Just a couple of takeout revisits for a busy Monday.
Chaba Thai:
I thought we needed a break from our revisits to Sovereign. Been doing a lot of takeout from there and really aren't taking photos any longer. I was busy and wanted something on the way home from the office, with ample parking, and less seedy surroundings. I thought doing the usual takeout items from Chaba Thai might work out.
I ordered the same items as usual and went for shopping at 99 Ranch Market before returning to get my takeout. All was ready when I returned in 20 minutes and I headed home.
The Krapow Gai, the Missus's favorite dish from Chaba had a lot of minced chicken, in need of as bit more spice and was on the dry side. There was quite a bit of pidan hidden under all that chicken which made the Missus happy. The produce didn't seem a fresh as usual though.
Of course I got the Khao Kluk Kapi with Honey Pork.
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 what I had on my last visit. The pork was nicely marinated and cooked, the meat moist and tender. The rice could have used a bit more shrimp paste, but was passable. I do enjoy the lime, onion, and some of the apple with this dish as it adds different dimensions of pungent, acidity, and tannic-sweetness to the bites of pork. This time the scrambled egg was placed on the side and the Missus poached that before I had a shot at it. In terms of portion size; I noticed that there was less pork than on previous visits.
I do wish there were more options with regard to decent Thai cuisine in the area.
Chaba Thai Kitchen
8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Ngon Ngon To Go:
Man, has Ngon Ngon been open for over a year already? I had done a couple of revisits for takeout, just getting the Bo Luc Lac. But on a recent visit, I decided to get something different.
And just decided to get the Com Thit Nuong, the pork chop with rice, which was the cheapest item on the menu at $11. I placed my order and went to get some pastries for the crew in the office.
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.
The pork chop was not bad; a bit on the more salty than sweet side, but quite flavorful overall. The texture, as anticipated, it was on the chewier side, but not dry. There were two pieces one laying on top of the other.
The Nuoc Mam Cham wasn't quite as sweet as what I'd had here before which I enjoyed and really livened up the pork.
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.
Ngon Ngon To Go
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
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.
This was a shade better than the larb, at least it had a bit more heat to it. The gailan was crisp and nicely stir fried. The pork belly suffered the same fate as the previous dish; it was hard. We were left wondering what was going on with the usually crisp and tasty pork belly.
Well, the first thing the Missus said when I opened this was "where's the fried egg"? We had ordered and paid for the "fried egg option" but they forgot to put it in this dish. Bummer. And I wasn't about to drive all the way back to 30th street for a $1.75 egg. This dish needed more basil and the overall texture was on the greasy side. At least the chicken wasn't hard and dry as we'd experienced before.
The eggs were decently cooked, much better than the over-cooked boiled eggs I'd had last time. The sauce was nicely flavored, not overly sweet, good anise-soy sauce tones.
much fat for my taste, it wasn't bad at all. At least I didn't go hungry. Overall, it was better than what I'd had the last time, the price wasn't too bad, and I'll take that.
The interior had undergone changes.
The menu is pretty extensive and has many âauthenticâ choices- not âdumbed downâ. 
There is a Lunch Special menu available Tues-Friday. Specials include 'vegetarian soup' -yes, miso- as well as 'salad', vegetarian egg roll and fried wonton.
On this day, yellow curry with chicken ($11.95) was The Mister's choice. The curries here are very good- there are eight types. Yellow curry is made with potatoes, carrot and onion and coconut milk. A filling, flavorful meal. 
During the pandemic, I would order 'to go' from the appetizer menu. #13, "Crispy Rice Salad" (Nam Kat Tod) has become a favorite. The spicy lime sauce compliments the red and green onion, dry chili flakes, fresh ginger, mint, cilantro and cashews.
All of that is mixed with sour fermented pork (and thinly sliced cartilage) mixed with the crispy rice and toasted rice flour. Very satisfying, especially during our heat wave.
Here is the sushi bar, in its new location. The menu is only sushi; no other Japanese choices. 
Yikes. Well, the chicken was nice and moist, but the skin lacked color, was really rubbery, and worst of all the whole thing lacked flavor. I mean it really lacked flavor. Like I've said before, I really can't call this Kai Yaang. Strange thing is, I've made recipes from Su-Mei Yu's cookbook and things have turned out well. In fact, there's a "Gai Yang" recipe in 
I'm used to toothsome beef in yum neua, but this was particularly tough. It also hadn't spend enough time in the sauce. Yes, this was spicy; but where were all the other flavors that make a good beef salad……lemongrass, shallot, enough fish sauce? Maybe I should have gone with the duck larb or nahm tok, but my strategy on this day was to start with the basics.
Man, my tolerance is getting low in my old age. Like the beef salad, we felt this was off in terms of flavor. It lacked the funky fermented tones of a good Lao Papaya Salad. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what we recalled was made by the Sab E Lee of our memory.
Except I'm wondering what the deal is with the Sriracha? No way I'd add that to the sausage; it would ruin the flavor. This was solid and we enjoyed it. It had always been a favorite in the "old days" and even though this version 