Takeout from Chaba Thai Kitchen

Returning from picking up the ramen kit from Menya, my eyes veered toward Mercury Village Shopping Center....you know, where Sizzling Pot King, Pho Fusion, and the "Sign of Doom" is located. I noticed that Chaba Thai was open and decided to see what their hours were. I really didn't have much luck there when they first opened, but it had been a good number of years since those visits and I thought why not do some takeout.

I went ahead and placed a takeout order online and went tp pick it up on my way home to check on Frankie.

Chaba is currently only doing takeout orders and on my visits, they seem to be doing decent business.

I decided to order the Tod Mun Pla (fishcake - $6.95) and the Nua Nam Tok ($10.95), which I ordered spicy. There was actually five people in front of me when I went to get my takeout, all to pick-up orders.

Here's what things looked like when I unpacked the containers at home.

The Tod Mun was actually not bad; decent chew and texture, nice Kaffir Lime Leaf fragrance and flavor, the pickles really added another layer of flavor and I also enjoyed the fried basil leaves as well.

As for the Nam Tok…..well, take a quick look......

First off, I ordered this "spicy"....you see any chilies? The grey color really didn't add anything to the presentation. There was a lack of roasted rice powder, the meat was rubbery, and had a metallic tinge to it. There was so much insipid liquid floating around as well. All the herbs were starting to brown. This was just not very good at all.

And so; I could have just called it quits after this....but heck, that fishcake was pretty good. And, since it had been so many years since my previous set of visits, I decided to give Chaba another try and I'm glad I did. I looked over the menu and found something I was interested in trying; the Khao Kluk Kapi (Shrimp Paste Fried Rice) with Honey Pork ($10.95).

This was by far the best item I'd had at Chaba to date. The pork was adequately tender; not falling apart, but with a light toothsomeness of well braised meet. The sweet-salty tones went really well with the rest of the dish. The fried egg had been seasoned nicely; it reminded me of a "lightweight" Khai Jeaw, without the ground pork, but there definitely was a touch of fish sauce in it.

And that rice....I ordered it medium spicy and it did have a good "kick" to it. But man, that shrimp paste really made this such a savory treat...….I must be missing Bagoong Rice! The rice was nicely coated.....I really enjoyed it.

And I even enjoyed the slices of green apple with this dish as well as it added a nice tannic-sourness that actually helped to level out the dish.

In fact, I went back for more a few days later. Unfortunately, I received a call after placing my online order telling me that they were out of the Khao Kluk Kapi. Bummer. The really nice young man recommended I try the BBQ and Crispy Pork Over Rice ($10.95)

This wasn't to my taste. The Moo Daeng was dry, tough, and lacked the sweet-salty-savory tones of a good BBQ Pork, you can just tell by the color. There was no caramelization to the meat....in fact; it kinda looked like kamaboko (Japanese fish cake). It came with the standard issue reddish sauce which really didn't do much for the dish. The Khao Moo Krob (crispy pork) was better in flavor, though the pieces were hard and dry instead of crisp. The rice was mushy and the boiled egg dry and overcooked. And it's a good thing I'm not a big eater, because this was barely enough to fill me up.

Well, at last I got one dish I really like from Chaba and as I was going ahead with this post; the Missus was lamenting the fact that Thai Papaya was still closed. And from my discussions with the folks at the Original Sab E Lee, several of the dishes the Missus really enjoys at Thai Papaya aren't on the menu at TOSEL. The Missus was really missing the version of Kai Yiew Ma Pad Kra Pow (Spicy Thousand Year Old Eggs) at Thai Papaya. I recalled seeing that on the menu at Chaba and decided to order that and the Khao Kluk Kapi (which they thankfully had) for dinner.

The Missus really enjoyed the Spicy Basil Chicken with Century Egg (Kai Yiew Ma Pad Kra Pow - $12.95).

In fact, She enjoyed it soooo much that I barely got a whiff (nice Thai Basil fragrance) of the dish. She did tell me that the medium spicy heat level was good. I'm glad She enjoyed the dish.

And She even poached (pun intended) the egg off my dish. Though I managed to keep most of the rice and pork for myself.

I'm glad to have found a couple of "keeper" dishes at Chaba. I'm tempted to try some of the other items on the menu; though my previous experience with the Pad See Ew and Kai Yaang leaves me somewhat gun shy. For now; I'll just be happy ordering the two dishes we enjoy from Chaba.

Chaba Thai Kitchen
8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am - 9pm

 

 

Comments

[kat]

glad you found some good ones! the first couple sounded sad...

[Kirk]

Yes, some of the dishes here were very disappointing Kat. At least I found two that are "keepers".

[Junichi]

Hmmm. They have khao soi on the menu. Wonder if that's a hit or a miss.

[Kirk]

People seem to like it Junichi....though I haven't had good Khao Soi outside of Thailand.

[Si O]

Been quietly reading your blog for a while.

My usual dish there are Khao Kluk Kapi and Khao Mok Kai. Actually, I think I like Khao Mok Kia more last time. Used to like pad kra pow but the dish is not 100% consistent. Khao soi is not bad last time I tried.

[Kirk]

Thanks for reading and taking the time out to comment Si! I'll give it a shot. I'm kinda disappointed that they've never had the Khao Kar Moo when I've asked.

[caninecologne]

I like your nickname for the strip mall sign. I like taking photos of those because it's always interesting to see what changes (or doesn't change). There is one in south CV (near Hogetsu)...the sign still says "Hiro Shoten" and "Kaga Sushi" (lol). Both long gone!

[Kirk]

And let's not forget my favorite sign of all time "D's Nuts" CC!

[Caninecologne]

We shall miss it so.

In other news,the sign near Star Dust Donuts now reads, "F esh nuts" (missing the R, D and o), yikes.

I will have to try CHhba for their Khao kluk kapi. Eathai (now defunct) used to serve that dish.

[Kirk]

Check them out CC. I think it's their best dish.

[jack]

Gee thanks Kirk. How can I be craving bagoong rice at 730am?!?

[Kirk]

Lol Jack! Now you got me craving it too!