Thai Restaurants – Page 8

Aaharn by Koon Thai (National City)

May 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of Aaharn has closed

The weather's been warming up, so the Missus decided it was time to start hitting up Zarlitos again for Her weekend poke breakfast. While driving past National City Boulevard, I noticed this.

At street level of Bayview Towers. The thing that caught my eye was the "by Koon Thai" on the signage. Returning home, I did a bit of searching and found out this is a new "concept" by Koon Thai. Along with this National City location, there's one on Kettner near Santa Fe Depot. Shows how long it's been since I've been around those areas, huh?

Anyway, that evening, with the Missus working, I decided to drop on by….yes, back and forth to National City twice in a day! Now that's dedication, right? Actually, I was that curious about the place. Which was small, but I liked the décor.

The young lady working was so warm and friendly.

The menu can be described as Koon Thai "light"……stuff like gyoza? But there were still some ungringo dishes on the menu. I placed my order, not really thinking a couple of things thru.

I started with the Nam Tok, which I ordered spicy. The poor young lady was so concerned about my personal welfare….I assured her that I'd be able to take the heat…evening mentioning Sab e Lee. But she looked so concerned (more about this later), that I ordered it medium.

This was definitely not a "Thai sized" portion. Holy smokes, there was a decently sized steak under the herbs and veggies. On an interesting note; unlike what I've had at Koon Thai, the lime-sugar-saltiness was decent if a bit on the mild side for my taste. I've usually found the beef at Koon Thai on Convoy to be pretty tender. This on the other hand, looked great, but was cut way too thick, and was really sinewy and tough. I'd have appreciated more lemongrass flavor and roasted rice powder, but at least this wasn't too sweet. Oh and it wasn't hot at all….barely tickling my tongue.

I was happy to see a Koon Thai favorite on the menu; the Khao Karr Moo ($10). Again, I found the portion size to be quite large.

There was quite a bit more pork that what I get at Koon on Convoy. There was a nice balance of sweet-soy sauce going on. The pork was a bit drier and tougher than I prefer; except for the darker, fattier slices. There were boiled eggs, decently done for this dish which takes me back to Thailand. I wish the usual pickeld greens were used instead of the gringo broccoli and carrots.

Still, not too bad. The young lady was very nice. When I mentioned the spice level not being up to par, she apologized and told me a couple of stories about folks not quite knowing what "real" Thai food was like and the various questions, challenges, and folks basically almost dying from "mild" level heat. I get it.

I decided to return yesterday and there was this really nice young man working….same friendliness and warmth, a really nice guy. As temperatures had soared to the mid-eighties, I wasn't in the mood for any curries or soups. I saw something called "Herby Chicken" ($12) on the menu and asked if it was "Kai Yang" and he smiled and said "yes". A whole half chicken arrived.

The photo above really doesn't do the portion size justice as it is a pretty hefty half chicken. As with most American birds, the thigh and leg meat was vey nice and moist, but the large and hefty breast was really dry and didn't absorb much flavor. In terms of taste, well, this was quite mild for me. It was salty enough, but definitely needed more. I use lemongrass, garlic, and ginger in my recipe. It could have also been a touch sweeter. The skin was tough and rubbery.

Still, this wasn't bad by any means, better than many Thai restaurants in San Diego.

I also got free Thai Coffee/Thai Tea with my entrée. I'm guessing this is a grand opening perk.

I love the artwork and really enjoyed chatting with the folks working here. I was told that someone actually came in and had no idea what Thai Curry was!!! The top selling dish? Pad Thai.

I hope they do well. I might return one of these days. I was the only customer in the place during both my visits. I hope and wish them well.

Aaharn by Koon Thai
801 National City Blvd
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm
430pm – 9pm
Saturday 430pm – 9pm
Closed Sunday

There are three or four parking spaces behind the building specifically assigned to the restaurant. Though I parked along A Avenue. After driving in Italy and France, I've kind of learned to appreciate roundabouts and there's one here.

I also enjoy the historic homes in the area.

Right next to the quite 70's looking building is Morgan Square Plaza, a colorful little oasis. And on this day, it looked like some teens were having their graduation pictures taken.

They added some life to a rather desolate area on a Saturday evening.

Circling Back to Di Chan Thai Restaurant

April 18, 2018 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** It seems that Di-Chan has closed

Right before our office moved from the Kearny Mesa area, I noticed that Di Chan Thai had new signage. A bit of a more modern freshened up look. It had been 12 years since my last visit. I hadn’t been too impressed with the “Ameri-Thai” style food. But heck, a new look, a new leaf, right?

Man, look how bright it is here now!

The woman working was really friendly and quickly brought me a menu.

It was the typical “pick your style – pick your protein” menu of most Thai places.

Not really sure what to get; I went with the Garlic and Pepper Shrimp ($8.95) spice level 10…….I figured that it would be basically a five.

First up; the worst soup that I’ve had since my visit to Appethai.

Talk about bland…..

Soon enough my plate arrived.

Let’s just forget about the wonton and other stuff. Focusing on the main. The broccoli was soggy and over-cooked, the shrimp was as well…..quite rubbery. The sauce was watery, too sweet, and lacked almost any spice at all. There was garlic, not so much pepper…….not so much my taste either. It seems like the veggies and shrimp were cooked over too low heat as there was a lack of wok hay.

I’m sure folks who just want “some grub” for less than nine bucks might like this.

In the back of my mind, I thought if lunch was even half way decent, maybe I’d come back for dinner. I think I’ll pass for now.

Di Chan Thai Restaurant
5535 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Revisits – Supannee House of Thai and Pho Xpress

January 28, 2018 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of revisits for a quiet Sunday.

Supannee House of Thai:

It's been quite a while since I did my post on Supannee back in 2013. I'd been back a couple of times, though not in a year or two. Over time, it seems that Supannee has become a favorite of CC and even Cathy.

On this day, I needed to drop by Trader Joe's in Liberty Station, so I thought I'd head a bit further south and have lunch at Supannee.

Of course I needed to get the Thai Sausage which is now $11.

This sausage that is made inhouse was what brought me to Supannee in the first place all those years ago. And while it was a bit drier that I prefer, it did "hit the spot". In fact, I think they've adjusted the recipe a bit as it's even more flavorful, the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf somes shining thru, and there's more of a chili kick. Nicely grilled, this was a great start to lunch.

I wanted to try a curry and went with the Roasted Duck Red Curry ($16).

This was very nice; in spite of the decent amount of spice, I could make out the flavor of the coconut milk in this. I often stay away from Thai Curries at restaurants because it's often too sweet….and I'm really not a big fan of fruits in my curries. But let me walk that back here. In this case, other than the curry being on the "thin" side, all the flavors worked in harmony. There was a generous portion of duck in the curry as well. All flavors of the ingredients, the duck, pineapple, tomato (added a nice acid), and grapes, worked both in harmony and individually in this dish.

The service was also very nice. When I took the leftovers home, the really nice young lady gave me an order of rice (I'd finished my bowl…a rarity these days) as well. Same young lady was so gracious and helpful to the woman who told her, "no meat, no dairy, no shellfish, no gluten, low sodium, and I'm allergic to peanuts".

I gotta get back here more often.

Supanee House of Thai
2907 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
Hours:
Mon – Fri 1130am-230pm, 5pm – 9pm
Sat – Sun 12pm – 9pm

Pho Xpress:

So, since our office moved, I'm outside the free shuttle range for the folks who work on my car. So these days, I need to go Saturdays or Holidays. The first time, I took the trolley and just went "cruising". On my latest visit, I waited the three hours.

After paying and heading out, I decided to grab something to eat. It was pretty chilly out and I hadn't been back to Pho Xpress in nearly two years.

Instead of ordering the pho like I usually do; I went with the Banh Mi Bo Kho. What I got was disappointing.

This tasted like pho broth with some bo kho seasoning dumped in it. It lacked any kind of rich beef flavor, tomato, etc…..it was so bland. The carrots were still raw, the beef very tough. This was so thin that I thought I'd read the menu wrong….but no, it says right there "Beef Stew". At least the banh mi was warm and fairly crusty. But this was disappointing as a whole.

Also, since the guy who took my order insisted on correcting my pronunciation of "bo kho"…they should have actually made me a real bo kho, right?

Pho Xpress
6533 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120

EaThai Bistro (San Diego/Rolando)

December 5, 2017 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the name of the food blog you are reading. Now that you know why Kirk hasn't been posting much…He and His Missus are on a well deserved vacation…Cathy is holding down the fort and posting about another San Diego restaurant.

Maybe you remember when Kirk posted about Chinese Kitchen, the first time a two part post in 2006 and a follow up in 2009. It was the place with the literal 'hole in the wall' for ordering…had been there since the 1980's (when The Mister and I frequented the inexpensive take out establishment), which closed about five months ago.
You don't have to order at the window any more, there are 14 seats with tabletops as well as an area to wait if you order or are picking up 'to go'.
We were given complimentary Thai iced tea, since they are still in their opening phase (regular $2.50). It was not too sweet, and the tea portion had a pleasant, spiced flavor.
We also were given small cups of vegetable tom kha soup, which was very good. I might just order a bowl on one of our wintery-cool days.
The Thai sausages appetizer ($7.95) was wonderful! The coarse grind pork sausages are made here, have a skin with a snap and has the wonderful bit of sour taste. They are different than other house made Thai sausage (the ones made at Supanne House of Thai which are herb filled), yet delicious on their own, served with ginger, cabbage, cucumber and peanuts.
Thai Style papaya salad ($7.95) was fresh made (I heard shredding in the kitchen), at a level of "2", which was just enough chili pepper/heat to still be able to taste the green beans, tomatoes, garlic and dried shrimp along with the peanuts. It was really good. I am eager to try the Lao style of this salad on my next visit- made with fish sauce and the 50 cent optional addition of salted crab. The larb ($8.95, chicken) wasn't quite what we are used to- there were no crunchy (roasted rice) bits, so the texture was not as interesting; thinking it was forgotten. The lime juice, onions, cilantro and mint were all very good and fresh.

All in all, a good choice of food for this part of town.

cc has been here, too!

EaThai Bistro 6160 University (North side, just East of College Avenue) San Diego 92115 Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Closed Sunday (619)583-8888

Koon Thai Revisited

October 26, 2017 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

A couple of more lunch revisits before we moved offices.

Koon Thai:

It had been just about a year since I'd last visited. So I decided to see what was up with Koon Thai. Looking over the menu, I decided to against my better sense and didn't order the dish I enjoyed the best here, the Karr Moo. I ended up ordering the Khao Nar Ped ($11.50). By the way, prices have gone up fairly quickly here….I'm thinking about a dollar a year.

I soon regretted my decision.

The duck was so tough and rubbery; severely over-cooked. There was very little duck flavor and this was rather bland overall. I actually thought the gailan was the best part of the dish as the rice was too dry and that sauce, which had a nice zip was very one-dimensional. This has me wondering how the other dishes that I had actually enjoyed here would be these days.

Koon Thai Kitchen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Beating the Heat – Revisits to Prime Grill and Take-out from the Original Sab e Lee and Thai Papaya

October 18, 2017 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

I realize that I'm kinda late on these posts. I'm not sure who asked what we were eating during the wonderful heat waves of August; but here's a couple of meals from then.

Prime Grill:

Our instinct is to basically do take-out and hang at home or find a place with good A/C. Add a nice cold noodle dish and some decent panchan to the equation and you have Prime Grill. The Bibim Naengmyun here has replaced the version at Buga as my favorite.

The noodles are stretchy, but not like rubberbands. The sauce has some nice heat for isn't overwhelming; just a touch of vinegar and perhaps even a squirt or two of cho-jang and I'm a happy camper. The portion size is rather large, but I can finish it all when I'm hungry. And in case you need to chill out, you're provided with a bowl of iced broth as well.

The Missus has started to enjoy the Dolsot Bibim Bap here; but She has a secret.

When the stone bowl arrives; She waits….munches on some panchan, has some of my naengmyun. After 5-6 minutes, She gives it a first stir, then She takes the juices from the now empty plates of baechu kimchi and kkakdugi and mixes it in with some chojang….and waits. We get another serving of panchan and eventually She starts eating, after a nice crust has formed. It's about patience and using the kimchi juice.

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

The Original Sab e Lee:

**** TOSEL is now Zab Linda

I'd kind of avoided TOSEL after my last meal here a few months back. Items such as Catfish Larb and Salted Fish Fried Rice has been removed from the menu. But on one of those super hot Thursdays; Thai Papaya is strangely closed on Thursdays. I decided to do some take-out fro, TOSEL.

Things were a bit better this time around; though the Pad See Ew with Beef was kind of weak in the flavor department…..strangely, it lacked that hint of sweetness that balances out the soy flavor. In addition, when did they start asking how "spicy" you wanted your Pad See Ew? The noodles were dry; there was no wok hey……

The Nam Tok was decent and much better this time around as it had a nice kick.

More on the sour than salty side this time around.

The Issan Sausage is a standby.

And it delivered as usual. A peanut, sliver of ginger, wrapped in cabbage, and you have a nice sour-porky-nutty-pungent bite.

The Original Sab E Lee
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Thai Papaya:

**** Thai Papaya has closed

Though this didn't stop me from hitting up Thai Papaya the next time the mercury headed up that thermometer.

I find the dishes at Thai Papaya spicier and more soulful than TOSEL. Of course, it's "different strokes for different folks" and all that.

Thai Papaya by Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

What are your favorite "beat the heat" dishes?

Sunday Stuffs – Baguette Bros Closes, Pizza Coming to the Poseidon Project, and Giovanni’s (Balboa) is moving to Linda Vista

October 8, 2017 mmm-yoso Sandwiches, Thai Restaurants

Some items for a beautiful San Diego Sunday.

Baguette Bros Closes:

"Xiāng Jiāo" mentioned this to me the other day. I happened to be in the area so I drove by.

Though they created a bit of hype when they opened a few years back, I never really took to the place during my visits.

"XJ" told me this was going to be another location of IC Monster (Read Kirbie's post here).

4698 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pizza Coming to Poseidon:

So, this sign is up and the oven has been delivered. I've been told it's a joint venture with URBN…..not my favorite pizza, so we'll see.

Still my favorite neighborhood watering hole.

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Giovanni's (Balboa) is moving to Linda Vista:

While taking the back way after fueling up; I noticed that this location of Giovanni's had closed.

Man, I hadn't been here in like 14-15 years! Though Cathy did a post on the Clairemont Mesa over a decade ago. Looks like this location is becoming a Mystic Grill and Bakery, which coincidentally, Cathy has also done a post on.

6133 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

And so, I thought that was it for this location of Giovanni's. Until I drove past the former location of Pacific Time on Linda Vista Road. This surprised me.

So, I checked around a bit and yes, according to my sources, they are reopening here.

5277 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92110

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Ban Lao Cuisine

September 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

**** Ban Lao Cuisine has closed

Ban Lao opened up a couple of months back. Located next to Que Huong, I believe this used to be a taco shop if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, the place sure took its sweet ol' time opening up. Since their opening I've visited about 6-7 times.

The interior is bright and clean….and nicely air-conditioned; a big plus over the last couple of months.

On one of my visits, I looked up…..and noticed that they'd built a little platform for their offerings and such. Interesting.

The menu is diverse; with all the usual suspects.

So of course on my first visit I ordered the Nem Khao ($8.95) and Lao Sausage.

The Nem Khao was decent; better than the version at Mekong Cuisine in my opinion. Though it was a bit more chewy than I enjoy; I could actually make out the hints of coconut in this, there was also a good amount of sour sausage as well. Strangely, the dish was served on the cold side and there were only two leaves of lettuce provided.

The Lao Sausage ($6.95) was decent, nicely charred.

The sausage had a nice chew, though it didn't quite have enough lemongrass and herb flavors. So in this case, I think Mekong Cuisines version is better. That jaew; the dipping sauce had a nice citrus kick to it.

I really liked the folks working here, they were mellow and friendly. So, I ended up coming back quite a few more times. Here's a rundown on some other dishes.

Kha Pao Thousand Year Old Eggs ($9.95).

This really had me wistfully thinking of Yai Cuisine, as the eggs weren't fried right, the batter had turned gummy and the eggs were rubbery and still slightly cold inside. Not enough basil to really give this umph.

Sour Sausage Fried Rice ($9.95).

The rice was a bit more "wet" than I prefer, but man; there was a ton of sour sausage in this. Nice flavors, though some of the chunks of sausage were on the large side and could have been chopped a bit better and more evenly incorporated into the fried rice. Not bad though.

I'm on the fence with regards to the Crying Tiger ($9.95).

At this price point I don't expect a really good cut of beef, but this was better than I expected; a bit toothsome, but not too bad. The beef, while still lacking in a good amount of seasoning (I'm looking for sweet-savory flavors), had a nice crust. And darn if this didn't go real well with a dip in the jaew and a ball of sticky rice.

Lao Style Papaya Salad ($7.95) was cut much too thick.

Man, this was pretty heady stuff; even more pungent than the version at Thai Papaya. It was bit too rustic for my tastes and wasn't very spicy (I ordered spicy). Strangely, I find the pungent flavors from whatever they use for Padek here in the states to be mainly pungent, sometimes almost bitter and lacking in the savory nuances like what we've had in Laos. Of course at the markets in Laos, there are many different versions on Padek available; at different stages of "fermentation". There was a good amount of preserved blue crab in this as well.

The Chicken Wings ($7.95) was another dish that came close.

The wings were nicely fried; though there was a good amount of blackening around the bone, the meat was tender, the skin fairly crisp. Seasoned "salt and pepper" style. I really didn't care for the bitter fried lemongrass that topped the wings.

The Beef Jerky ($7.95) though, was good.

The Sien Savanh, though not totally dried, which might have been a good thing, was pleasantly chewy, the flavors had permeated the meat nicely. This was delicious with sticky rice…and it didn't even need the jaew.

The Stir Fried Pak Bong with Garlic (Ong Choi/Water Spinach) looked over-cooked, but it was not.

Nice and crunchy; with the perfect amount of salty-savory notes and a light hint of sweetness.

By now, I thought it was time to just go for it. I went ahead and ordered the Beef Larb ($10.95). The really friendly woman working was shocked when I said "Lao style" and nodded yes, when she asked me if I wanted it "rare".

As you can see; by "rare" she basically meant raw. There was a good amount of nutty rice powder on this, though I wish it was more spicy. What really made this "Lao" for me was that it had no citrus, but a good amount of puckery-bitterness, which goes really well with the mint and other herbs. I'd learned of the importance of beef (water buffalo) bile in koy and larb during my cooking class in Luang Prabang. Though no one else in the class would even try the stuff, I found the flavor quite interesting. Here, I could have used a touch of citrus as well; I'll have that done the next time I have the dish. As for the bitterness? Well, I had a nice discussion with the woman working and was told they pick up fresh beef bile from a specific farmer once or twice a week.

In the end I enjoyed several dishes from Ban Lao and will gladly have them again. when the weather turns cooler, I'll try some of their soups as well. While it's not quite on the level of Vientiane in Garden Grove, it'll do in a pinch.

And sometimes, because I try not to do "just one visit", things turn out well for me.

Ban Lao Cuisine
4126 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Open Daily
11am – 930pm

Midweek Meanderings – The Wait at Menya Ultra is About to Get Longer, Thai House Under New Ownership, and Is H Mart Coming to Balboa?

July 26, 2017 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Ramen, Thai Restaurants

I haven't done one of these in a while; so here goes.

The Wait at Menya Ultra is About to Get Longer:

So, for those that don't follow Eater San Diego (you probably should). Some "personality" was in town filming a new show. Among he places he hit? Menya Ultra. So, it's probably going to be on the new show….especially when you have that person Tweet that it "might be the best ramen in America". In spite of the pet peeve mine in the Tweet….calling it "tonkatsu" ramen instead of "tonkotsu"….I'll let that go as a 140 characters or less fail. The bottom line is; you'll probably have to wait a lot longer for this in the near future.

Our current strategy is to drive by and if there aren't too many people in line; stop. Otherwise always have a plan B.

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Thai House Under New Ownership:

**** Thai House has closed

I've got some great readers. Most of whom don't comment on the blog. No less than three people sent me emails telling me that Thai House was under new ownership.

And while I haven't had the chance to drop by for a meal recently; I did a quick turnaround in the parking lot. And yes, it seems there's an ownership change….just a few months after my last post on the place. I've been told that the offerings have taken a change for the good.

Thai House
4225 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Is H Mart Coming to Balboa Ave?:

So, "FOY" Sandy in a comment in this post, mentioned that H Mart was coming to Balboa Avenue in the old Sports Authority location. SJP and one other person also mentioned this to me. So I drove over and took a look. No sign of anything yet.

This sounds much like the info I got about Zion Market's new location back in 2012, so I thought I'd include it in this post. Speaking of Zion Market; I've got kinda tired of quality being lowered over time, customer service being zip, surly customers (remember the "Please Do Not Throw Fruits & Vegetables" sign), that this might be a welcomed addition. Plus, I've heard a bunch of stories about how Zion went out of their way to put Hana Mart out of business.

So, we'll see if karma strikes….

7725 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Thai Burger Company (Clairmont)

July 13, 2017 Cathy Burgers, Food Trucks/Carts, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written by three friends, interchangeably. Kirk has been working a lot of extra hours this week while Ed(from Yuma) is relaxing after his interesting vacation. Cathy is writing a short post.

The Mister and I shop at Carnival Supermarket about once a month. Back in February, I recalled seeing this storefront and signage and made a mental note to stop in…but things got busy. The few times since then, we had just had lunch and I kept that mental note tucked away somewhere…Finally, curiosity got the best of me…a pig as signage, the name of 'Thai Burger Company-Home of the Original Rice Burgers'. We had to stop. Walk in and there's the counter in front of you. You order from the limited menu (five appetizers, four burgers and a few interesting beverage choices), pay and find a seat at one of the three tables out front. It turns out that Thai Burger Company started as a Food Truck, originally near the Navy Exchange at the 32nd Street base. It still is a food truck, at various farmers markets around town.
This was our shared meal; we had just purchased beverages at Starbucks before deciding to stop here. The chicken pot stickers ($3.50) were wonderful, the filling of chicken and still crispy fresh cabbage was plentiful, fresh and very nice. The skewer of calamari balls($3.50) was quite large; if we had an order of three skewers ($10), I think that would be too much food. The balls were nice, I suppose a bit standard, and two were enough for me, especially with all the other food. (Other skewered choices are shrimp and imitation crab).
The classic BBQ pork rice burger ($7) was a great choice. The 'bun' of sticky rice was not too thick. The meat was marinated with the just the right amount of flavors and that charred grill flavor was the perfect touch. If this had been served on a plate, the amount of rice to meat was a perfect ratio. Eating this like a burger wasn't too messy; the rice held up and there was actually more meat than 'bun'.