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Wow! My friend and I happened upon this place when the Pho place across the street we were going to try out turned out to be closed.
We had never had Laos food and wanted to check it out. Since we were in the mood for Pho we decided soup and both wanted the Curry soup but they were out of it....so we had the chicken soup.
It was DELICIOUS. So flavorful. I love lemongrass. Get some steamed rice on the side and put it in the soup. This is apparently the right way to eat their soup and it was really yummy.
Try it. You'll like it.
3.25
Lots of variety, parking, quick seating, and friendly service come to mind for this place. However, for atmosphere it's kind of in the middle of no where and probably is best as a to go spot I'm thinking. Quality of food isn't too bad, but portion sizes weren't big enough to justify the price. Maybe way down the line give it one more chance...? Ordered the shrimp Pad Thai and some sort of other curry that was so so.
After reading the Yelp reviews I had to try this place.
People mentioned the portions were small. I ordered 2 things, Papaya Salad appetizer and the Beef Fried Rice. I was expecting the Papaya Salad to be an appetizer....Jesus, the salad was a meal in itself! The fried rice was a pretty good portion too. Pretty good place in general. No complaints from me.
Place is a real hole in the wall. Seriously, if I didn't read the reviews on Yelp, I probably would have never even seen this place as I've driven by it about a dozen times and newer noticed the restaurant.
My favorite restaurant. Hands down the best Lao/Thai food I've had yet. While the food alone makes it worth it, the fact that it's family owned and operated puts this place over the top. Everytime I'm there I feel like my mom is cooking for me. Top notch service. Divey, but in my experience, the best restaurants always are. Don't let the front of the building fool you. The restaurant is clean, the service is great, and the food is out of this world.
I love the food here..you can get some authentic Lao cuisine for a great price and you can byob.
We had the long bean salad, cow's inside soup (don't know name), beef larb, mok pa (fish steamed in banana leaf). Everything had great flavor and very generous portions. Great food to drink beer with. I eat my food spicy here knowing that I'll be in trouble tomorrow but it's worth it, that's how good it is.
This place is overall pretty good. I love the kapoon which is the chicken curry noodle and the Duck pate which is kinda like larb. I love it!
The papaya is o.k. I'm very picky about my papaya salad, i think they need to use more of the pa deck, the raw beef larb was good but it was too bitter for me other than that the owners are really friendly and its worth driving to Oakland for it
3.5 stars. pretty solid thai food from what i've had, and close to home.
-lao chicken noodle soup: THICK, rich (viscous for you science geeks) delicious broth, thick noodles too. tastes remarkably similar to the one at Champa Garden. side note, i am aware this is NOT thai food, i'm rating it solely on its deliciousness as a laos dish. but i can only find it at thai places here...and it does not completely taste like soup i had in laos :(
-tofu pad thai: tasty, not soaking in sauce (plus). on the small side if split between 3
-red curry chicken: curry is on the watery side but full of flavor
word to the wise (and reason for my first yelp in months):
1. door sign currently displays Visa, MC, Amex, but they do NOT take Amex
2. bring cash for tip - they will write in the tip section of your credit receipt: "cash only"
just hints for a smooth dining experience. the ladies here are super friendly!
Had a great lunch here yesterday.
#3 long bean salad ($6.50) was the best I've had.
#18 bamboo shoot steamed ($6.50) was delicious, similar to the Thai House Express / Chai Thai Noodles dish but much milder on the funky fermented aroma and flavor.
#19 steamed fish in banana leaf ($6) was delicate and delicious, thoguh I prefer the Cambodian version at Angkor Borei in SF.
#21 Lao sausage ($6) was very good, though I like the stronger flavors of Champa Garden's version.
I'd order all of those dishes again. Great value, $25 before tax and tip for a big lunch for two, and we had about half the bamboo shoot left over. If only they had beer!
It is a small and simple restaurant, about 4~5 tables there.
the owners are really friendly.
the taste of Lao style papaya salad is so special.
even though the papaya salad is not my favorite style, I can't stop eating it.
This food! and the experience of this place is something absolutely amazing.
Beer Lao is the only thing missing is from this truly Laotian joint. Came here on the way to the Fox Theatre; very close in fact. Walked in and the place was blasting Laotian music. There was a group in the back drinking beer and chatting in the local dialect. They offered me a shot of Henny. I order the larb gai (cold spicy chicken salad), sticky rice and tome kuerng nai (beef soup with beef, tendon, intestine, lung and liver.) Next time I return, I'll try the som moo (cured pork) and the GP papaya salad. I can't wait. Btw, as for leftovers, don't refrigerate the sticky rice. Place in a cool spot overnight and eat the next day. (A Japanese sushi chef gave me this trick as fridges kill rice.) It worked because I am eating good leftover sticky rice now while typing this. (Hope that doesn't invalidate my MAC warranty.)
Everyone said it!
The Laotian owners are super accommodating and friendly. As for the meals, they were good but the serving proportions for some dishes were scant. I ordered pad thai (standard), pad se ewe (not so good, gave us like 5 strands of noodles), red chicken curry (delicious), beef salad (interesting), steamed rice (gave alot), and this vegetable dish on the Thai menu side(forgot the name, also pretty scant).
The restaurant is pretty much a hole in the wall on international. There was a dark side room that looked like a Laos video rental store/karaoke room...pretty random. But other than that I can foresee myself coming back when I get the cravings.
For all you folks in the area, you can have your food delivered for free at a $20 minimum purchase.
There's minimum $15 card purchase if you want to pay by card. So bring cash with you!
Everyone else seemed to enjoy the PAPAYA SALAD.
I had the LARB SEEN and PAD THAI.
We had the larb seen made ridiculously spicy. so spicy that our korean friend was eating rice with it. it's one of those addicting spicy.
The pad thai was the sweetest i've ever had. too sweet for me. i couldn't eat it by itself so i just tossed the LARB SEEN over it and it complimented eachother.
awesome papaya salad (super spicey ! an extra star for the spiciness).
Don't get the Yum Nur. The beef in the Yum Nur was fresh but the cut was VERY bad. The flavors weren't on point and it might be because the owners are Laotian and yum nur is a Thai dish. AND I found a hair in the yum nur after I ate most of it. Dang !
Anyway, the owners are really nice.
Passed by this place many times, and finally got a chance to try it out today. Lucky I did because this place is great. It is a great little hole in the wall spot that serves up some great Laos food.
Right when I walked in the place was very warm with all the earth tone colors on the walls. Alot of murals and pictures of Laos Art and alot of things with elephants on it. Laos is home of the "million of elephants" back in the days.
The food was excellent, if your a fan of papaya salad this is the place to go check out. I had the papaya salad with alot of spice. And boy it was spicy, it made me sweat so bad it used up all the napkins in the dispenser. Tasted great, they make it Laos style which is very similar and almost identical to Khmer (Cambodian) style. I also tried the beef larb raw, which was very tasty. Added some lime juice to it and it was perfect. And the last dish was a chicken curry with noodles dish. They make some very tasty curry. If your into thai curry, you would love Laos curry.
The service was great, the girl that works there was on point. She knew what she was doing. Took our order and brought us our food very fast. She also looked real good too.
Overall great spot to try out some great Laos food.
5 Stars for Green Papaya Deli
My first time, I was back from a month in northern Thailand and this place was a great carryover. The owner sat with me and we chatted after my meal. He's always gracious, and apologetic when his countrymen get rowdy (Friday nights is Lao party night most times). Unlike most American restaurants, this is a place that I feel I could hang out all night with friends.
(Tangent: Does anyone else feel that this isn't done in the U.S.? Here you eat, you leave soon after the end of the meal, re-congregate in some bar or go home... Most other countries I've been in, it seems more natural to just keep hanging out in the restaurant.)
The food is Lao style, home style, not generic Americana-Thai style. The family that runs the place is great. The place is BYOB (don't know if that's official...) and there's a corner store right next door. Larb is good, so was the Pad See Ew, red curry... Not haute cuisine, but you feel like there's some love in the food.
Finally...I got to try this place out...
I got duck salad with sticky rice. I've never had Laotian food, so I thought the salad would have the usual lettuce, tomatoes? When the food came, there was some cilantro and a side dish of green beans and cabbage. The owner showed me the Laotian tradition of eating the rice: use your hands and roll it up into a ball.
So goood. The salad was a bit too spicy but the duck was full of flavor. I've never had duck this way before so it was a pleasant experience.
Haven't tried Laos food? This is the place to try it.
Best Lao Asian food ever
The nicest Owners and even better food at a great value, Highly Recommended!!!!
Great curry and excellent service. I got the beef curry and my girlfriend got the pad thai. She said hers tasted standard and mine had the perfect amount of spice.
One of the things I always look for in a restaurant is how quickly/often the waitstaff refills my water. The waitress refilled my water the instant I put the empty glass on the table.
I will be going back.
Dinner was very good. Everything tasted fresh and authentic. And what friendly people they are. Give this hole in the wall a chance and you'll be glad you did.
I love this place! The people who own and run it are so, so sweet you can't believe it and the food is delicious. I get the som tum lao style with peanuts ~ amazing! I usually ask them to make it for me with noodles along with the papaya, my thai sister-in-law showed me that trick and it is really good. Once I was in there and the momma who owns it was in the middle of making some soup for her family with dill and vegetables in it. She gave me a bowl to try... it was SO good.
The last time I was there ( last week) they had a much expanded menu. Five stars for this little family-run restaurant!
My favorite is the Papaya salad with rice noodles and cabbage. The chef is really good on proportions. Although he's not there anymore the lovely ladies (sisters & mom) give you more of it and add what ever extra you want without charging more. Their salads are by far the best I had as always. The ingredients are already like perfect. I wish them great success!
On my maiden journey, I can't say I had a "wow" moment here. Well, maybe one: upon walking in, my companion and I both said, "wow, what's that smell?" We settled on cleaning fluid, but with a hint of fish.
The three stars are for the unquestionably authentic experience. Order a dish from mom (I'm a big fan of moms), then watch her shuffle back and make it all, one dish at a time. And it's clear you're not getting cookie-cutter restaurant food; each dish is more like, "well, this is how we make it at our house." Generous lunch portions, subtle seasonings, noodles of just the right texture, and the sticky-rice option -- all are pleasant changes from the usual. But no "wow" yet (I promise to return), and oh yeah -- that smell just killed.
go to the liquor store next door and get your own beer, order the papaya salad, sticky rice, red curry. the owner often have family parties after hours, but if you call and they pick up the phone they will take your order. :)
great food, friendly service!! love the papaya salad! if you haven't been here before you need to go!
This new Lao-Thai restaurant offers a limited but tasty, authentic menu. It's fairly small with only 4 tables so it's pretty homey feeling. They spice everything to your liking and pound the papaya salad to order. They also offer larb with beef, chicken, duck, or pork, amongst other things. I tried the beef larb, which was pretty aggressive on the flavor, but was delicious when paired with the sticky rice and slices of cabbage. Complimentary iced tea was a Thai tea w/o the milk, which I really enjoyed.
Update 11/20/07:
I had the Sai Oaw today and thought it was excellent. I've only had this once before at Vientian Cafe and this version was far superior. It was pretty moist, very well seasoned (with a distinctive lemongrass note), and the chunks of fat in it made it very addicting.
I also ordered Papaya salad Lao style. Since I'm not used to fermented crab paste, I didn't particularly enjoy it, especially since it was pretty heavy on the stuff. I guess I have to come back and try the Thai style..
Oh Christ the food is good here. I love this new place, and not just because the food is great. I love it mostly because they make the choices easy. There's only about 10 items on the menu, and every time I go they're out of 5 or so of the options. Just tell them, "Just bring me what ever you have. It'll always be awesome. If you want to sit somewhere and eat excellent cheap food by yourself, served by a good mommy surrogate, then this is the place.
Tip: If you don't want to get corrected on your manners, remember to eat your sticky rice with your fingers, not with a fork. They won't hesitate to set you straight.
it was a dreary winter day, and all we really wanted was some comfort food.
we ordered some (lao-style) papaya salad, curry noodle soup (kao poont), steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf (moke pa), and steamed and sticky rice. though we weren't crazy about the papaya salad (too spicy, and too fishy for our taste), the kao poont and moke pa really hit the spot. the free hot tea was greatly appreciated as well!
the people were super friendly here, the prices were low, and the owner gave us a discount since we couldn't handle the spice of the papaya salad. i can see this easily entering our regular rotation!
Yummy! Fast, tasty, cheap. Good local thai/lao food.
Small Lao/Thai place with only a few tables. About twice as many Lao dishes than Thai dishes. Very friendly staff. I had the lao sausage with sticky rice. The sausage was delicious - very garlicky in flavor with a spicy kick, and garnished with a lot of cilantro. Also came with a nice spicy dipping sauce.
they cook the food here country style, like in laos/thailand. the owner offered to make the food any way i may like it. i like it fine the way they make it.
necessity is the mother of invention is a trite phrase. green papaya deli proves this maxim true. the owner of kenthao video for over ten years has seen his business steadily slipping. when an neighbor moved out, he quickly took the chance to open a traditional lao eatery.
the dining area is decorated with pictures of thai elephants, and chrythemums on tables. the owner was very friendly and explained the similarities between some thai and lao dishes.
the selections i tried was very tasty and less sugary than their thai counterparts.
-red curry chicken (6.50) tender chicken in a soupy mild red curry with pretty of zuchini, red peppers with a hint of basil. very tasty, not sugary.
-shrimp salad(7.50) lettuce with a few shrimps is a hot to the taste dish. spiced by galanga, fish sauce, chiies, parsley, green onion and a sweet taste (sugar?) salad may seem small to some but it has a unique taste.
-chicken soup(lao style5.99) has tender tasty chicken with onions, cherry tomatoes. flavoring comes from galanga, chile peppers, and ginger.
-fried bananae chips(2.00) crunchy not too sweet snack.
-jasmine rice (1.00) eat every last drop.
-thai tea, comlimentary while i waiting for takeout.
i highly recommend this place for the adventuresome. i shall return.
btw. parking is bad in the day time. i went at night.
The nice little lady that owns this place said I looked handsome. Automatic 5 stars!! She's a sweetheart. If you're here for the food, luckily, it's also very good. I've had the chicken and fish salads and they were very tasty. Like most South East Asian food, it's highly aromatic. It had slivers of garlic, lemongrass, ginger, etc. They give you heaping mounds of sticky or steamed rice. Some of the dishes can be ordered either Thai or Lao style, although as a knucklehead, I can never tell the difference. But everything comes with slices of cabbage, cucumbers, and string beans to munch on. The little Miss will come out of her tiny kitchen and ask how spicy you want your dish. I suggest you tell them exactly how many of those atomic hotpeppers you actually want in your food. For medium spicy she suggested using only four tiny peppers but it was still soooo spicy!! Yet still delicious. This place is not really a deli, more like a small family restaurant with only 4 tables. Don't be put off by the neighborhood or the decor. It's down to earth, nothing fancy, and cheap. Her son/waiter is also super friendly. What a nice family! But who cares about their delicious food....she said I was handsome!.... 5 stars!!!
Really good lao food. It's like thai food without sugar. I had the sai ow (lao sausage), papaya salad lao style, chicken laab, and sticky rice and it was so good. Thai ice tea is good, but no longer complementary. It's located next to a Thai video store.
my favorite place!!!! a good smile, with great service! that makes me more hungry! a real traditional food that 's made out of lao country style. fresh beef from the slauther house! that's made a real deal. in order to pick up the fresh meats . he must prepared to be at stockton by 4am!.. food are made the way you likes also..." but, must ask!" the papaya salad is also one of my favorite.. if the food is not in the menu... don't be affraid to ask!! fresh steamed sticky rice with any order you please to eat it with! "so, check it out yourself! " hope everyone else like it too!....
$10 Pitchers of Pyramid…
Alameda, CA
Ribs on Thursdays!
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill
Neighborhood: East Oakland
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: East Oakland
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: East Oakland
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: East Oakland
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Uptown
Category: Delis
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