"I am addicted to Tom Yum (chicken broth wth lime."
(in 16 reviews)
"Pad See Ew is good, but not one of my staples."
(in 15 reviews)
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Thai Pepper Cuisine
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
188 reviews for Thai Pepper Cuisine
Review Highlights
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The food's greasy, the spiciness is inconsistent, and during lunch, there's a swarm of high school students in the parking lot but I keep coming back for more. Sometimes I wonder why but I guess the food is good and the selection's pretty vast. I've ordered their spicy fried rice and their spicy noodles and they all come out pretty greasy...lucky for me, I grew up in SF chinatown so I'm immune.
The food's pretty decent in general. Not great but definitely not bad. During lunch, they serve complimentary soup which is always good. I find it's very homey. I've had a few times where I've ordered medium spicy and it came out waaaay too spicy and sometimes it wasn't spicy at all. I now just go with mild and add chili myself.
The Pad Thai lacked flavor here but it was still edible since we were starving. I don't understand why my Thai Iced Tea was ORANGE, yet my boyfriend's Thai Iced Tea was on the BROWNISH side.
Oh and very slow customer service considering it was a Saturday night and there weren't too many customers. Employees were just chit chatting on the side never checking up on us.
Someday I want to live in a home that is decorated exactly as this restaurant. They have a "garden" area that is indoors, yet covered with a roof and has green lights. It has lots of plants, mostly fake, and astroturf on the ground. I think there might even be a fountain in there, but I don't remember. Usually the people I am with refuse to eat at the restaurant and opt for take out because they say the inside of this restaurant is offensive to their senses. I love it inside.
Our waitress was super friendly and very nice. She told us that we looked young and carded us when we ordered alcohol. She then told us that she lives off of Lawrence Expressway, neat. I didn't tell her where I live.
We got lots of curry and rice and soup and it's all tasty. When we ordered the food she asked us if we prefer the food to be mild or "Thai" spicy. I asked her how the dishes are normally prepared, and she replied that she likes them "Thai" spicy, because she is Thai. So without my question answered I'm assuming our plates came out mild since I didn't claim to be Thai and one-up her right there at the table. I should have hinted about my obsession with shoving chili peppers up my ass and then going swimming to get some real respect.
The first time I went here for dinner I thought the Pad Thai was bland--but it could be because it was close to closing time? I dunno. The second time I went I fell in love with the place! The Yellow curry was AWESOME. . the Pad Thai was bursting with flava. . . and the chicken satay and peanut sauce was perfect. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!
The prices are decent, and the atmosphere was nice. Will totally come back again.
Great Thai food at a reasonable price with large portions! I had the Garlic Tofu with veggies and it came with a side of rice! I also had the Thai Iced tea to drink; which was Thai-rrific! Great service too! Every time I take a sip of water, they come and top it off! If your thinking about trying for the first time, don't be scared away by the dull outside appearance, you step inside and are whisked away to another land! Enjoy!
Had some carry out for a late night at work. Not much flavor in the spring rolls. The prawns were borderline cooked and everything was covered in oil.
Not planning a return trip.
Can't beat a $7 lunch.
Tasty spicy fried rice w/ prawns. (I got like 5-6 huge ones in my rice)
Only gripe, I think they use MSG. My heart races after I eat things with MSG...so not sure if I'll eat this dish again.
I'll be back to try the curries!
ps. not sure if this is common but we had 15% tip added to our check b/c we had a party of 5. (?) weird but whatever.
Great indoor decor, complete with an indoor/outdoor covered garden. My party was seated toward the back on a weekday night, so it was pretty quiet. Service was very prompt. I ordered Thai yellow curry (as is per usual for me), and it was good here. My boyfriend ordered the sweet and sour salmon, which was also very tasty.
WHAAAAA???!!?! No Joke, I eat here every time i am in the San Jose area... Seriously, I dont remember a single time this year i have not eaten here when im in town! I think i have a problem... All the food is so good, you cant go wrong with anything that you order, its borderline retarded, I have a weakness for their Yellow curry chicken...
Lightning fast.
Came here for a late weekday lunch - had no trouble finding a parking spot nor getting seated. 2 minutes after putting in our order, we get some complimentary soup. 3 min later we get our lunch dishes. 5 min later we get the bill on our table (that was a bit quick but appreciate having it as an option). 30 min in and out the door for sit-down Thai food. Impressive.
Oh yeah, the food was good too and $6.95 lunch specials were great. Pad thai was very tasty. Noodles were perfect and not stuck all together at more amateurish Thai places. Huge portion for the lunch special that was enough for two meals but I ravaged the whole plate.
Outside is a bit shabby but inside is nice and cozy with all kind of Thai decorations.
Bottom line: Good Thai food, great lunch deal, and you can fit in a sit-down Thai meal even if you are short on lunch time. The Tasmanian devil would love this place for their speed. Is it the best Thai food available? No, but pretty decent and certainly hits the spot.
Cam here again for my mom'd bday dinner, and it was great!! The food is reallllly good here...and I've had a alot of thai. I've actually never had "bad" thai food at a restaurant (my taste buds are pretty generous), but the food at thai pepper tastes even better. My fave is the panang curry over brown rice....MMMmmmm soooo good!! We also had some Tom Yum Soup....really good.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/17/2009
Really well-rounded and flavorful thai food. Not too spiced out like some thai places. I've lived… Read more »
A lot of reviewers try to describe this place so I probably shouldn't bother...
Yeah right. So, take a circular-style Denny's from the 1970's, complete with linoleum tables and cracked vinyl booths, take out the ceiling tiles to expose the wood beams, and then add Thai decorations and music. The result isn't as terrible as it sounds, except for an eyesore of a courtyard in the center, with a floor covered in Astroturf mats. You heard me.
Food is OK and well-priced for lunch (specials are $6.95). Service is speedy. Parking can be tough, however, and the restaurant gets crowded. Here's what I've tried here so far:
-- Pad See Ew (lunch special): Presentation was haphazard. I'm not usually a stickler for presentation, but this looked like it was thrown on the plate from a distance. Quality, size and flavor were good though. Decent value. My waitress was super cute and friendly too. I'm just saying. (3.5 stars)
-- Green Curry Chicken (lunch special): Much nicer presentation this time and well executed, thought the veggies were a tad overcooked. A 4 star lunch.
-- Panang Curry Chicken (lunch special): One of my favorite dishes, but possibly the worst version I've ever had. The thin sauce was unimpressive and the chicken was overcooked and tough. Even the appearance of the super cute waitress couldn't fix this meal. (2 stars)
Little known fact: The left turn signal from Sunnyvale-Saratoga Blvd onto Fremont Ave. is actually the longest in the western hemisphere. Make a phone call. Read the paper. You have time.
The food here is awesome and inexpensive. The service I experienced with my friends was great. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive.
We ordered:
Tom Yum Soup
Chicken Satay
Can't remember name of Salad (Chicken, Green Papaya, Cashews, the flavours were awesome, very delicious!)
Panang Curry Beef - Mild (very very good!)
Sticky Rice
Every dish was hot, flavourful and presented beautifully!
We could not stop eating! Be careful if you are on a diet trying not to eat everything and save some. It will be hard.
All the food was delicious. I personally like this place better than Krung Thai or New Krung Thai!
This place has a more "family" kind of atmosphere than Krung Thai or some other Thai restaurants going for a more "modern....generic" feel.
I will definitely return here to dine!
We had dinner here with some friends that live nearby. They have eaten here several times, and only had good things to say about it.
We usually go to the Thai Pepper in Campbell, (it's walking distance for us) and we've always liked everything we've had there.
The decor and overall vibe of the Sunnyvale location is nicer than the Campbell one, but the food is another story.....
We ordered two dishes we've had before: massaman curry and yellow curry, both chicken, both medium spice.
I don't know if they got confused and gave us the low level of spice our friends requested, but both dishes were much more bland than they should have been.
We also found the massaman curry to be quite salty. When we've had the same dish at the Campbell Thai Pepper, we didn't have that problem at all. In fact, we really liked it.
If our friends want to go back, we will, but for me, the Campbell Thai Pepper is far superior!
We used to come to this place a lot for its great food and inexpensive price. It is our default lunch place until very recently that we encountered some VERY IMPOLITE waitresses.
The first bad experience was for a Saturday lunch when my order of Boat Noodle Soup was 15 minutes later than the rest of our orders. The waitress wasn't attentive nor showed any care when I asked her to check for my order. It finally came after everyone at my table had finished their lunch and the bowl was almost dumped to my table.
And the last time was during a late lunch hour on a weekday. When we answered that we want our food "spicy" - the waitress was as mean as she could be - almost like Cinderella's Stepmother - shouting to us that "she's is NOT taking our order back if we can't stand the spiciness, and SHE IS NOT KIDDING" - she repeated the sentences for almost 5 times right after we ordered. She repeated the same phrases again and again ever after I told her that we weren't kidding and really want to have our food - spicy. She gave us a really bad attitude. And then returned with the complimentary soup by throwing the soups to our table - almost 1/3 of the soup were splashed out of the bowl.
I'll NEVER EVER COMING BACK TO THIS PLACE. And recommend anyone think twice before you order your food "SPICY"
One good thing during recession is excellent customer service :-)...5 stars for the service. Thai fried rice is the best here. Hope I don't have to reduce the stars after the recession is over.
Great restaurant for fast lunch. The food is okay. If you're back it won't be for the food, but for the descent price, and fast service. That's why during weekdays at lunch time the place is packed.
They are not out of their mind to please you with their service, but they'll be polite and prompt. This is lunch experience at Thai Pepper:
You enter and see that the restaurant is full, you don't wait long, you're being sited, your water glass being filled, you order, 5 minutes passed, the soup is on the table, someone refills your water, you finish the soup, the main dish arrives, someone refills your water, soup cup is cleared, you discover your bill on the table, you pay, you leave, you have time to walk around the block before your lunch break is over.
I've tried few items from their menu, and I'm now fixated on the Yellow curry.
Third update? OMG I must really love this place. This will be my last I swear! (update, not visit!)
My best friends came back in town so I had to impress them with yummy but affordable, yet classy restaurant. They LOOOOOVED every bite! I just love the ambiance there.
We ordered:
1) Yellow curry (my usual) w/ prawns (so much better than chicken) - A+
2) Pad thai w/ chicken - A
"juicy" flavorful noodles (rather than dry)
3) Spicy fried rice w/ beef - D-
A disappointment... We were torn between this dish and the Pineapple fried rice, but we chose this, appealed by the word "spicy" in its name. We were fools! The spicy "sauce" was nonexistant. Just tossed rice with red peppers, and not spicy at all! Boo!! (not 1 star because the beef was tender and flavorful compared to the rice)
4) Thai iced tea - A
Strong, but not bitter.
Sweet, but not overwhelming.
Similar to Chinese black tea w/ milk but a more curious/interesting taste.
Wished I could give 5 stars.. but the PORTIONS have gotten HALF the size as a couple months ago... I told my girlfriends that we would have lots of leftovers, but was embarrassed to see how little food they gave us... =( Not how I remembered Thai Pepper back in the day!
Anyway... I'm trying the Eggplant chicken next time!
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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4/4/2009
I have a friend that has 1) never had Thai food before, 2) dislikes Indian food (e.g. curry) but… Read more »
The restaurant invited a 3rd party to join our table of two. Mr. Roach, you are not welcome.
This place was one of the regular place that my former co-workers and I dine in for lunch. I truely enjoyed the food, and the lunch menu is of good value. One night, after we were seated and after we ordered our food, we noticed a Mr.Roach (could be Ms Roach, but I didn't care to examine it too closely). We pointed out the roach problem to the waitress, and were given the chance to move to another table. Much gratitude for letting us get up and move. However, the thought of Mr. and Mrs Roach sharing our dinnerware/plates still lingers in our head.
I do understand that many restaurants do have certain "issues," but at the very least, please keep them away from our table. I don't care as much on things that I don't see. Out of site, out of mind. We did clearly ask for a table of two, and three is crowded.
We will not return unless the owner/operator tell us what they have done to contain the "issue." We have, however, have re-visited on some occassions, their sister stores (at least I think they are related).
Making the left turn coming down from Sunnyvale-Saratoga is the absolute worst thing about coming here. You're better off just making a right and an illegal u-turn into Thai Pepper.
The food itself is pretty cheap at $6.95 and it comes quickly. It was my first time, so I stayed with the "hot" version instead of "Thai hot".
It honestly didn't seem too bad, since I'm usually weak-minded when it comes to authentic spicy food. Maybe I'll up the notch once I go there again.
i wish i could have given -100 stars!!!
I don't like the food n service here.
I wish Thai restaurants would stop trying to save me from myself. I know exactly how much "heat" I can handle. I got Mussaman beef. It was bland and tough. The service was ok, and the lunch menu is relatively cheap - $6.95.
Service- took too long to come to take our orders. Did not come to refill the water even once. Took a long time to get us the bill.
Food- the worse thai food I've had. Appertizer fish cake was ok. We ordered 3 dishes. The curry fish had little meat. The other two dishes did not taste like thai food... they were more like bad Chinese food... overly fried chicken laden with very sweet sauce and rice noodle in gooey cornstarch-rich sauce that is thick enough to be a glue.
I don't recommend this place if you want to have a nice Thai dinner. I liked Thaibodia in Santa Clara very much.
I really wanted to like this place... Its so close to my house and I haven't been there since it was the Peter Pan Restaurant (who had AWESOME spaghetti as I remember!!!!) So on a date night excursion, we took a chance here.
Service was slow on a Saturday night although we got seated promptly. We ordered the thai summer rolls which I regretted after the first few bites. It seemed like a makeshift version and I have had better for a cheaper price. Onto our main courses, we tried the see ew noodles which were ok but nothing spectacular. The pad thai was on the sticky side and I was a little disappointed at the size of the "prawns".
Our order took about 45 minutes to come out and as we watched the dozens of to go orders that were getting dished out, I realized that it might be better next time to just order it to go.
Overall it was okay...probably wouldn't specifically recommend it to anyone and will probably stick with my thai food choice, Blue Mango on Stevens creek.
This place is a hit and miss. They decorate this place alot to cover that fact that it is an older diner. The greeting was good but the service is subpar; they did not get us white rice until the fifth dish came out and we have to keep on reminding them. Also, they did nt refilled our water until we asked. All the dishes looked good and smelled good but most were over or under seasoned and/or salted.
The high light of the meal was the desserts! My nephews were all over it esp. the sticky rice and fresh mango.
Jungle Curry- I did not like this dish at all. Broth was weird. 1/5 stars
Yellow Chicken Curry- sooooooo goood! 5/5 stars
Tom Yum soup (spicy)- omg. i almost died when i first took a sip of it. i wasn't aware that they had ordered it Thai spicy. I couldn't enjoy the soup because it was too hot for me. 2/5 stars
Pad Thai- really good. Huge portion, too. 5/5 stars
Spring Rolls- mostly cabbage filler. Took one bite and put it down. 2/5 stars
Fried Banana Dessert- they gave it to us free of charge because we were celebrating a birthday, and had a huge party of 20. It was a nice surprise, not to mention... really good! 4/5 stars
Very good and friendly service, food was amazing. I had the royal pineapple fried rice, panang chicken curry and Tom Yum Chicken (my favorite) , also got a thai iced tea on the house while I was waiting for my take out :).
If I ever lost my job, I would come here. Not for the cheap lunch specials that my unemployed ass could afford, but because the place is crawling with employees from the surrounding tech companies in the area during lunch time. How do I know this? I can see your work badge dangling from your belt or hung around your neck.
The place is packed from 12-1:30PM so come early or come only with another person so you can sit at the bar. There's a variety of stuff from the lunch special menu - all for only $6.95! The pad see ew is scrumptious and you can get it with chicken, shrimp, or vegetarian. The curries here are good too - yellows, greens, reds.
http://static.px.yelp....
I usually get the green chicken curry...and love that they have brown rice for no extra charge (no refined carbs for me!..well unless it's sushi, white rice exception). Also nice that they don't charge extra for shrimp like most other places that make you pay an extra dollar for a seafood substitute. Plenty of eggplant in the curry and the right amount of spice, though it's more of a thin curry than the coat your spoon kind.
So like I said, if this recession one day hits me, I'm going to Thai Pepper for a cheap lunch and armed with business cards to get my networking on.
I was fooled! I kept reading reviews saying that the food wasn't really spicy... maybe I was getting confused with other thai reviews but I ordered spicy everything...
Well, let's just say I was sweating as if I was in a sauna. My whole body became hot after eating the food. My taste buds haven't forgiven me yet. I like spicy, but that stuff hits you at a body level, not just your tongue. It wasn't too hot to eat, but it came with a bang.
hehe, I still loved the food though. The portions are very good, at least with take out. I recommend the crab fried rice and drunken noodles. The chicken in the drunken noodles was a little dry though (but it was breast), so maybe try prawns or another type of meat if you like your meat tender.
I ordered the Basil Chicken and had them make it very spice - I thought it was great. I really enjoyed the food and everyone left happy. I am definitely a fan. I would say that the service was a bit on the weak side but part of that may have been due to the lunch rush. All in all - a good experience.
I love this place. We lived in Sunnyvale for a few years, and Thai Pepper became our favorite destination for Thai food. Now, whenever I'm in town on business, this is where I go for dinner. (I enjoy the Campbell location equally.)
Their green curry is fantastic. And this is the only place I've found Meing Kum, which they describe as "Six favorite Thai ingredients served in lettuce cups: fresh ginger, red onions, lime, toasted coconut, cashews, and dried shrimp." On a warm day, it's the perfect starter.
I like that it is consistently good. Not world-class Thai food to write legends about, but solid and dependable. I've never been disappointed. This place is one of my default choices on lazy nights where I get take-out. Their menu is huge, though most of the items are repeats categorized by which meat/veggie the dish is based on.
I also love the interior. It looks like it used to be a very unique round coffee shop, and they added all kinds of Thai decor to. Good for lunch specials with coworkers, good for taking visiting friends/family, good for eat-in or take-out dinners for two. Good all the time.
I'm a very picky eater and I don't consider myself a "fan" of Thai food, but I can say this - I really do love Thai Pepper. First of all, it's got nice atmosphere and when I usually go Sunday mornings it's empty and you get good service and a nice meal with the family. I went a few times during the week and the lunch crowd makes it a little busier, but still pretty decent service and excellent home-made food.
All of that aside, the food is great too. We usually get a few chicken dishes with steamed rice and the chicken pad thai. The pad thai is absolutely delicious and the best that I've had in my 2 or 3 trips to different places. The noodles are kind of dry so you can taste the noodles and the sauce, and the texture is not ruined. It's also got some nice spice to it and the chicken and eggs are excellent in it as well.
The chicken dishes we get are not extremely spicy (unless you ask for them to make it 'hot' which just means they add the chili sauce while they cook it, instead of you doing it at the table) but the sauces are delicious with a slight hint of peanut and chili.
Prices are fair, service and good, and like I said, food and atmosphere are top notch. So overall I'd give this place the go-ahead to try!
A Thai restaurant in a Euro chalet looking space out of the 70s with what seems to be a British tea garden in the middle on astro turf. Talk about deranged! The menu is large and the roast duck curry is pretty tasty. However the portion for what I paid for is pretty small and they're not all that big on the service side as my beverage sat unrefilled for quite a while. However the check came really quick (without ever asking for it) so I guess moving people in and out is not an issue. I think lunch was literally twenty minutes flat.
It's only the food that gets me to come back, which is only two or three times at the most. When I go to a restaurant, I want to feel comfortable. I feel like they are very rude with customers, they don't look you in the eye, they make you feel rushed, if you look young I feel like they automatically assume you are cheap and therefore give you cheap service! They definitely need to learn how to be polite and thankful that they actually have customers who come back.
To summarize it all;
Yes food is good
Customer Service SUCKS
Everyone raves about this place but I can only give it an OK rating because I've never been here where the food was consistently one flavor. Sometimes you order spicy and it comes out extremely spicy, sometimes you order spicy and you wonder if they left out the peppers altogether.
The quality of the food also varies greatly. My first experience was absolutely terrible, the pan-fried noodles stuck together and was very sticky and unflavorful and the fried rice lacked in everything but salt. However, my second visit the tom yum was good and everything else was just ok.
I think if this place was consistent it would be great, however I would probably not come back from the amount of awesome Thai food that is around here.
IT'S CONFIRMED.
Whenever my Thai husband orders the food and asks for "Thai" spicy, it comes out just that. THAI SPICY...where you start dripping with sweat. Fearing damage to our internal organs, we both eat yogurt after our meal here.
Otherwise, the food is only slightly spicy...and therefore a TOTAL BORE. So let me know if you want to borrow my husband. I charge by the minute.
Either way, the food here isn't so up to par. For example, last time our seafood salad came with extra hard and rubbery calamari, shrimp and scallops. Gross...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/1/2008
We MAY have found our new favorite Thai restaurant in the neighborhood.
Food is quite delicious… Read more »
Two co-workers and I went to Thai Pepper this afternoon for lunch. Only one out of the three of us had been there before and it wasn't me. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the ambiance. Nicely decorated; the waitstaff dressed in brightly colored Thailand-ish clothing; Very nice.
We were seated immediately, table for 3 however if you counted the ant crawling across the table, we were a party of 4. Anywho...
We ordered off the lunch menu and as I looked at the menu, I was taken aback at the price of the dishes. "Was ist dieses? ...$6.95!" Such a bargain, dahlink! We ordered from the waitress who was quite pleasant to us...the ant she didn't like so much. One sweep of her hand and he flew out of there at supersonic speed! Ta-ta little one!
I ordered the Panang Curry with Prawns, mildy spicy. It was tres dee-lish! The only thing stopping me from lifting that bowl of curry to my mouth to lick every inch of the bowl, was a mental image of my co-workers snapping photos of my face on their cell phones and splattering it all over the internet; I relinquished the grip on the bowl and distracted myself by looking around the carpet to see where the ant had landed.
With the exception of the ant, I would definitely go back to this restaurant to sample some of the other delights that I have been reading about here in Yelp.
I might say that I am a Thai food connaisseur, but that might be getting a little ahead of myself. Thai pepper is probably the best Thai food I've found in the south bay. Their service is great, every time we go in the waiters know that I get an Iced tea and my main squeeze gets a diet coke. They are that good. Also, they are incredibly good at refilling your water glass, and let me tell you I drink a LOT of water when I order it spicy! They also use fresh veggies in their dishes, which makes Thai food ten times better.
Here's what I would say you should order:
Tom Ka Gai(with chicken) or Tom yum gai (with fish and ask for spicy)
Yellow curry with chicken or beef
Beef with string beans AKA Pad Prik King(ask for medium hot)
Eggplant Chicken (ask for medium hot)
Pad See Ew is good, but not one of my staples.
The following dishes are good, but not exceptional, I've definitely had better elsewhere:
Chicken Satay - it needs a little more to it, its kinda bland
Pad Thai(I'm not a fan of pad thai in general, but I know when pad thai is good, and it is definitely bland)
So if you are one of those people who only eat pad thai, don't go here, you won't like it. But if you like basil dishes or curry go here for sure!
I'll update when I try more dishes -- and I'd probably say it is more of 4.5 stars.
Comparing to a few other Thai places, this one is pretty good so far. The service was overall quick, but not as efficient because one of the waitresses seem scatter-brained. I really want to come back here for the curry and other rice dishes. The Pad Thai was excellent. The taste and texture overall was great. The setback, the prawns were a little dry. Lunch was cheap, $6.95 a dish. My boss took me here for lunch and we tried the Thai iced teas, which were sweet and reminded me of this Asian jello drink. It was quite pleasant.
Atmosphere was warm and the place was packed, luckily we beat the rush. Close to a 5 star for me, but not just yet. The start of cheap and great food with decent service is always on my good listl!
