after dinner, we'd head back to our room. But we'd always end up waiting at this stand a block from our hotel:

I'm walk over to the 7-11 (there's one on every block in Chiang Mai and Thailand) for water and some, uh, liquid refreshment, while the Missus would wait for ~~Her~~ our 35 Baht ($1) Fried Rice.

For those who complain that Sab E Lee puts too much white pepper on their fried rice and Pad See Ew, check this out. This was soooooo good…..

And of course, there's always a Durian story…… On our second night we noticed a pick-up parked alongside the road, loaded with Durian.

The Missus couldn't resist! There was fresh Durian that had been cleaned sold on a folding table next to the pick-up. The Missus bought some, and declared it the best She's had to date. So of course we went back the next night and bought more.

While the Missus enjoyed the Durian, and the Montri did not have any "no Durian" signs posted, I felt bad for the folks cleaning our rooms. I tried to ease my guilt by leaving a bit of a larger tip everyday for the folks having to suffer through cleaning our rooms.

Chiang Mai was an interesting city. On one side quite the tourist town, with a bustling visitor industry. On the other, an ancient walled city…….. with a real spirituality that we saw over and over. It was a fascinating balance.

Chiang Mai: Pratu Chiang Mai Market

July 31, 2009 mmm-yoso Chiang Mai, Thai Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

Chiang Mai didn't quite have the constant fragrance of food wafting through the air like Bangkok. In fact, at times you kinda had to work a bit to find something that wasn't tourist, Western style, or Pseudo-Thai Food. After walking around Chiang Mai a bit, we were rather happy we stayed in the Inner Moat area, right across the street from the Tha Phae Gate. The hotel, The Montri was a bit worn, and there was a huge renovation project going on during the day, which didn't bother us much since we were out of our hotel by 8 am. One of the places we visited many times was the area by the South Gate, called Pratu Chiang Mai. The Pratu Chiang Mai Market area really has something going on during all hours.

At night all the food stalls and carts are going strong.

During the day, there are more formal stands within the market area, and more produce vendors lining the street.

The evening carts seem to get started right after the afternoon rains, and get going pretty quickly.

On the day we arrived in Chiang Mai, the Missus decided to do a quick walking tour of various Wats.

And at the end, I was bushed. I remember seeing food stalls on our way in the from the airport, so we took a walk to Pratu Chiang Mai, and had our first dinner here. The only problem is what to get!

The TFC (Thai Fried Chicken) stand was going strong, and you can eat well for less than 2 bucks. At the time of our visit it was 33 Baht to a Dollar. So here I was in Thailand….so why not get some Pad Thai???

Place your order, and things get rolling pretty quickly.

Meat on a stick, just 15 Baht (50 cents):

Which on this day was enough for the Missus and I….a buck-fifty for dinner…..

The Sausage was decent, but had a bit too much rice and was not sour enough for my tastes, but the Missus really enjoyed it. It was garnished with slices of cucumber and galangal.

The Pad Thai was pretty good, a bit greasy, but in a good way.

It was surprisingly filling. We had gotten to appreciate Thai portion sizes, which seemed to be just enough to be satisfy you without taking you over the edge.

I do remember watching in amazement as a Thai Gentleman poured several scoops of what looked to be palm sugar over his Pad Thai before consuming it!

And finishing things off was some Kanom Krok.

This woman made the best we had on the entire trip! It became our "gold standard" for Kanom Krok, wonderful hints of coconut, without being too sweet. A wonderful crisp crust with a tongue melting molten interior. Familiar and simple, but complex in texture and taste at the same time.

It was a nice first meal.

Over the course of our stay in Chiang Mai, we always knew we could stop by for a nice snack. For us, it provided the perfect pace unlike the crazy and tourist saturated Night Bazaar, which we visited once, and decided never again.

Chiang Mai: Huen Phen

July 3, 2009 mmm-yoso Chiang Mai, Thai Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

Man, I can't believe it's been over 10 months since we returned from our Laos – Thailand trip, and I still haven't finished my vacation posts yet! So to make sure that I get these posts done, I thought I'd deviate from my usual chronologic posts and start with our favorite meal(s) in Chiang Mai.

We kind of regret that we didn't check out Huen Phen until our last day in Chiang Mai, we'd surely have wanted at least another lunch there. Huen Phen is located down Thanon Rachamankha, in a more sedate area of Chiang Mai.

Huen Phen itself is actually two different restaurants. During the evening, it's the crowded antique filled restaurant. During lunch, the area to the front left of the restaurant serves up steam table and noodle dishes.

The lady behind the counter was very nice, and even provided samples. I even sampled the broth for the Khao Soi, which only confirmed (this was third version I tasted) that I didn't care for it. Of course everything we asked about was met with a, "it's good…you try, you try….." Which is kinda what happened, we ended up eating enough to feed a small army. And incredibly we finished everything.

I've suddenly realized that if I went over every single dish, I'd still be writing on Monday, so I'll keep this to mostly photos. Let me just say, that I really enjoyed some of the dishes, especially the various Nahm Prik (dips/pastes) which is one of the signature dishes of Lanna (Northern Thai) cuisine. So without further ado, here are the photos:

We enjoyed lunch so much, that we returned for dinner!

Though we enjoyed lunch more, dinner was no less yummy! Especially the Nam Prik Ong, the classic Chili and Pork dip…think Thai Bolognese sauce. As much as I enjoyed that, the version with crisp pork skin was even better!

So here are the dinner photos:

Just a quick note, wouldn't you know that the only dish we didn't care for was the Morning Glory pictured above! Of course the Northern style Fish Soup was super!

I think there are times when the photos speak for themselves.

Huen Phen
112 Thanon Rachamankha
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Sang Dao through Other Eyes

June 28, 2009 ed fromyuma Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!! — Kirk's foodblog. Sometimes he lets Cathy post here, and today he's letting ed (from Yuma) post about a meal that you may have read about once or twice already.

On my last trip to San Diego, America's finest city, I fortunately arrived on the same day that Kirk, Howie, and Candice were planning a visit to Sang Dao, a Lao/Thai restaurant recently relocated on to El Cajon Blvd. I managed to finagle an invitation to join them there.

Like many good dining spots run by recent immigrants, it is located in a somewhat dicey neighborhood, between a gold buyer and a payday advance place: I never expected to post about the meal, but it seems that I took the most photos. Anyway, thought some readers might enjoy looking at more pictures of the food. But be sure to read Kirk's account of the restaurant and Candice's too – to get expert opinions.

First, the raw beef salad: In this case, my picture is not especially good although it does show the wealth of greens that accompany the salad. I thought it tasted fine and liked the slight background bitter touch of bile. It was was not as beefy and, mercifully, not as overwhelmingly hot as the version at Sab-E-Lee (prepared Thai spicy for Kirk) which he and I had enjoyed around New Years.

Next we were served spicy offal soup (anybody remember the name?): This was really good. The broth was deeply savory and lit up with chile spices. I kept shoveling various organ meats into my mouth, chewing them up, swallowing them, and going back for more. Even when I had no idea what I was eating: One dish that I wanted in particular was whole fish — which I guess is kind of an obsession of mine. I thought that the tilapia arrived looking very pretty: The taste matched the look of the fish. The first flavor notes that hit my palate were touches of sweetness, but the sweetness was nicely balanced with citrus flavors. The sauce did not overwhelm the flavor of the fish. I was also impressed by the quality of the frying. Though the skin was crisp, this fish remained moist from head to tail: Next to arrive was the offal noodle soup: This soup was less enticing to any of us. The numerous slices of liver dominated the flavor of the bowl. I crave liverwurst sometimes, but this soup proved that I am not a true liver lover. The super soft noodles seemed OK, but added little. I would try a different noodle dish on a future visit.

My only other complaint about the meal - the sticky rice tasted a bit dried out.

Candice insisted we try a red curry shrimp dish that she had had before. I'm glad she did. As you can tell by the brownish color of the curry, the sauce had intense and complex flavors. It was so good I forgot to take a picture until almost the entire serving was gone:
I should probably add that I was the one who finished off the last of this wonderful curry.

The final item served was certainly one of the most impressive. It was a chopped long bean salad prepared with Lao spicing: In some ways, this resembles an extremely funky green papaya salad. Look at the color of the dressing. The pungent flavor of fish sauce (and/or fermented shrimp?) infused every bite of the salad. The diced chilies raised the spice level high. But even with all these other flavors, the intense green bean taste and green bean crunch stood out in every mouthful. A texture/taste treat. For me, this was an amazing and exciting dish. Nothing like it in Yuma!

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed more pictures. And I hope Kirk, or Howie, or Candice feel free to correct or add to this discussion. Compared to most Thai food, this seemed more in your face funky with more salty than sweet flavors. I, for one, appreciated the extensive menu (unlike Asia Cafe), which seems to invite return visits.

When the bill came, we were all amazed at the low cost for the all the food we'd eaten. No need to sell that wedding ring or borrow til payday to have dinner here.

Sang Dao Restaurant, 5421 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115, (619) 263-0914 :

Thai Pepper Cuisine

June 8, 2009 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Now here's a place that without a heads-up from "FOYs" Farrah and Trent, I'd have totally missed altogether. Thai Pepper Cuisine is located in Serra Mesa on Sandrock, across from the strip mall that has been sorta depressed since Henry's left a few years back. I believe that a restaurant called "The Three Chefs" or something like that used to occupy this space.

On my first visit to Thai Pepper, I was accompanied by some great FOYs (Friends of Yoso). It's not very often that I get to share a table with a Zompus and a Paparatti, so Iwas indeed honored!

The menu is what you'd expect from a neighborhood Thai restaurants, sections of "choose your protein, choose your sauce", various curries, and similar items make up the offerings. This is not a bad thing, if done well, those dishes are wonderful. The interior of the restaurant is small with maybe ten tables. I found the chairs to be interesting; I swear that they are those ergonomic, office chairs that wouldn't look out of place in the average conference room.

Our Server for the evening was an adorable woman named Oy, friendly, and gracious to a fault, She projected that gentle demeanor we found during our trip to Thailand and Laos.

We started with one of those "basic" items, the Som Tum, Papaya Salad ($6.95):

This was fairly average, a bit on the overly sweet side. It was put together well, but lacked the wonderful savory flavor some salted blue crab, or even dried shrimp.

The Spicy Fried Rice with Beef ($7.95), even though lacking in heat was good, with a nice dose of fish sauce. It was just a hair from being very good. Though the rice had some nice caramelization, it was a bit too mushy. The beef was adequately tender, and this dish wasn't overly sweet.

The exotic sounding Wild Boar Curry ($8.95) was the only dish I wasn't too fond of.

This was slices of very dry and tough pork in a very mild curry. I also started realizing that this place loves white mushrooms……

Another of my go-to Thai dishes is Pad See Ew (with shrimp – $9.95).

Personally, I find this simple noodle dish to be a great test of a cooks skill. Temperature control, along with balancing the salty and sweet flavors is very difficult. Though there was no "wok hey" (burnt does not equal wok hey), the overall flavor was nicely balanced, and the noodles were cooked well, though not all the noodles were flavored. Not bad.

And I'm sure the wonderful company of Mr & Mrs Zompus added to the meal as well.

A week later, I dropped by Thai Pepper for another meal. This time, I decided to try the Yum Nua, the Beef Salad ($8.95):

Based on my previous visit, I ordered this "Thai spicy", but of course, it was not served that way. I was pleasantly surprised to find ground rice powder, even though it was ground a bit too coarse, was used to add a mild nuttiness to the proceedings. In direct contrast to what I had encountered in previous dishes this was really fish sauce heavy, borderline salty, and lacked balance, but it was not boring in the least(more white mushrooms?). The beef was tender, and this went well with jasmine rice.

I also ordered a dish I was eyeing on my last visit, the Homestyle Duck ($14.95):

There was nothing "homestyle" about this well prepared dish. Duck breast, flavored with hoisin and other spices, had been deep fried, and much of the subcutaneous fat had rendered off. The skin was crisp, the portion below the skin like great duck jerky, and the meat soft and moist.

The duck rested on a bed baby corn, mushrooms(yet again), and broccoli in a brown, mildy tamarind and ginger flavored brown sauce…an after-thought in my book. I took most of this dish home, and the Missus thought it to be pretty darn good.

During dinner I had a chance to chat with Oy, and the nice folks here. It appears that even though I had ordered my Yum Nua Thai Spicy, they noted that I wasn't Thai or Lao, so they held back! After talking to them about food, and various dishes, I think I convinced them to actually make my food spicy on my next visit, which may not be too far down the road.

Thai Peppers is a really nice restaurant of what I call the "neighborhood Thai" category. The service is friendly, and the food is pretty easy to take. Nothing really exotic, the menu sticks to the tried and true, Bangkok/Royal Thai model. The prices are reasonable as well. The turnover of businesses in the area makes me depressed, so I'm hoping that Thai Peppers changes that trend. Every neighborhood should have a nice place like this.

Thai Pepper Cuisine
3361 Sandrock Road
San Diego, CA 92123

Thanks Farrah and Trent

One last thing:

I usually don't post on various links and such, but I was just tickled when Caroline Russock, who does the Cook the Book post for the one and only Serious Eats mentioned us. I was flattered to be sure. But I was also puzzled when the first person to comment said this:

"I'm disappointed to hear you thought mmm-yoso! was your saving grace for San Diego! All I found on that site was mostly a bunch of fast food Hawaiian and "Asian" restaurants that make Panda Express look good."

Egad! I haven't felt so puzzled since the time a fellow food blogger told me, "I know why you post so often….it's because you have such a big ego that needs to be fed". Yeow….I think I'll leave now, and try not to trip over my ego!