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12085 Brookhurst St
Garden Grove, CA 92840
(714) 537-1076

Jumpa Thai Restaurant  

Category: Thai

4.0 star rating
Update - 1/26/2012 1 photo 2 Check-ins Here
Stopped by here on the Nam Kao Tod (Laotian crispy rice salad) review cycle.

Version here is very good.  There's a single leaf of lettuce on the bottom of the rice salad pile, but you can't really use it easily for making a wrap.  No whole chillis, which I don't eat anyway.  Could use some more pak chi/coriander.

Guess they used ground pork and lime juice for the sour part, which worked out ok.  Interesting to see how different restaurants prepare this great dish.  Definite win here.

Listed in: No Kidding Thai, Nam Kao Tod

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  • 3.0 star rating
    3/17/2011

    Review based on 1 dinner:
    --authentic and good food.  I had Tom Yum noodles, which wasn't dumbed down for spice, but wasn't as complex in flavor as I expected..  Be careful what you ask for in spice level since they don't mess around.  I missed the flavor of lime and stupidly didn't ask for any on the side so I could add my own.
    --extensive menu of the usual Thai classic food.
    --patrons were generally Asian, both young and old with a few families. Not the best choice for a "date" restaurant with a certain diner feel.  TV, but I sure don'gt remember what was on, though I was facing it.  *Not* Thai soap operas, which I generally like.  
    --good service.  Prompt seating in a mostly empty restaurant.  
    --cheap.  Out the door for $9, with only water to drink.
    --easy parking in large adjacent lot

    Keywords: authentic, cheap.

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13416 E Imperial Hwy
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
(562) 921-0889

Rachada Thai Cuisine  

Category: Thai

4.0 star rating
Update - 1/25/2012 1 photo 2 Check-ins Here
Went back here while checking out variations in Nam Kho Tod.  Very good version!  

Not the kind with lettuce to make wraps, but rather with a wedge of cabbage on the side. Note: probably best to ask the kitchen to chop up the cabbage since it's a pain to deal with as a wedge.  Sour pork was good, too.  Think this was the best so far, with Vientian [sic] Cafe about equal (with lettuce for wraps).

Listed in: Nam Kao Tod

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  • 4.0 star rating
    6/8/2010

    Summary based on several lunches:
    --for calibration, I eat & cook a lot of Thai food, both in Thailand and in the US.
    --good, authentic Thai food based on a single sample, though
    --friendly, attentive service
    --easy parking
    --no wifi
    --uncrowded at lunch
    --uses kana/chinese broccoli instead of American broccoli
    --has several fairly unique dishes, including pan fired jackfruit with crispy pork
    --rated A by health department.  Seemed clean.

    First ended up coming here after being closed out of nearby Renu Nakorn and have returned several times since.

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8324 Oak St
New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 861-0886

Jacques-Imo's Cafe  

Categories: Cajun/Creole, Vegetarian

4.0 star rating
1/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
Summary based on 1 dinner:
--decent food
--good service
--locally popular
--ok prices, maybe a little high, but they charge what they can get
--ok parking
--ok wait

Came here with some locals and got a bunch of the recommended food, some of which wasn't deep fried.  I'd come again.  Be prepared to wait.

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3801 Allendale Ave
Oakland, CA 94619
(510) 535-2218

Vientian Café  

Categories: Vietnamese, Thai
Neighborhood: East Oakland

4.0 star rating
Update - 1/20/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Stopped by here to get the Nam Kao (Laotian rice salad), Lao sausage, and off-menu Pad Lao (like Pad Thai, but with scrambled egg).

Nam Kao is "traditional," with lettuce to make wraps.  Very good.  Lao sausage is also very good.  Need to find out if it's homemade at the restaurant.  Appears so.  Pad Lao also good.  

Cold inside the restaurant.

Listed in: Lao Food, Nam Kao Tod

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  • 4.0 star rating
    4/28/2011

    Summary based on 1 late lunch:
    --very good food
    --friendly, helpful service
    --locally popular
    --ok street parking
    --no alcohol
    --no wifi

    Lots of people coming in for take out and some for sit down at around 4 when I came by after a weekday biz meeting.  

    It's a mistake to get anything that's not a Lao regional dish, sometimes shown as a special, at a place like this that's not a standard Thai restaurant.  Yes, you can get Pad Thai, etc., etc., but why?  

    I got the chicken larb, which was very good and better than Champa Garden.  They garnished with Thai chilis instead of the white Lao chilis and included a lot of tasty greens.  Apparently they'll also make the off-menu Pad Lao on request.

    Basically get anything that's a Northern Thai/Lao specialty.

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420 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 346-3121

Chabaa Thai Cuisine  

Category: Thai
Neighborhoods: Union Square, Civic Center/Tenderloin

4.0 star rating
1/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
Summary based on 1 lunch:
--decent food (based on Tom Yum Noodle soup)
--friendly, helpful service (that didn't sneer at my pathetic Thai, extra star)
--inexpensive
--didn't sniff wi-fi
--parking: nope

Finished a biz meeting and went looking for lunch.  This place got decent reviews.  Dining solo they gave me a four top anyway, though it was mid-week lunch.  Didn't get crowded on a chilly day.  Comfortable inside.

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13640 Goldenwest St
Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 891-8886

Thai Goldenwest  

Category: Thai

4.0 star rating
Update - 1/7/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Returned here for the Tom Yum Noodle soup.  Sen lek (thin rice) noodles got somewhat mushy. Note to self, get ba mee (egg) noodles.

Listed in: Lao Food

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  • 4.0 star rating
    2/2/2011

    Summary based on one dinner:
    --Lao place serving generally authentic, classic Thai with some northern Thai food
    --very good food.  I got Tom Yum noodle soup, which is my latest attempt to get a single, representative dish.  Deep fried the fish cakes, yum!
    --helpful service
    --very easy parking
    --cheap
    --American coffee shop decor.  Background TV could be irritating I suppose. Not a romantic date place.

    Doesn't make their own sausage, but that's not surprising.  Will make Lao style on request.

    Thai restaurant review #60

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10262 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 530-7523

Vientiane Thai Laos  

Category: Thai

4.0 star rating
Update - 1/5/2012 1 photo 4 Check-ins Here
Revisited specifically to get the Nam Kao Tod, crispy fried rice, which was good and recommended.  

I see Jumpa Thai on Brookhurst has this too, though $2 more. Renu Nakorn also has Nam Kao Tod, though it's presented differently, tastes great, but costs $3 more.  No lettuce for wraps at Renu Nakorn.

Service was just ok.  I liked the old, smaller place, but based on the number of people eating here mid-week, I can see why they expanded.

They now carry BeerLao in both light and dark varieties.  Yea!

Easy parking.

Listed in: No Kidding Thai, Lao Food, Nam Kao Tod

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  • 4.0 star rating
    7/23/2008 First to Review

    Summary based on several dinner:
    --good example of Lao home cooking, seemingly rare in this area
    --friendly service
    --decent amount of Lao specialties considering that most people will probably order the more familiar Thai style food
    --easy parking in adjoining lot
    --hole in the wall ambiance (not meant as a slam)
    --no credit cards

    You might as well get sticky rice if you come here, a Lao cuisine signature dish.  Lao sausage & beef jerky were good.  Crunchy frog was good.  I could have used more vegetables, but I was stuffed with what I ordered and barely touched the rice.

    Apparently the nearby liquor store used to carry Beerlao, but not anymore.  Too bad.  T&K on Bolsa in Westminster has it.

    Maybe I'm going overboard on the rating, but fairly unique places deserve a break.

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91 Shattuck Sq
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 540-7700

PIQ Berkeley  

Categories: Italian, Bakeries, Pizza
Neighborhood: Downtown Berkeley

3.0 star rating
12/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Summary based on 1 pre-theatre group dinner
--decent pizza, not Cheeseboard but good for the immediate area
--ok prices
--friendly service
--kinda cold when it's cold outside
--usual crap Berkeley parking

Walked in with 8 people and was able to sit down with no hassle.

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2800 San Pablo Ave
Oakland, CA 94608
(510) 444-6614

Rubenstein Supply Company  

Categories: Building Supplies, Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC
Neighborhood: West Oakland

5.0 star rating
12/16/2011
Summary based on several transactions:
- while oriented to the professional trade, patient and helpful with others (my experience is difference than some, it appears)
- better advice on replacement part strategy than some in the area, especially Berkeley
- ok prices
- takes credit cards
- good parking in the rear

Worth a drive.

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12910 Harbor Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92840
(714) 636-3800

L5 Thai Restaurant  

Category: Thai

3.0 star rating
12/14/2011 1 photo 1 Check-in Here
Summary based on 1 dinner:
--food pretty good, but see later note
--ok service.  The place was fairly empty, but it was a struggle getting attention.  Friendly, though.
--food came out of kitchen kinda slow
--inexpensive, but not absolutely cheap
--easy parking

Ok, I got the recommended chicken larb and it was good, but missing the lime juice that's standard.  I asked about this and it turns out that they got complaints from local customers that it was too sour, so they use less lime juice than standard.  

There was some odd smell in the restaurant.  Not particularly repellent, but not like flowers, either.

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Rich has no friends.

1 Compliment

  • You're Cool

    yeah i'd say the family style northern dishes were weak at quang trung..… More »

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