Thai House

10/25/07

You Have To Be Kidding Me...

by killerofsheep at Citysearch

First thing I thought: ?Wow! This is really a hole in the wall! The food must be great!? There goes another myth.

The decor is as bland as the food. It seemed like a 70s-era, dental office waiting room. Faux-wood paneling. I guess the experience was a little better than a root canal.

This has to be the worst Thai food I've ever had...and I lived in Buffalo NY for a couple of years. I know how bad Thai restaurants can get.

So you know what my frame of reference is, I frequent places like Noodle Thai Town and Sanamluang (NoHo). Obviously not the best in the world, but the food at Sanamluang (NoHo) is consistently well prepared and the decor is lively in a fun, nonsensical way.

Yes, I will try anything. I love Thai food. I'm not one of these Pad Thai, fried rice people. I can make my own fried rice at home. Who cares?

The Thai House menu didn?t have any of the more interesting dishes I like to get such as YenTaFo or bamboo shoot salad. They didn?t even make green papaya salad. Kind of a common dish. It was just a lot of chicken/pork/beef rice bombs. Generic pseudo-Asian cuisine. A few curry dishes. Extremely Americanized.

So I order one of my favorite dishes: coconut chicken soup (I requested it very spicy - and I don't kid around about this part).

It comes out and definitely does not look right. The soup had a weird, dark pink color and a bland, cafeteria flavor. Even the most basic Thai ingredients were not to be found. No lime leaves, Thai ginger, or lemongrass. No spice, either. Maybe one chili chopped in half. Whoa, don?t hurt me there. It was as if Campbell's Soup had a new Thai food line. I was horrified to find canned mushrooms floating around in the stale liquid.

Not sure what I expected from this place, but it supposedly had a few good reviews. Obviously from people who have had no experience with authentic Thai food.

• Pros: It had walls and a ceiling.
• Cons: It wasn't actually Thai food.

10/18/07

Do not recommend.

by firespurt at Citysearch

We were craving Thai and decided to try something close to home rather than our usual places Sanamluang in North Hollywood (Hollywood restaurant a different owner), Ruen Par in Thai Town or Mae Ploy on Sunset. It was a Thursday night and the place was empty. I should have took it as a sign. We ordered Pad Thai, Angel Wings and Tom Kha Khai. Every other place on the planet where we've had Pad Thai, the noodles, sprouts and peanuts are separate and served with lime wedges. Here everything was swirled in a bowl and presented as a dark brown mess. The Tom Kha had little flavor and was greasy. The Angel Wings took the prize though as my wife and I bit into the spoiled chicken wings simultaneously. We looked at each other and both expelled our food. We sent it back and declined to order more. I would sum it up by saying the food is not traditionally prepared nor fresh. A Thai friend that lives nearby warned me after the fact, but I hope you take heed.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Not fresh

09/21/07

Best Thai in Cali

by kmac33 at Citysearch

Their food was better than any thai restaurant I have ever had. It is very easy to miss because it is in the middle of several businesses. Look for the yellow sign and you will find some excellent Thai food. The inside is small and only seats around 25 people in all, but there is always room. The owners leave you alone mostly. They take your order and only come back to fill drinks. It is also available to-go and very inexpensive with great portions. About $10. Parking may be down the street a little ways, I'm not sure I walked from my house.

• Pros: great food, parking may be down the street?
• Cons: none