Sab E Lee 2 - A first look

Often times, a bit of information or a recommendation will allow me to order to the strength of a restaurant. When I first visited Sab E Lee, I was taken by the gentleman who ran the tiny restaurant. He eagerly provided me with the information I needed to order by telling me that the cooks were from "Issan" (Northeastern Thailand), and I ended up ordering to the restaurant's strength. That was a whole fifteen months, and maybe over a hundred visits ago. Since then, I've gotten to know Kobe pretty well, and now with the opening of Sab E Lee 2 in Santee, it'll be more of the same, right? Well, not so fast pilgrim......... During the past weekend when I went to check out Sab E Lee 2 and ran into Kobe, he shared the new menu with me, and information about the chef at this location. This Chef is more experienced in fine dining, having worked at several four star hotels.... I believe The Sukothai Bangkok was one of the hotels named. After looking through the menu, the Missus and I headed over, East on the 52, off at Mission Gorge, and arrived at Sab E Lee. As I mentioned in my previous post, the restaurant is maybe four times the size of the Linda Vista location, Kobe also showed me the kitchen which is about the same size as the dining area!

After we were greeted by Kobe, and several of the familiar faces, we got under way. First off, please forgive the pinkish tinged photos as the reflection of pink everywhere makes everything.... well, pink.

Kobe told me to try the Kra Thong Tong ($7.95):

You see, from what Kobe told me about the Chef, I figured that one of the strengths here would be what I tend to call "Royal Thai" cuisine, with it's more intricate presentations, lighter fare, featuring many Chinese and Mon influences. And these wonderful, light, rice flour based pasty cups filled with minced prawns and chicken surely fill the bill. Royal Thai doesn't mean dumbed down, but it presents itself with a wonderfully balanced flavors and textures. In this case a mild curry background, brought up with a cucumber relish that seems to use palm syrup. And yet, it is not overly sweet, but a very complex dish.

 
The Plaa Shrimp($8.95) was a good second choice:

 
Butterflied shrimp are quickly charred, and left in a "rare" state. The bracing and spicy lime sauce finishes off the "cooking" process. We quickly noticed that this chef uses a good bit more lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves in his dishes. The spice level was excellent, courtesy of Thai Bird Chilies, and with the slices of raw garlic and Thai Eggplant, this is a dish that would be right at home at Sab E Lee on Linda Vista.

The third dish we ordered was the Pine Cone Fish (Halibut - $16.95):

I'm sorry to say that my photos don't do this dish justice. It is a good-sized Halibut, de-boned, crusted with panko and placed into the shape of a pine cone. The fish was fried to perfection, soft and tender. The line-chili-fish sauce dip was good if a bit salty. Kobe brought out a little dish of tangy tamarind based sauce which the Missus loved. Kobe told us that it was the sauce used for Three Flavored Fish, which is what we'll be ordering in the future.

Overall, this was a wonderful meal....lovely presentations, well prepared food, and the prices weren't too bad. And yes, there's Koi Soi, Catfish Larb, and many of my other favorites on the menu. But I thought it would be good to play to the Chef's strengths, and I think he did a great job. I'll do my Koi Soi comparison on another day.....

Sab E Lee 2
9159 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071

Comments

[Lynnea]

wow, what amazing looking food. the little cups look so fun to eat.

[Stephen]

Wow. The food looks great. Might be worth the trek to Santee.

[kat]

nice!

[ed (from Yuma)]

Great report. Looks tasty.

[nhbilly]

I'm missing some good thai food in Ca. I need to make a trip back asap.

There is a Vietnamese version of that shrimp dish call goi tom. Just raw Texas Gulf shrimp de-poop and split in 1/2 soak it in apple vinegar for am hour. I don't know the rest of it since my dad makes it. LOL But the sauce is key to the success of this dish too not to mention the shrimp.

[The Food Ho]

Wow! Sab E Lee 2! Guess I have a reason to go to Santee now!

[Carol]

Awesome dishes and so glad you went the route you did for the first visit (aka, now I know what to try first)! I really like the fact that the 2 restaurants differ slightly, menu and size (at least a little bit). Gaw, I can't wait to try it!

[Kirk]

Hi Lynnea - They were quite good.... and cute, which puts them right up your alley! ;o)

Hi Stephen - The menu is chock full of Central Thai style dishes, so it might be worth the drive.

Hi Kat - It was a nice meal.

Hi Ed - We were thinknig of you when we had the halibut.... I think you'll need to try it on your next trip out here.....

Hi Billy - Since you're out there, you need to get your hands on some Aguachile - raw shrimp "cooked" in lime juice...... heck, the name doesn't even mention shrimp too! ;o)

Hi TFH - Yes, you, TFP, CC, and Bert, need to check this place out.

Hi Carol - It was a nice change of pace. Of course, they still have many of my favorites on the menu as well.

[caninecologne]

hi kirk
we are planning to go there this weekend!

[Michael]

Hi Kirk, Wow, nice post and what beautifully thought out dishes. I will be there for lunch today.

[kirbie]

Oooh the Kra Thong Tong looks delicious. I'm so glad you tried this place out. I wasn't so sure about going all the way to Santee, but your post makes me willing to make the drive.

[Faye]

OH MY!! Wonderful pics and post! I haven't been to either location and i'm all the way in north county. Which location would you suggest i go to (for my first try)?
Thanks!

[Judy Lee @ TinkerWithFood]

I'm baaaaaaack! And I'm catching up with your posts. I miss all the good SD food :(

[Alice Q. Foodie]

Wow are they already open?? That was fast. Can't wait to check it out!

[Saya]

I gotta go there! and try Kra Thong Tong -
last time I had it was when I was 10 years old or younger. Kra Thong Tong is even hard to find in Thailand.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1522014263]

yumyumyum, I can't wait to try it!!!

[Kirk]

Hi CC - The food is a bit different, not as spicy as SEL, but here are some interesting items on the menu.

Hi Michael - I hope you enjoyed your lunch.

Hi Kirbie - The chef is different, so the dishes will be a bit different. There are also some intersting stuff on the menu.

Hi Faye - Since you really don't like sweet, I think you should try the Linda Vista location first. Issan cooks and dishes tend to be less sweet. Bangkok style tends to be sweeter.

Hi Judy - Welcome back! i'm sure you'll be rooting out some great stuff in no time!

Hi Alice - I think the infrastructure was all in place, so it was a quick change-over.

Hi Saya - I hope you enjoy yourself!

Hi ** - Yes, by all means give it a try.....

[Brian]

I made it to Sab-E-Lee tonight. The fiancee's grandparents (grandparents-in-law?) live in Santee, so we met them for dinner. (Also saw another mmm-yoso reader while I was there... wonder how much of their business this site is responsible for...)

All the food was really good. It was a bit slow to be served, though. Hopefully just some kinks in the kitchen that will be worked out as they're open longer.

And, as an added bonus, got to interact with a drunk/panhandler/general odd person in the parking lot post meal. When I declined to give him a ride somewhere, I got a very offended "Thanks a LOT!" Obviously he got the memo that I was the Santee free taxi... I was hoping to slip one past him.

[Little Miss Contrary]

Thanks for the great intro to the new Sab-E-Lee! Even though it is totally out of my way, I will have to try it anyway :]

[Tammy]

The Kra Thong Tong is good. The three flavors halibut is OK for me. I think a lot of the food looks too pretty for me to eat. Somehow I think the food is better when Kobi is there. For example, the papaya salad was much tastier with more lime than the one on Linda Vista. What do you think?
By the way, I'm trying to work K. up to a level 8. She went from a 3 to a 5. LOL. Usually, with Chia around, we don't ask for a certain spice level.