Amphawa Thai Noodle House

photo - Yelp, Kob V.

Amphawa Thai Noodle House, Dinner, Inner Richmond
April 8, 2016

P:
Mango Tango
Thai Iced Tea

J: 
Pad Kee Mao with Chicken
Thai Iced Tea


Notes:
Before Patrick and I met, I lived in this neighborhood, our current neighborhood.  Yes, we probably even passed by each other a time or two back then, not knowing that we'd meet someday.  But that's a story for another time.

So, when I did live in this neighborhood, this place, Amphawa, was my favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant, then called Chiang Mai.  Shortly before I moved across the bay, Chiang Mai closed for a period of time, ostensibly for renovations, but reopened with a new name, a new look, and a new menu.  And a new chef, apparently; the food was not good.  This was no longer my favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant, never mind no longer my neighborhood.

Fast forward to a few years later: Patrick and I are dating, we were in his 'hood (my old and our current one, if you follow), and in the mood for Thai food.  We decided to give Amphawa a shot, and I'm glad we did, because it was delicious!

Enough with the back story.  Now I will tell you about our latest visit to this, our favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant.  Well, one of them.  Or, one of mine.  Though, that said, I was pretty disappointed with the noodles I ordered that night.  As soon as I saw those wide, wok-seared rice noodles hit the table, broken into a pile of little pieces in the bowl, I knew: they were overcooked.  Thankfully though, the flavors were still spot-on.  The noodles are tossed in a wok with slices of chicken breast and a smattering of veggies, all seasoned with a piquant and lightly sweet dark sauce, heavy on the umami and punched up by hot, spicy chilies and a generous handful of licorice-y Thai basil.  The hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors synonymous with Thai cuisine are all at work in this dish, also one of my favorite comfort foods.

Patrick was quite happy with his dish.  Thin slices of fatty beef stir fried in a screaming hot wok (you could literally taste the flames) with pieces of slightly under-ripe mango, bell peppers and onions in a thin but savory sauce flavored with...red wine?  I'm not sure, but I think that's what I was tasting.  Odd, to be sure, but I kept going back for more; it just worked.  Most interestingly for Patrick, the beef and the mango took on similar textures; he often found himself biting into mango but expecting to taste beef, and vice versa.

We both had Thai iced tea.  This is one of Patrick's favorites, but I usually stick with the iced coffee instead, and probably will in the future.  Think ridiculously strong tea (or coffee), syrupy sweet with sugar, tempered by half and half and served over ice.  Yeah, it's good, but I would say average; no better or worse than most I've had.


We'll be back, but if they can't fix their noodle problem, we might need to move (and find ourselves a new favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant).