Soi 30th

Soi 30th opened up right next to Lefty's on 30th Street last fall. My good friends and I actually went and ate there at the end of September, basically going through a good part of the menu on that evening. But the focus was on what was going with each other; work and other things have been keeping me from seeing them as much as I'd like to.

I decided not to do a post after that visit; mainly because we were just enjoying each other's company and catching up on what was going on.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the food....I did enjoy a couple of the dishes. Though some were quite uneven; I attributed that to being newly opened. It did help that the place was being opened by the former owner of Krua Thai in Chula Vista.

I decided to do a couple of visits on my own; which stretched out over almost nine months. But finally, think it's time.

The restaurant is small; the interior tiny, with some outdoor seating. The set-up is perfect for the "North Park Brewpub" type; you order at the counter, get a number, have a seat.

On my first visit; I went with a dish that I usually use to gauge the cooks Wok Skills; Pad See Eew with Shrimp ($13).

Not an especially generous portion; the shrimp was cooked perfectly, a wonderful tender and plump. I liked the fact that the sauce wasn't overly sweet, but the noodles, while nicely coated, was on the over-cooked side and lacked the smokey "wok hey" that I look for in this dish.

I did enjoy the Thai Jerky ($7); which had been nicely dried, then fried.

Edging just on the precipice of being hard; I loved the chewiness, the flavor, salty-savory, was quite good as well.

On my next visit; two more Thai staples.....

The SomTom E-san ($7), was a bit disappointing.

While the papaya was expertly shredded, this just wasn't spicy....especially for Issan Papaya salad. I wasn't asked for a spiciness level and this was too mild. Not very much salted crab, nor enough tomato. Too much lime and not enough fish sauce; this just wasn't what I wanted.

I had mixed feelings about ordering the Thai Sausage. You see, on my visit with friends the sausage wasn't sour enough and the meat quite mealy. This however, was very good.

Nice light sourness; pork skin, great firm, but not hard texture. Very nice! Sadly, much like CC's visit (check out her post), no ginger, and sliced serrano peppers instead of Thai Chilies.

A few weeks later; it was the Khao Man Gai, which was very disappointing; the chicken was super dry, the rice not flavored enough and hard.

The ginger based sauce needed....well, more ginger as it really lacked zip.

I also ordered the Crispy Chicken Wings.

Much of the rather light batter was flaking off the wings; broken bones, and the meat was moist and tender it had dark spots. I thought it a bit too sweet for my taste and I felt it needed more zip and a crunchiness that would hold out a bit longer.

After this; I decided to give the place a rest for a couple of weeks; which turned out to be months.

When I finally returned; I saw that Soi 30th had Pad Ped as a special; so I decided to order it. The portion size was quite large and that egg was nice and runny.

I found the sauce a bit too "gloppy" and the pork dry. The were lumps of sauce; you know, when you're not on your stir-fry game and you add in the sauce to finish and it lumps up under the heat.

On my next visit; I had what is perhaps my favorite dish at Soi 30th; in fact, I've had it again recently and it was the same; It's the Pork Belly and Chinese Broccoli.

Not over sauced; the star was the pork belly; crunchy, not hard, which gave away to a nice tenderness. Mild garlic tones and I could actual taste some heat here; not much mind you, but at least it was there. During this visit the Gailan was too hard and crisp, but on my subsequent visit, it was cooked nicely. On both visits the fried egg was over-cooked for my taste; but maybe the clientele freaks out over soft and runny eggs? Still, a good dish.

On my last visit, I was curious about the Khao Moo Krob - Moo Daeng; basically red pork (like charsiu) and pork belly. The fluorescent red sauce really caught my attention.

The "red" pork was on the dry and tough side and really lacked flavor. The pork belly though was again nicely fried up, making it crisp and delicious. The sauce was too sweet and missing the nice tangy-savory component used on Moo Daeng. The rice was perfect and fragrant, though the boiled egg was way overcooked, the yolk quite dry. 

So, why all the visits? Well, there's something about this place that I like....perhaps it's the vibe.....the dishes I enjoyed had that "hint of Thailand" and while on the gringo side, were not bad. Perhaps I need to do this a some other Thai places that missed the mark previously?

The service was amiable and the prices not bad.

To quote reader EdwardW who emailed me about Soi 30th back in September - "I want this place to do well. It’s close to my home and about as honest Thai cooking I’ve found in San Diego." Well said! And thanks for reading and taking the time to send us an email!

Soi 30th
3442 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 3pm, 430pm - 930pm
Fridays     11am - 330pm, 430pm - 930pm
Sat - Sun   12pm - 930pm

Comments

[SageOlson]

Do you have a favorite place for khao man gai in San Diego? My mom is Thai, so I always miss it and every once in a while go to J&T’s just for it (theirs is obviously not the best khao man gai I’ve ever had, but I haven’t found any better here yet and it’s at least quite serviceable).

[kat]

hope they can get consistent.

[Kirk]

Sorry to say, no bueno on that Sage. I'll keep a look-out for you though.

I hope so too Kat.

[Junichi]

Good to hear they have a few hits.

[Kirk]

Hi Junichi - Yes, they do make some good dishes.

[caninecologne]

I need to do a revisit! Loved that pork belly with chinese broccoli though.

[Kirk]

Hi CC - Hope you enjoy! That Pork Belly with Gailan was probably the best item I had at Soi 30th.

[Derric]

I've been to Soi a few times. My favorite thing has been the pork belly larb. Glad to see the pork belly worked for you as well.

[Soo]

Good looking pork belly. Too bad the wings weren't that good.

[Kirk]

The pork belly is pretty good at Soi 30th Derric...my only issues with the larb is that they really hold back on the spice....even when I order things spicy.

Hi Soo - You know how I am with wings, right? ;o)

[EdwardW]

EdwardW here - I've been home sick all week and been living off this place. First the spice level. I have to be clear with them - "cook like you are cooking for a Thai" - that'll get you where you need to be. The soups have been nourishing me - the Tom Yum noodle soup is filled with nuance although the pork was a bit dry. The Tom Yum chicken was incendiary the other night, the burn cut with citrus and a touch of sweetness. Helped break my fever. Lately I've been happy with the Pork Belly Larb - nice crunch with salt, sour, and spice. Thanks for checking them out and your awesome blog. Gonna tuck into some left over Tom Yum for lunch. I'm feeling better!

[Kirk]

Hope you get well soon Edward. I think it's too bad you have to let them know you want to eat at a Thai spice level. They seem to be doing pretty good with the pork belly dishes. Thanks again for the email and for reading our little blog!