Green Champa Garden

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Finally, Laotian food can be found outside of Oakland.  Green Champa Garden, no relation to Champa Garden (see post HERE), lends a much needed variety of Asian food to the Fremont area.  With a ton of Chinese and Indian restaurants in the Fremont area, I can definitely see this being a popular spot down the line.

Nam kao (rice ball salad) is probably one of the more favorite and popular dishes of all Laotian cuisine.  Its crispy texture of the rice along with the spicy and citrus flavors make this dish a unique winning combination for most people.  I do prefer Champa Gardens and Vietiene's version of nam kao over Green Champa Garden, but if you've never had anything to compare to it, then this version can be quite good.

One of the greatest things of Southeast Asian cuisine is their knack of creating well balanced combinations of spicy, citrus, and sweetness without any one flavor overpower the next.  Larb is another one of my favorite Lao dishes.  This one seemed to be missing some oomph and could have used a lot more spiciness.  Not to mention the beef doesn't come out raw, but actually its ground beef.  However, upon request they did bring out some housemade Thai chili sauce, nam prik pao, which I love and poured over everything. 

I could have been happy with just larb, papaya salad, and nam kao, but I figured I should have a go at a noodle or a curry dish.  Noodles won out today.  The drunken noodles was probably the weakest of all the dishes.  The noodles stuck together in a clumpy mess and the flavor of the dish didn't stand out compared to the rest of the meal.   

I can't decide which I love more - nuoc mam (fish sauce) or nam prik pao (Thai chili sauce).  If you ask, they will bring out their housemade nam prik pao, which I highly recommend.  This makes everything delish and helps to up the spicy level to my liking.

While I rarely order desserts at Asian restaurants, I have to say that the roti with ice cream was probably the best dish of the meal.  Fluffy, buttery roti topped with vanilla ice cream that melted in a sweet sauce.  So delicious.  I'd come back just for this.

Address:                Green Champa Garden
                               42318 Fremont Blvd
                               Fremont, CA
 

Type:                      Laotian

Popular chomps:    nam kao
                                roti with ice cream

Chomp worthy:      roti with ice cream       

Lotus of Siam

Pin It Now! Lotus of Siam has always been on my to eat list in Vegas, but its off strip location made it a challenge to get to.  Its numerous accolades stretches from Top Chef to a James Beard award.  First thing to notice about this restaurant is in a dark, slightly off putting strip mall location.  The bums here swarm the parking lot looking for loose change, but aftermaneuvering around them (I do live in San Francisco, after all), I finally got to set foot inside.  Another observation about this restaurant is most of the customers are non Asian, which made me question its authenticity, but after eating here I'm convinced Chef Saipin Chutima's Nothern style Thai cuisine is possibly some of the best to be had outside of Thailand.

Thai ice tea is always a good starter, but this Thai restaurant actually has a small wine cellar in the middle of the restaurant.

I've never had the Thai version of nam kao tod, only the Lao version of this crispy rice salad at Champa Garden (see post HERE) and Vientiene in Oakland, which is absolutely fantastic.  Nam kao tod is one of the many specialties of this restaurant.  There are a couple differences between the Thai version and the Lao version.  One is that its just eating as so and not wrapped up using lettuce and mint leaves like in the Lao version.  Also, this rice ball salad had intense flavors.  Sharp lime flavors along with fish sauce and cilantro keeps your mouth guessing what flavor will pop next.  The rice is also much more crispy and crunchy.  Hard to say which version I like more, but as with Tinglish (Thai English) its just "same same, but different".  

Koi soi is another popular dish here.  Its minced raw beef mixed with fresh herbs, chilis, and lime juice.  One of the pleasantly surprising things about this restaurant is they don't hold back on the heat.  A medium or a "5" provides quite the kick.  So a 10 is most likely legitimately "Thai spicy".  Not knowing how to gauge how truly spicy they would make the dish, I opted for a medium, but next time I'll be sure to go back for an "8".

I never really had a favorite Thai dish (besides som tom).  I really just liked them all until I went to Chiang Mai last year where I fell in love with khao soi.  This Thai noodle soup is actually of Burmese origin.  Its most well known and loved in the Northern Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai, where its known as a regional specialty.  The curry is somewhat like yellow curry with a coconut base and hints of ground chili.  A small handful of egg noodles and crispy, fried noodles completes this dish and makes it absolutely like heaven in a bowl.  Its really hard to find this dish in the Bay Area (or done well at least) so I found it special to indulge in such a well made bowl.

Pickled cabbage and shallots are a must add to the khao soy.  The crunchy, salty, and pickled bits add a nice contrast to the sweet, creamy soup.

Address:                   Lotus of Siam
                                  953 E. Sahara Ave.
                                  Las Vegas, NV
 

Type:                         Thai

Popular chomps:       crispy duck
                                   papaya salad
                                   drunken noodles
                                   khao soi
                                   nam kao tod
                                   moo dad dew

                                   sea bass
                                   larb
                                   sai oui                            

Chomp worthy:          khao soi
                                   nam kao tod                                                                        

Zen Yai Thai Restaurant

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Zen Yai Thai isn't on the prettiest or safest block in town, but it does serve up some pretty excellent Thai food.  It's probably one of the few Thai restaurants I've seen in the city where over half the patrons are Thai.  Most of the menu serves up pretty standard dishes, but the good stuff, as most serious eaters know, is list on the board.  This one is extra special because it's only written in Thai!  It lists out 3 soups: tom yum, boat noodles, and zen yai.  A small bowl of each costs around $3 and are the perfect size to taste all 3 soups.

This is the first time I've eaten yen tafo (aka pink seafood noodles) or even seen it on a menu.  The color of this soup reminds me of sweet and sour sauce, but the taste is far from.  Thai dishes always seem to balance out the sweet, spicy, sour, and salty.  This soup is a good example of that.  It's a dabble of all four tastes along with fish balls, pork, flat white noodles, and a Chinese fungus, that I've only seen in Chinese desserts.

Tom yum here is different than other tom yum soups I've had.  The tom yum broth is clear and fresh tasting.  No oily, heavy taste here.  Each spoonful is light, fragrant, and soothing.  With a choice of noodles, the white wide noodles are the most popular and obvious choice to compliment these Thai soups.  The bowl is topped with slices of pork, bean sprouts, fried garlic, ground pork, and cilantro.

The small boat noodles costs $2.50 a bowl and gives you just enough taste to realize how amazing it is.  A choice of pork or beef ( this one is pork), this murky, rusty blood color soup is so much better than the one I had in LA (see post HERE).  So much depth and flavor in one bowl.  Best bowl of noodles I've eaten this year for me so far.

People rave about the pumpkin curry here, but I didn't find it particularly special.  Also, I asked for it spicy, which prompted the server to look at me and laugh.  It didn't come out spicy at all.  There is more chicken and shrimp than pumpkin (2 pieces!), which wouldn't be bad if I hadn't ordered and expected a pumpkin curry.

       

Address:                  Zen Yai Thai Restaurant
                                 771 Ellis St.
                                 San Francisco, CA 
 

Type:                        Thai

Popular chomps:      boat noodles
                                  pumpkin curry
                                  tom yum
                                  yen tafo
 

Chomp worthy:         boat noodles
                                  tom yum
                                  yen tafo

Bhan Kanom Thai

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Thai snacks and desserts are made fresh at Bhan Kanom Thai.  Plus they are open till midnight!  Unfortunately, the Bay Area doesn't have anything close to this unless you count Sundays at the Thai Temples (see post HERE). 

I love all things coconut and Thai snacks do not disappoint with the coconut flavoring.  The kanom krok are tiny glutenous mini spheres with a coconut pudding center.  My favorite dessert of my sweet treat haul.

Pan chi aka taro cakes.  These purple tinged mini cakes are made specially for coconut lovers.  Made with shredded coconut, taro, and flecks of yellow corn, this sweet, chewy snack is griddle to create a thin crust, almost like mini latkes.

Kanom bueang look like mini tacos.  They have a sweet flavor and a salty flavor.  The sweet flavor has a persimmon center and the salty has a shrimp flavor.  To me, it looks better than it tastes, but for a couple dollars its worth a taste.

   

Address:                  Bhan Kanom Thai
                                 5271 Hollywood Blvd.
                                 Los Angeles, CA

Type:                       Thai/bakery

Popular chomps:     kanom krok
                                 pang chi
                                 kanom buang (crispy pancake)
                                 mango with sticky rice 

Chomp worthy:        kanom krok      

The Original HoyKa Hollywood

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With my trip to Thailand last November still lingering in my mind, I was feening some good Thai food.  All my trips to LA and I've never explored Thai Town, which consumes a massive number of blocks in Hollywood.  My original Thai restaurant choice of the night closed their doors on me 30 minutes before closing time so thank goodness The Original HoyKa Hollywood was close by.
One thing that is lacking in Bay Area Thai food is the SPICYNESS!  I'd heard from multiple sources that Thai food in LA does not mess around.  Challenge accepted!

The metal tin box that holds all the utensils reminded me of Thailand.

Just in case of things were too spicy, I armed myself with Thai Ice Tea to soothe any extra spiciness.  I rarely get Thai Ice Tea, but this one was sweet without being too sweet.  Delicious.

Crispy pork with Chinese broccoli over rice.  I added an egg, which ended up not being runny enough for my taste.  The pork was flavorful, but some pieces were a bit too tough.  I've had better.

All the dishes I ordered were medium spicy, but the spice level was a good "hot".  Spicy enough to sting your mouth, but I could still enjoy the flavors of the food.  Although I didn't use any tissues to blow my nose so maybe I venture another spicy level up next time.  Still a lot spicier than most places that I order "Thai spicy".

A lot of people seem to really like the namesake soup here - the HoyKa noodle soup.  A choice of either chicken or pork, (in this case it was chicken), sliced chicken, and fishballs.  The broth was lighter and delicate with a surprisingly, sweet flavor.

I missed out on eating boat noodles in Thailand, but I've been seeking it out lately.  The one thing that distinguishes it from any other Thai soup is the blood.  The murky, almost irony color, in the broth is made from blood.  A little funky, but definitely delicious.  You don't really taste the blood, but you do notice that the soup has a slightly heavier when you are slurping it.  Mixed with pork slices, fish balls, bean sprouts, and thin noodles, this soup is slurpworthy.  

Not only is the spice level pretty legit here, but the price is ridiculously cheap.  A small bowl of soup is only $3.50.

  

Address:                 The Original HoyKa Hollywood
                                5401 Hollywood Blvd
                                Los Angeles, CA
 

Type:                       Thai

Popular chomps:     HoyKa noodle soup
                                 boat noodles
                                 crispy pork ka prao with fried egg over rice

Chomp worthy:        boat noodles
                                 HoyKa noodle soup
                                 crispy pork ka prao with fried egg over rice      

Hawker Fare

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I've been wanting to eat at Hawker Fare for a while now, but its not open for lunch on the weekends yet.  Finally, an opportunity that I was in the area for dinner arose.  Being in the city, I almost forget how great it can be to score free parking close by without the stress.

Hawker Fare was opened by a prior Commis (which I love) chef with a casual twist on Thai fusion.

The green beans were very reminiscent of the Chinese long bean dish that I am quite familiar with.  The green beans are stir fried with caramelized ginger, dried shrimp, and thick chunks of bacon.  Usually I'm not a bacon fan, but the fatty thick cuts of bacon really worked with this dish.  The green beans were a little thicker than what I'm used to and I think I prefer the thinner ones in the Chinese version, but still good.  The dish did get a little salty for my taste, but it made their specially made rice lager "Supafly" that much more refreshing to drink.

The roasted peanuts were tossed with green onions and fried anchovies.  The bits of anchovies and peanuts were like crunch on crunch.  It was a nice touch.  This dish would be a popular bar food.  Another salty dish that made me glad I ordered a beer.

Issan sausage is a popular Thai sausage found in the Northern region of Thailand.  The thick bricks of sausage are laid on top a fluffy bed of rice and topped with a fried runny egg.  The egg is an optional add item, but its a must order for me when I see it.  The perfectly fried runny egg was probably the highlight of this dish.  The sausage was well seasoned with hints of garlic.  It was tender and juicy, but not a wow factor for me.  Hearty and satisfying, but not sure if I would be dreaming about it in the future.

 

The kao mun gai is one of the more popular dishes here.  The chicken is perfectly poached and ultra tender and juicy.  The taste is very delicate and mild, similar to the Chinese poached chicken that is often served with a green onion and ginger dipping sauce. I'm not sure if its because I rarely cook rice in my own house, but the rice here is flavorful with a slightly sticky texture and I couldn't stop eating it.  The chicken is served with a salted mung bean sauce, which is pretty salty.  I preferred to eat it with the hot sauce instead.

Hawker Fare serves up a clever twist on affagato using Stauss (LOVE!) soft serve ice cream and drizzled with a shot of Thai coffee.  The coffee is mild so I think it would be an ok dessert for coffee haters.

For some reason things served up in a mason jar make things that much more delightful for me.  The coconut rice pudding is topped with a layer of roasted banana jam and spiced sesame crumble.  It was a nice mixture of texture from the crumble and the smooth coconut pudding.  It was similar to the Chinese coconut tapioca pudding served at the end of Chinese meals, but I would have liked it to have more coconut flavor.

  

Address:                Hawker Fare
                               2300 Webster St.
                               Oakland, CA 
 

Type:                      Asian Fusion/Vietnamese/Korean/Thai

Popular chomps:    kao mun gai
                               pork belly
                               green beans
                               issan sausage

Chomp worthy:      nothing         

Champa Garden

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East Oakland is one of the areas in the Bay Area you can get good Lao food.  Champa Garden and Vientian Cafe (see post HERE) are probably two of the more popular Lao restaurants.  Champa Garden is even Michelin recommended.  Lao food is one of the foods that can make my mouth water just at the sound of it.  The multiple flavor combinations of spicy, sour, sweet, and tangy from South East Asian foods is unlike any other cuisine.  

Beerlao is one of the more popular beers in Laos and you can get it by the case at Champa Garden.  Its made with jasmine rice, hops, and yeast.

I recommend getting the sampler here because it has a couple of the popular dishes so you can get a taste without committing to the full dish.  From left: fried spring rolls, rice noodles, saigock (Lao sausage), and nam kaow(fried rice ball salad).  Everything in this sample is amazing.  The fried spring roll is lightly deep fried and with the sweet and sour sauce makes for a delicious bite.  The Lao sausage is juicy and flavorful.  The best thing on this sample is the nam kaow.  The nam kao is made up of crispy fried rice, preserved pork, green onions, peanuts, and lime juice.  Each bite has a little crisp from the rice, a crunch from the peanuts, and a little sourness from the lime juice.     

A plate of lettuce and fresh sprigs of mint are used to wrap the the nam kaow in.  The lettuce and mint leaves give each bite a fresh taste.

 The Lao style beef larp (larb) is made with minced beef, mint, onions, cilantro, and lime juice.  Although I asked for very spicy, which according to Lao standards should be a 15 on a scale of 1 to 10, it was probably somewhere around a 3.  Somewhat disappointing and I have to give points to Vientian Cafe for legit spiciness and sour flavors. 

Angel wings are stuffed chicken wings filled with minced pork, clear thin noodles, and mushrooms and then battered and fried.  I've had angel wings a couple times before this and the angel wings here are one of the better ones I've had.  The meat is tender and flavorful with a light batter for a little crunchy texture.  The sauce has a sweet and tangy taste that gives the dish complex flavors. 

Each of the three wings are cut in half.  You can see the minced meats and noodles surrounded by a thin layer of chicken meat.

Address:                 Champa Garden
                                2102 8th Ave.
                                Oakland, CA
 

Type:                       Laotian/Thai

Popular chomps:     angel wings
                                 nam kaow (rice ball salad)
                                 papaya salad (Lao style)
                                 beef larb (Lao style)
                                 Champa sampler
                                 Kaow soy (Lue's Noodle Soup)
                                 Lao sausage
                                 pair of quails

Chomp worthy:        angel wings
                                 nam kaow (rice ball salad)
                                 Champa sampler
                                  beef larb (Lao style)
                                  Lao sausage                       

Buddhanusorn Thai Temple

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Food at Buddhanusorn Thai Temple goes down every sunday starting around 10 until 2p.  Its best to get here around before 10:30 because parking can fill out fast and you don't want to have to park down the street.  The profits from the food go towards the temple.  Buddhanusom is one of three Thai temples in the Bay Area.  Its also the most lavish of the three.

Both the Fremont location and Berkeley location are probably my favorite spots to eat Thai food in the Bay Area, especially on a nice day.  It's best to come hungry with a group of people because there are so many delicious dishes to eat.

The grounds of the temple are filled with tents of different food sections and tables to sit and enjoy your food.  The first thing you must do is exchange your cash for tokens, which you use to buy your food.  One token is one dollar (cash only!).  Also, if you are coming for pad thai and som tum (papaya salad) I suggest making sure you hit up those two lines first because the wait can be long.

5 spice noodle soup with fish balls.  I always fill up on pad thai and somtum when I come to the Thai temple and never had a chance to try the soup.  The noodles of this soup are really thin so they soak up the flavors of the soup quite well.  Even with the pile of jalapenos in the soup, its not spicy at all.

Som tum is my favorite Thai dish to eat.  It's hard to find really well made authentic som tum.   Thai temple offers it Thai style (with shrimp) and also with anchoves.  I prefer the Thai style.  The som tum here is made to order.  Literally the Thai ladies pound the ingrediants with the green papaya in front of you.  Also, you can make it as spicy as you like (they give you a taste test before they give it to you).  The som tum is crispy and spicy.  The best papaya salad I've had in the Bay Area except for homemade.  

Another popular must eat at Thai Temple is the pad thai.  Also made to order, you have to rush to the counter and put your name down since the wait can take up to 45 minutes.  You need to keep on checking with the lady at the counter to see if your order is made because they don't call out any names or numbers.  Once you get it, the pad thai comes piping hot and the noodles are fluffy.  

There is some seriously legit Thai food here.  If you happen to be one of the rare ones that don't like pad thai or papaya salad, they sell curries and other rice dishes here.

Address:                         Buddhanusorn Thai Temple

                                               36054 Niles Blvd

                                               Fremont, CA

Type:                                 Thai/casual

Popular chomps:    bbq pork with sticky rice
                                                mango with sticky rice
                                                pad thai
                                                som tum (papaya salad)  

Chomp worthy:        pad thai
                                               som tum (papaya salad)

Sai Jai Thai

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Pad thai.  Not particularly tasty, but its one of my main staples I order when trying out a new Thai place.  The search continues for a good pad thai in SF...

Pad Kee Mao with pork.  A stir fried flat rice noodles with cabbage, broccoli, carrots, onions, basil, and bell peppers served in a spicy sauce.  I ordered this "Thai Spicy" and this came out pretty mild.  Maybe a 5/10 spiciness. Extremely oily and bland.

Kad pad kor moo yang (pork shoulder over fried rice)  - #58 on 2011 7x7 100 Things to eat in SF

Kao pad kor moo yang.  Probably Sai Jai's best known dish - pork shoulder with spicy sauce over fried rice.  The fried rice was pretty good, but the pork shoulder was even better.  Each piece was marbled with fat so you get a nice taste and texture in each bite.  The spicy sauce isn't spicy at all - more tangy than spicy.  You can get the pork shoulder over a salad or just order it as a meat ala carte dish, which I think I will get next time I eat here.

   

Address:                     Sai Jai Thai
                                    771 O'Farrell St.
                                    San Francisco, CA 
 

Type:                          Thai

Popular chomps:         Kao pad kor moo yang (Pork shoulder fried rice)

Chomp worthy:           Pork shoulder

Random facts:             Pork shoulder over fried rice is #58 on 2011 7x7 Things to eat in SF

Lers Ros Thai

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Pad Thai with shrimp

Not the best pad Thai I've ever had but not the worst.  The shrimp was plump and juicy, but the noodles were a little clumpy.

Papaya salad with shrimp

Usually this is one of my favorite Thai dishes.  It lacked the spiciness that I'm used to. 

Duck Larb

7x7 The Big Eat 2011 - #45 

Lightly spiced chunks of duck with crunchy bits of skin.  Slightly spicy and sweet, I struggled to find each piece of duck that hid in the leafy greens.  I wished it was spicier and there were more pieces of duck.

Verdict:            A decent Thai spot with probably the largest menu I've ever seen.  I ate all three dishes without
                             needing a sip of water.  Not a good sign of Thai food.  I'll probably be back just to check out some other items, but nothing was a solid repeat order for me.

Address:                Lers Ros Thai
                                    730 Larkin St.

                                    San Francisco, CA 94109

Type:                     Thai,
                                    casual

Chomp worthy:     duck larb

Random facts:

• late night dining option (closes at midnight)