Soi 7 in Downtown LA: Avoid and Go to Thai Town Instead

I knew it wasn't going to be pretty as we walked into Soi 7, a dark, unpromising Thai place situated next door to Bottega Louie in downtown (it gets all the overflow of customers unable to get a table there).

Like most people there, we were desperate -- hungry with no reservations anywhere and just shut out of Sai Sai Noodle at the Biltmore that supposedly had good noodles (I remain skeptical but will try it).

Our suspicions were confirmed. It's not so much that the food was inedible as it was either bland (papaya salad) or drowning in sodium (the rest).

We got chicken pad siew, crab fried rice and deep fried catfish because they had run out of deep fried whole fish (snapper).

While the chicken, noodles and greens were fine, the pad siew was extremely salty to the point of giving a headache.

Then the crab fried rice was also very salty. Why pour on the salt/soy sauce so much? The catfish was ok but the sauce that came with it, which I didn't add as we got it on the side, was, you guessed it, a ball of sodium.

I also had the mango mojito and it was pure alcohol, too strong so I couldn't even finish it. Service was spotty.

Needless to say, this seems like a takeout-cum-delivery place for a quick lunch. I will not be returning.

Cooking: Attention Spice Lovers -- This Thai Sauce is For You

One of my favorite past times is to wander around for hours at markets of cuisines I'm not as familiar with. Ok, I'm actually into any kind of market but there's something exciting about exploring everything an unknown market has to offer. Is that too geeky?

Anyway, as a proud food geek, I recently ventured to a Thai market in Thai Town (we are so blessed in LA) and found a really cool sauce in the ready-made food/condiment section by the entrance.

It was labeled as "curry" but the cashier lady told me it's not really curry. It was a mix of roasted chili (you know how much I like that charred flavor), garlic, salt and sugar. It was pretty spicy but the lady advised that I have "with rice and vegetables" so I tried that first.

I first tried it with some brown rice and baby broccoli stir fried with some garlic and salt. It gave this healthy meal some serious flavor and kick.

I also tried it with some pan fried pork tenderloin that I sliced thinly over rice to great effect. It has since become a great rice bowl condiment to veggies or meat.

On a separate note, I also bought some lemongrass and need to figure out the best way to cook with that. Any ideas?

Daisy Mint in Pasadena: For Emergency Thai Cravings Only

Who woulda thunk it? Two words: Thai + Pasadena. I didn't think they'd mix either, but I was surprised at the decent Thai served up in an area known more for housing overrated bakery Europane than good Thai eats.

Daisy Mint looks like it was obviously converted from a bohemian cafe -- judging by the cool art hanging on the walls, what looks like a glass pastry display by the cashier and the prerequisite old-school chandelier.

I had the chicken pad see ew and the tofu penang curry with brown rice. The pad see ew was above average, and I liked that it was stir fried with some black beans to give it a heartier flavor. The chicken tasted fresh and came in generous chunks instead of it being mostly noodles and greens.

The tofu penang curry was on the overly sweet side for me but once I added some hot sauce, it was better. I liked the pumpkin and the other healthy veggies in the curry. Having it with brown rice adds to the good-for-you appeal. I like it better when the tofu is fried but then I catch myself and think, oh, that's right. I was trying to eat healthy.


The worst part was the dessert. I mean, look at this monstrosity! The day's special, banana-stuffed dosa with vanilla ice cream, sounded so good on paper. Unfortunately, it was an awful execution. The deep-fried pocket filled with banana wasn't even warm (we were told it's usually warmed but this one wasn't because it was closing time, so they microwaved it for us, which helped a little but not enough to salvage it.) and the ice-cream didn't taste like vanilla at all. To make matters worse, they drowned, and I mean, drowned it with this awful berry syrup and condensed milk. If there ever was a dessert crime, this would be it.

One interesting thing I noticed from the menu was that it had Korean elements on it, including barley tea, kimchi fried rice and ribs. Although I probably wouldn't go here to get my Korean food fix, I thought it was an interesting mix. I asked if the owners were Korean. It turns out the owners are a Thai woman and Korean man couple. Cute.

Although I'm not sure I'll be returning anytime soon, it is good to know that there is a place to get half-way decent Thai in the middle of Pasadena. Me, I'm lucky to be closer to Thai Town than I was before, so there's little reason to venture out to Pas.