Eva M.
Yelp
I really want to like them more. But it truly was a 2-ish Stars experience. I still hold out hope that it can be better because I didn't eat the food immediately which may have contributed to the "decline". I'm also optimistic other food choices may yield better results.
The Food:
Tom Khem $14.95 - 0 Star
- Menu description: A traditional lao dish of caramelized pork belly and boiled egg in sweet broth served with steam rice.
We have had a "Thom Khem" from Taurus Ox, which was fantastic! When I saw the same name but identified as "in a broth", I still didn't hesitate. The menu photo looked somewhat caramelized, thickened, or stew-like. I told myself it should be good. What we got was pure broth. There is no caramelization whatsoever. It was fatty pork belly skin, which is *not* that good when it's not crunchy - just kind of gross. Hubby counted two pieces of edible meat, two eggs, and lots of fatty skin and fat that didn't taste caramelized. Compare my photo with the menu photo; it looks nothing like each other. This was a HUGE disappointment.
Nam Khao Tod $11.95 - 1.5 Stars
- Menu description: Crispy fried pork and rice salad loaded with flavor - with chopped peanuts, sliced scallions, shallots, mint, cilantro, lime juice, fish sauce, and more
This dish did not travel well; I'm willing to give it some benefit of the doubt. The "crispy" fried pork was no longer crispy. The peanuts weren't chopped and also not crispy. The chili peppers were whole, dry pieces on top. Were we supposed to chew on that?!? That's a solid not-gonna-do-that. I threw them away. The dish smelled pretty good, but it was just ok.
Seafood Bowl $14.75 - 4 Stars
- Menu description: Semi-spicy, Sour Tom Yum Broth, Scallop, Shrimp, Calamari, Crab Stick, Salmon, Fishball, Firm Tofu, Napa Cabbage, Enoki Mushroom, Bok choy, Watercress, Green Onion.
Other than it's only mildly-spicy and not that obvious of "sour Tom Yum", this dish is a pescatarian heaven. I *love* seafood, tofu, and veggies. This dish is packed with all these goodness. Content-wise, it was excellent. Flavor-wise, it could be more potent.
We ordered in person. The food was quoted as 20 minutes, but wasn't available till 30 minutes. Not a deal breaker.