Spicy Joi Banh Mi-Noodles-Lao Street Food

If Guy Fieri wants to go to Flavor Town... this is the place to go!

There aren't a lot of authentic Laos restaurant in the Bay Area, but this restaurant NAILED it. The food is delicious, flavorful, and served in generous portions. We ordered three dishes, but my favorite was the kaopoon.

Service is quick and efficient. Note: you order at the register prior to picking a table to dine at.

This place was my first time trying Laotian food in the Bay Area. While shopping at 85 degrees bakery next door to this spot, I had anticipated it opening for a few months and becomes one of the newer eateries nested in the busy Asian grocery and food plaza. I arrived on a weeknight and it was pretty busy inside, but I was serviced quickly for my takeout order. I ordered Khaopoon (chicken curry noodle soup), Nam Khao (crispy coconut rice salad) and Ram Mit (dessert drink).

I have tried khaopoon at other restaurants before so I had a baseline to compare this dish to and it met all my expectations: it had a strong curry and lemongrass flavor, it was rich, the noodles were cooked well and it was packed with meat. In order this dish, they had asked if I wanted to include the chicken gizzards or not. I haven't tried gizzards before, but I ordered it with them and they were a chewy pleasant surprise. Not much adverse flavors to them but like the noodles, they soaked up the broth and were delicious.

The Nam Khao I hadn't had before so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it has become a new favorite. It was almost like a fried rice served with fresh vegetables and herbs. The coconut had a toasted like texture which made it standout from other rice dishes I've had. It was a little salty but when I took a scoop of rice and put it in the lettuce wraps with the herbs and veggies, it made for a nice well balanced an satisfying bite.

The Ram Mit I had high expectations for but was utterly disappointed by the texture and flavor of the drink. I love Asian dessert drinks with jellies and that's what I expected, but this drink was sooo overpoweringly sweet that I couldn't drink anymore after a few sips. The diversity of the jellies were also really limited with most being all of one type, so it was also not that fun to drink texture wise to begin with. I will likely not order this again but may try some of the other drinks.

I would definitely recommend everyone try this place if you've never had Laotian food and/or if you're craving good Asian rice and noodle soup dishes.

Khaopiak Pakse/Chicken Udon Soup
hand rolled rice flour noodles, shredded chicken, pork blood & gizzard in chicken broth

-my husband loved the broth and ordered it with all the ingredients.  He would definitely order again.

Laos Street Food Combo:  Crispy Pork Belly  Combo with with sticky rice or steamed rice & lime or pepper dipping sauce. I choose the sticky rice which was wrapped in plastic wrap,
- the pork belly was soooo dry and no flavor.  I would not order again.

Thai coffee-
Delicious and refreshing. Worth trying again and again.

The service was great and the people were helpful. This is a place worth checking out.

Discovered this spot right before seeing a movie. This might be my Go-To Spot in the area. I love the Thai/Vietnamese options.

Everything was fresh and flavorful. Prices are very affordable and that is important to a guy on a budget like me . Service was good. All in all, I have only good things to say about Spicy Joi.

Let's roll to the pictures, shall we?

You enter a spacious dining area with plenty tables to choose from. You go to the counter and place your order. Staff was friendly and helpful with the food clarifications and recommendations.
*Order two bahn mi sandwiches ( Lao sausage & pork ) the bread was nice, fresh & light and meats quite tasty.  
* Mee Wai Wai Ramen - love the spicy pounded veggies ( tomatoes, carrots, cabbage & chil ) with the ramen.
* Khaosol /Minced Pork - nice spicy tomato fermented bean broths the flat rice noodles. Love the steamed veggies
* Sticky Rice with Mango & Coconut Cream was perfect after all the savory dishes!
* Fresh Coconut juice super cold & pulp was perfect ( had them open it up for access ).
Looking forward to trying other street foods on the menu!

We got the chicken udon.. fried rice, and the coconut rice Nam kao. None of them really stood out. Honestly the Nam kao was more on the hard and stale side and not crispy at all. The food was packed with msg.

The fried rice was bland and didn't really stand out.

The staff here doesn't even really know what's in the menu. I asked if there was any fried rice or noodles... And the guy who took my order - said no...

You have to get your own water. I did enjoy the painted mural on the wall.

Wow!! I highly recommend their lao sausage bahn mj . Hubby always orders bahn mi at other restaurants and this one here at Spicy Joi's by far his favorite. I had a bite of his sandwich and had to agree lao sausage bahn mi were delicious.

My nephew not to keen on lemonade but asked for my butterfly tea lemonade lol!!

Each dish we had were so good , authentic tasting and milder on the umami flavors which I prefer anyway. One can always ask to add more umami taste and any spice level they desire.

My two niece / nephew always ordered their BBQ platter , pork belly and chicken when they visit and today is no exception.

Eating here was a blast, I must admit from the moment one walks in, they are immersed in a whole uplifting atmosphere. There are cool decorations all around the restaurant which keeps your mind busy as the food is being prepared. The flavors are unique and the combinations are simply amazing . We went in as a Mother's Day lunch, and it truly was a blessing. The drunken noodles had just the right amount of flavoring, the sausage Banh mi had juicy flavors. I simply can't wait to go back to try more food options here . Overall, this place is a must go!!! Don't miss out on the delicious food.

My bestie wanted to give this place a try. I took a day off today and we wanted some comfort food after a walk around Lake Chabot. We literally drove over 40 minutes to get to Concord hoping to satisfy our bellies.

My bestie is Laos and her mom always makes these items so we both have expectations when we try outside food.

The Khaopoon was not coconutty enough so the flavor and authenticity wasn't quite met. The sausage was fatty but didn't taste mild. Couldn't do spicy anymore and I think that's why my bestie didn't touch it either. Lol. We also got sticky rice and it was a small portion. When we have Laos food outside the rice is usually in the bamboo and the portion is a lot more.
The Nam Khao was alright. My bestie liked her Mom's cooking better. Overall I would had wanted to give this a four star but I couldn't. You had to go up to the counter to order your food instead of them coming over to your table to take your order and check in on you time to time. I felt like this was a food court type of setting.

We tried and said our goodbyes

first time trying here. the place is quite spacious and staffs are nice. nice colourful drawing on the wall and make the ambience more alive. the menu is on the wall as well ~ expect to have in a book as well so that easier to read. order bomb platter and will say quite good but expect to have more varieties may be like chicken wing or something else and fried??? the kua kee mao is great though the spices not strong ~ with tofu is recommended...