Siam Palace Thai Cuisine-Closed

Siam Palace Thai Cuisine
992 E Alosta Ave
Azusa, CA 91702
626-334-0441

Siam Palace is located behind what used to be Country Chiken & Ribs, which is not only closed but the building has been torn down! It will be interesting to see what will be built on that property!

Siam Palace is a big restaurant, taking up two spaces in this strip mall.  One side is the front of the house and kitchen, while the other side is the dining room.

Shrimp fried rice-$9.95. Shrimp, eggs, tomatoes.  This was an ok dish.  It was a bit too greasy for my tastes.  There were about six shrimp for this dish.  The rice stuck together, which shouldn't happen with fried rice.  Portion size was a little small for the price.

Pad-Gar-prow- scallops, $9.95-small size scallops with chili, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic.  This was an ok dish.  Not that many scallops, which were pretty well cooked.  I didn't get any basil flavor, mostly I got some chili, onions and bell pepper flavors.

Service was good.  I was surprised we were the only people in the restaurant for most of our time.  There was another table but they left within 10 minutes of us sitting down.

I won't go back to Siam Palace.  I don't think the food is that good.

Night + Market Song

Night + Market Song
3322 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
323-665-5899

 Night + Market Song is a very popular Thai restaurant in the heart of hipster-land, Silver Lake.  Located a few doors down from the great, but now closed, Knuckle & Claw, it's a small restaurant but there is usually a long wait.  The evening I went, either the air conditioning was out or they don't have air conditioning!  So, it was hot inside the restaurant even though LA was going through a cooling trend after a week of record high temps!.  The restaurant was about 60% filled, so I can only imagine how hot it will be with a packed restaurant.

Shrimp fried rice, $14.  There was some green onions, eggs and four medium sized shrimp. This was a pretty bland dish.  They need to add seasonings in addition to the small amount of soy sauce.  Another small thing was the portion size!  I was starving when I came and the amount barely put a dent into my hunger!  This is one of the most overpriced dishes I have ever had at any restaurant! 

Service, except for the host, was very good.  They seem to have a community service, one person took my order, another refilled my drink, yet another delivered my food.  All were nice and friendly.  I even had another server ask me if I had already been helped!  So, I have no complaints about them.  But, the host was terrible.  I came alone and decided to sit at the bar, where there was only one other person, that has about eight seats.  There isn't much space between the bar and the tables, so I sat down and the host said if we get busy I'll have you move down.  I said I'm not going to move.  Let those people wait.  He then poured my a cup of water, but at the other tables he gave them a carafe of ice water.  The entire time I was there, maybe 45 minutes not one person came to sit at the bar and maybe four people came into the restaurant.  Of course, nobody can predict how many people are going to come into a restaurant at any given time.  But, the bar had only one customer and I sat where I was comfortable.  I sure as hell wasn't going to move for that douchebag host.

I wouldn't go to  Night + Market Song again.  I don't know why they have long wait for below average food at high prices.  Thai Town isn't that far away and you'll get much better food at prices that are about 40% less!  I'll leave  Night + Market Song to all the douchebags hipsters of Silver Lake.

King of Thai Cuisine

King of Thai Cuisine
6171 Mission Gorge Rd Ste 115
San Diego, CA 92120
619-640-9688

In the same strip mall as Kawaii Sushi, is King of Thai Cuisine.  It's a small restaurant with about 10 tables.  It was pretty empty when I went on a Saturday, about 5pm.  

Tofu fried rice, $8.95 onions, carrots peas, and cucumbers.  The tofu was well cooked outside and soft on the inside.  The rice and veggies were all well cooked.  But, this lack seasoning and flavor.  It was pretty bland.

Service was ok. 

I wouldn't go back to King of Thai Cuisine.  I'm sure there are much better Thai places in San Diego!

Sanamluang Cafe

Sanamluang Cafe
710 S Indian Hill Blvd
Claremont, CA 91711
909-621-0904


I visited the very popular Sanamluang Cafe in Pomona back in 2009.  In December of 2014 they opened a second, bigger location about half a mile north on Indian Hill, into the snotty city of Claremont.  The Pomona location stayed open for awhile, then closed.

Now located in a building that once housed a Baker's Square, Sanamluang Cafe is now a huge location with modern decor.  Gone are the old, worn out peeling decor that highlighted the Pomona location.  It was very busy on a Friday night and the hostess told me it would be about a 20 minute wait for a table.  Not a problem because my friend had not arrived yet.  About ten minutes later my table is ready and I told the hostess my friend hadn't arrived yet.  She said no problem and allowed me to take the table for two.  While waiting for my friend there was a steady stream of people coming in.  But, all parties of two were seated quickly.  So, I didn't feel bad that I was taking a table while waiting for my friend.

 Shrimp pad thai-$7.95.  The shrimp was slightly overcooked, tough and chewy.  There were about 8 small sized shrimp in the dish.  But the flavors all mixed well together.  I enjoyed this dish, but it would have been better if the shrimp wasn't overcooked.

Shrimp fried rice- $7.95.  Slightly bigger shrimp, but these were well cooked.   People ask what is the difference between Chinese fried rice and Thai fried rice.  I think Chinese fried rice has more soy sauce, thus a more salty taste.  While Thai fried rice has a slight sweet taste.

Service was very good, from the hostess to the servers.

Sometimes when restaurants move something suffers and it's not the same experience.  But, gladly Sanamluang hasn't changed and is still very good. 

Tottie’s Asian Fusion

Tottie’s Asian Fusion
7901 E Thomas Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-970-0633

So, I'm out in Arizona and a friend suggests we should go to Tottie's for dinner.  As you can see Tottie's is an Asian Fusion restaurant.  They have a large menu with Thai dishes and sushi.

It's a huge restaurant with booth seating on the sides and a bar in the middle. 

Crunch roll, $5 happy hour price, $8, regular price.  This was pretty good.  But, the shrimp tempura wasn't that crunchy and the pieces were a bit small.

Shrimp chow mein, $11, carrots, green onions, bean sprouts and of course shrimp.  They use a thinner noodles than I'm used to.  But this was a very good dish.  The noodles were well cooked and lots of flavor.

Service is very good.  Our server was very friendly and came to our table often!  Drinks were refilled quickly and food arrived quickly too.

If I'm in Scottsdale again, I would go back to Tottie's. 

Thai Diamond BBQ

Thai Diamond BBQ
1832 E Rt 66 Unit D
Glendora, CA 91740
626-335-4738

Thai Diamond BBQ is located in the same shopping center as ZuZu Chicken and the now closed, China King Buffet-which was a very good Chinese buffet!   A corner restaurant with an L shaped dining area.  The sad part is when I went in today, they had the TV on showing the mass shooting in San Bernardino!!

Shrimp fried rice, $9.95.  A good dish, with large silvers of onions and quartered tomatoes.  About 5 medium sized shrimp and a short gain sticky rice.  Just like most Thai cuisine, there was a sweet flavor to this rice.  A good dish.

Service was good.  Nice friendly people in the restaurant.

I would go back to Thai Diamond BBQ. 

Saladang

Saladang
363 S Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
626) 793-8123

Saladang is a very popular Thai restaurant in Pasadena.  It's located on an industrial area, a good ways from the hustle and bustle of Old Town Pasadena!

The restaurant itself has a very industrial feel, with exposed duct work and ceilings.  They were doing renovation on the men's bathroom, when I was there!  A very open restaurant with lots of seating.  There is another Saladang that shares that same parking lot.  I understand that location is more upscale. 

Spinach with black bean sauce, $9.  The spinach was perfectly cooked and fresh.  The black bean sauce was very salty.  I did like the dish, but they need to cut down the salt.

Shrimp Chow Mein, $12, egg noodles and assorted vegetables- carrots, celery, green onions, bean sprouts, and snap peas.  A very good dish with six large shrimp that were perfectly cooked.  The noodles were also cooked perfectly.  The veggies were fresh.  There was a sweet taste to the dish but nothing overwhelming.

Service was good.  We were greeted and seated quickly.  Our server would come by on a regular basis and refill drinks and made sure everything was good. 

I like Saladang, but it is very Americanized.  Not that it's a bad thing, but if you're after authentic Thai food, you're better off going to Thai Town.

Bright Star Vegan Thai

Bright Star Vegan Thai
9819 Foothill Blvd Ste F
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
909-980-9797

I had high hopes for Bright Star Vegan Thai after trying Bulan Thai and My Vegan Gold.  Bright Star is in the same shopping center as Supreme Plate, a very good restaurant for New Orleans style food.  A fairly big restaurant with booth seating along the right side of the restaurant, along the window and table seating at the left of the restaurant.  Pretty bare in terms of decor, except for the buffet table that has been turned into a Buddhist alter.

Thai fried rice, $8.99.  Brown rice, peas, carrots, onions, and tomatoes with soy chicken.  I didn't see any or taste tomatoes in the fried rice.  The soy chicken was sliced into thin pieces and they were pretty bland and flavorless.  The brown rice was cooked perfectly, the veggies were good.  But, this was too sweet for me.  They added too much sugar and it was also very greasy.  Not impressed.

Chow mein, $8.99 with tofu, yellow noodles, celery, carrots and cabbage.  A pretty bland version of chow mein.  The noodles and veggies were cooked perfectly.  But, there was only a small amount of tofu and it was bland!!  This needed more seasoning or flavor!

Service is pretty average.  Not the most friendly or welcoming interaction, they are just doing their job.

After trying Bulan and My Vegan Gold, I was disappointed in the quality of Bright Star!

Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen

Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen
4114 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-913-1488

A friend and I were trying to decide where to eat.  The two choices were My Vegan Gold and Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen.  Since I already went to My Vegan Gold, the choice was easy!.  Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen is a small restaurant, tucked into a corner on Santa Monica Blvd, just south of Sunset Blvd.  Parking is terrible nearby!!  Many streets are permit only at night.  There is another Bulan on Melrose.

Hot wings, $8, veggie chicken wings deep-fried, flavored with special hot sauce, served with carrot sticks and ranch dressing.

This tasted just like chicken!!  The texture and flavor were perfect!  You could eat this and never miss the real thing!!

Chow mein, $9, broccoli, celery, carrots, and tofu in a garlic sauce.  Again, like My Vegan Gold, the garlic sauce in this chow mein dish was sweet.  The tofu were cut into thicker squares and were perfectly good.  The veggies were fresh.  I thought the portion was a bit small but otherwise this is a good dish!

Service is good.  The servers are nice and friendly, and the food comes out quickly.

I prefer My Vegan Gold, but Bulan is very good. 

My Vegan Gold-Updated Review-Closed

My Vegan Gold
4319 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-522-6500

My Vegan Gold is in the same shopping center as Agra Cafe and Garage Pizza, at the very busy corner of Fountain and Sunset.  The shopping center once housed the now closed, Tang's Donuts and Sandwiches, that served up a good sandwich for $5.  Much better than the crap at Subway.  In this shopping center there are Saito Sushi and Jay's Bar-which is suppose to have good food, that I could still try.

There is another vegan restaurant a few miles away, Sage, where the food is overpriced and the service is terrible. I went there once and will never go back!

Nacho cheese bomb fries, $4.95.  I'm guessing these are frozen fries, but they were cooked perfectly!!  Very crispy on the outside and soft inside.  The nacho cheese was pretty good, a thick sauce, not sure how it's made, but came close to nacho cheese.  I would order both the nacho cheese bomb fries or the regular fries again!!

Chow mein, $9.95, wheat yellow noodles, organic tofu, assorted veggies-cabbage, snap peas, carrots, onions, bean sprouts, and zucchini, in a garlic sauce.  This was outstanding!!  You won't miss the meat, because there is so much flavor in this dish.  The noodles were cooked perfectly, the veggies fresh and crisp, the tofu-fried perfectly.  Though the garlic sauce was a bit too sweet, it wasn't overpowering.

Service was ok.  Though when I first got there, I waited at the counter and saw a man, who I believe is the owner, look at a lady and asked her what she wanted to order.  Even though there were three other ladies in line ahead of her.  It turned out two of three ladies were together, but the third lady, who was in line ahead of the lady that owner helped, got screwed.  The owner should have asked who is next?  But, the young lady who took my order and brought my food was good.  Not overly friendly, but did her job.

I would go back to My Vegan Gold again.  I like their food and the prices are reasonable, which is something that you can't say about all vegan or vegetarian places.

Updated Review October 5, 2016

I went back to My Vegan Gold to try one of their burgers.  They have a portobello mushroom burger along with a plant based chicken burger.  

My Vegan Gold Burger, $8.95 with side salad.  If you're expecting a protein pattie, you'll be surprised.  This is more like 3-4 pieces of protein that is topped with their great cashew nacho cheese sauce!  There is lettuce, tomato, and a thousand island type dressing.  The burger is good but the texture is a bit weird.  The salad was mixed greens with a vinaigrette dressing.

Service was pretty good this time.

I like My Vegan Gold and will go back when I'm in the area.