Jen S.
Yelp
This place ALWAYS has a line out the door when I've driven past, so it's been on my wish list for a long time. Was finally on that side of town at dinner time so my hubby was game to give it a try (even though there were some recent not-so-good reviews, cuz most of the yelp reviews are glowing). Kinda early at 5:30pm, so no wait, seated right away. Pon looked like she was in charge and merrily greeted us and was super attentive and helpful. Decor inside was bright and cheerful, with real flowers on table, clean, not fancy. We started with FRESH spring rolls (not fried) which were beautiful, ample serving, notes of coriander and mint, delicious peanut sauce served alongside. We opted for Thai ice tea to drink (yummy & cooling to the tastebuds), helpful for the medium spice level dishes we ordered. Medium was the right choice for us --spicy but still able to differentiate the other spices and flavors. We ordered a lot & are planning for leftover night at home.
Next up was Tom yum soup which was wonderfully complex and bright, lots of veggies in it. Whole mushrooms floating in there, even. Plenty for us to share; she even brought us two spoons. Tingly with spices. Would re-order!
Then, pad see ew with pork (except they mistakenly made it chicken). This was good but we both agreed it needed some more sweet soy sauce for a tad more sweetness. Spice level was perfect.
Then, cashew stir fry with shrimp. Lotsa veggies, all crisp and fresh, al dente. Nice charred oil flavor on cashews, but otherwise not special. Sauce was spicy, but kinda thin. Shrimp didn't get the flavors incorporated, tasted steamed versus stirfried. Definitely our least favorite, would not re-order it. We ate most of this, cuz we didn't think it would reheat well.
Lastly, we ordered panang curry with chicken and it was THE BEST we've ever had, fer sure. So bright and fresh, full of veggies, great flavors. Yum!
Then, Pon brought us out a surprise--two beautiful little chef special pieces of sushi to try! Crab stick, cucumber, eel?, with eel sauce and yum yum sauce? Very pretty plating, on a diagonally sliced leaf.
After chatting about her hometown and refilling our water, Pon clearly really wanted us to try the sweet mango rice dessert but we said no, then relented, and we're not sorry! This dessert is a MUST! Warm sticky sweet rice with tons of super fresh mango slices floating on a base of cool lime-y sauce. We felt compelled to eat it all! So comforting and just-right-light-sweetness level. Plentyyyyy for 2-3 people to share! Rice is pressed into a heart shape. Ok, we ate wayyyy too much rice tonight! Feeling very full now and are looking forward to leftover night at home....
Service was FAST! We got three entrees, a large soup, 1 appetizer, 1 dessert, and Thai iced tea for $73 (fed four people, effectively)