**** Thai Papaya has closed
Now that we're back from vacation, we've fallen back into the old routine....though we're still finding it hard to get motivated about something as simple as dinner. We've been back to Thai Papaya a couple of times, and while the Missus has found Her favorite, the Som Tom Khai Kem - papaya salad with salted egg, we still managed to try other items on the menu. some hold overs from (the original) Sab E Lee, some not.
Here's a rundown....
The oldies but goodies. Tod Mun Pla:
I think they've changed versions as this was much better than what we've had in the past. More kaffir lime leaf and bit better in the texture department.
And of course Issan Sausage.
Though there are better versions to be had in town, this is a nice standby.
So now for some of the other dishes. Do you remember the wonderfully sour Super Star Pork Rib Soup from my previous post? Well, one evening I ordered the Super Star Chicken Feet Soup ($8), which I think is even better.
The Missus's love of chicken feet has been well documented. Me? Well, I'm not much of a fan since I think the return on investment (time) is quite low. In this case however, I'll have to fall in line with the Missus. There were ten lovely chicken feet in this bracingly sour and spicy (a "6" kind of got to us), yet refreshing soup. Nice gooey bits with chewy skin....nothing like sucking on that toe and getting all that flavor.
Because of how lip burning spicy everything was on the previous visit; I did a take-out order with the usual suspects and included the Tom Thua ($7), the green bean salad and to save our lips went for a heat level 4. I noticed that Maylee wasn't around this time and everything was strangely bland and the heat level was like a "2".
Also the long beans hadn't been bruised in the pok pok and were really tough.
A week or so ago, I was bushed and decided to pick up some take-out on the way home. Along with the "rotation", I decided to try out the Tom Tang ($7). We really enjoyed the versions we had of this cucumber salad in Laos, which tend to be more pungent.
We upped the heat level to 7 and it was still pretty mild. The cucumbers seemed a bit rubbery and not crisp. This was pretty weak in flavor overall as well.
So I'm not quite sure about Thai Papaya. There are dishes we really like; the Mok Nor Sai, some of the soups; the Missus is hooked on the Papaya Salad with Salted Egg. But consistency in getting that heat level seems to be off a bit; so it's kind of like chili pepper roulette. I'm fairly certain that the days of me getting things at level 10 here or "big spicy" at Hunan Chilli King are over. But I still like a nice amount of spice. I'm wondering what I'll get the next time I order from Thai Papaya?
Thai Papaya by Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111
Hope they can get the heat level consistent.
Posted by: kat | Monday, 29 June 2015 at 08:55 PM
I do too Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 30 June 2015 at 07:11 AM