It's funny how things sometimes turn out. In the comments of my post on the Cuisinery moving to Miramar Road, "FOY" Sandy happened to mention that there used to be a Chinese Restaurant in the Pyramid; currently known as the San Diego Innovation Center. I'm sure you'd recognize the structure if you've ever driven on Miramar Road.
A few weeks ago, when heading home after shopping at the Cuisinery, I noticed something on the signage for the Pyramid.
Do you see it? It says "Thaipan Kitchen". Hmmm…… So, after doing a bit of research, I found that it's owned by the same folks as Ping Yang in the Market on 8th. I also noted that they are only open from 1030 to 330 Monday to Fridays.
I like the 1030 opening since I enjoy an early lunch these days. Plus, the Cuisinery now opens at 10, so I could coordinate my visits! A few days later, I dropped by.
I saw the sign and decided to step into the Pyramid. Funny thing, we've lived in San Diego for over 20 years now and I'd never been in this structure. Never had a reason to visit I guess?
I opened the door and walked on in.
The bottom floor was a huge space. There didn't seem to be much going on, I'm not sure what the occupancy of the building is right now? There even seems to be coffee stand that doesn't seem operational?
The tiny shop was open and I walked on over.
The gentleman was hard at work in the kitchen, so I had a look at the menu; which features standard Thai dishes like Pad Thai, Tom Yum, and also Japanese items like Karaage, Gyoza, and Tonkatsu.
And looking at the register, it seems like they are venturing into Filipino dishes. Right now they do Spamsilog and Tocilog….it seems they also do Katsu Sandos. I asked the guy worknig about the hours and he told me that they tried to open at 830 but things were too slow. All of the dishes are available from 1030 to 330 in spite of what the menu says.
I mean, there's no way you can do "everything" well, right? So, knowing that the owners are Thai, I decided to stick with that side of the menu.
I wasn't feeling like Pad Thai or a curry; the Ka Prao with Pork Belly ($16.50) sounded good. It was also the most expensive item on the menu. I was given one of those buzzer things and just cooled my heels in the dining area.
Soon enough, my lunch was ready to go. I had decided on takeout…..I just didn't feel like eating at the cold and empty dining area.
Once home I unpacked the fairly hefty bowl.
The fragrance really got my stomach growling. In terms of portion size, this was way bigger than the takeout I'd had from Thai Test Kitchen. I got this medium spicy and it wasn't bad, not dumbed down for sure. Loved the crisp, sweet-anisey fried basil. I could make out a hint of fish sauce, it wasn't overly sweet, loved the flavor of the pork, which was a bit too chewy and tough though.
I'm not sure if it was the drive home, but the egg was overcooked for my taste.
The rice was fragrant, but on the chewy side.
Overall, this was not bad, definitely not overly "Ameri-Thai" and in terms of flavor and all that basil in line with Thai Test Kitchen in my mind.
A couple of weeks later I returned. This time, I went and placed my order then went to the Cuisinery to shop before returning. But that's not before I saw something interesting. If you look closely at the photo below. You'll see the microwave below what looks like a portable griddle. Well, I noticed as I walked toward the entry to the building that a large plastic bag of rice was bein put in the microwave. That explains the texture of the rice.
Anyway, this time I went with the Thai Omelet over Rice ($13.50). For some reason I was just craving some Kai Jeow!
This really looked lovely when I unpacked it at home.
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!
The rice though, as you can see was dry and chewy.
Overall, not bad. In spite of the rice, I enjoyed the omelet enough that it managed to push the dish over mediocrity.
I'll probably be back. As for a comparison to Thai Test Kitchen; I think the overall quality at TTK might be better, though the prices and portion at Thaipan seems better. 
As for the location; well, wouldn't having a food hall in the Pyramid be a great idea? Not sure if it would make it; but I believe there are so many businesses in the area, along with MCAS Miramar that perhaps it would succeed?
I do need to make it down to the Market on 8th one of these days. I tried twice, but the parking situation was terrible.
As for Thaipan; well Sandy, you see, there's an actual restaurant in the Pyramid now!
Thaipan Kitchen
7310 Miramar Rd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1030am – 330pm
Closed Sat/Sun
From the funky, savory salted crab, to the deeply fermented savory tones, to the pretty hot chilies, this was very spicy and refreshing. Even better than versions we've had here in San Diego! To make things even more fun, this was served with pork rinds!
This was much better than what we'd had here during our previous visit. Though still a bit short in the sour sausage department, the rice had a good ratio of crisp to regular rice. Each bite had a nice variation of textures. We could even make out a hint of coconut, though it was still quite mild in terms of spice.
I appreciated the way things were packed though I told the woman I'd be eating this close by. There were containers of spicy vinegar and a decent chili oil (which I used) included in my package.
Which led to an interesting concoction. The duck was breast, quite lean, a bit more chewy then I enjoy, with a touch of five spice seasoning, not bad at all. The fried shallots added a nice savory and crunchy texture. The broccoli really gave off "Panda Express" vibes but at least I got some veggies.
No, your eyes aren't fooling you. That's a fairly small portion. The egg was crisp at the edges just like I enjoy it, but a bit over cooked for my taste as the yolks was hard.
I really appreciate having a place like this fairly close by. It's definitely not "Ameri-Thai", though I do think the proportion of rice to dish is a bit skewed on the starch side and the prices fairly high for the portion size.
When all the planets align this is a good dish….of course no one wants to only have a dish be good once every 30 years, right? This was actually better than 
My order was waiting when I returned. Overall, for eleven bucks this wasn't bad at all. The rice wasn't of the best quality, but was cooked decently. There was a standard green salad which was on the verge of heading south.
This was not bad at all. A humble dish, decently flavored, and nicely priced for this day and age. Nice folks working here too! There was a steady flow of folks eating in and picking up takeout. I'm happy that business, at least to me seems to be doing well.
I ordered this at a heat level 4 (on the scale of 1-5) and it was adequately spicy. Though I'd return with friends a week later and we ordered heat level 5 and it wasn't as spicy as this. Of course you can instantly see this is missing the salted crab and the tomatoes are just wedges that haven't been poroperly "briused" in the "kruk". This was slightly funky, not a savory as we enjoy and the liquid was kind of watery.
