My Ah-c-an In ME

*my Asian in me.

Today, I was craving the flavor of Asia (at least, close to that). I haven't tasted Asian cuisine in ages. My mind, body, and soul is desperately in need to reconnect with the culture. (why am I writing this way...? i don't know why... but pls.. just bear with me =))))

Alright, so for lunch I suggested we go for Thai. There's usually good Thai in the City but in our location it is lacking in the Asian cuisine category - what's mostly around us are European restaurants, lovely food but not today.

I searched the 96 Hours magazine; this magazine is where one will find what's happening in the City from Th to Sunday, restaurants openings, etc...

We opted for Grand Pu Bah in Townsend. I'm a bit skeptical of places I've never heard of before (i've seen it many times). We drove over there... The weather right now btw in SF is freakin' (excruciatingly) HOT!

We had...

Chicken Satay
marinated tender chicken served with cucumber salad & homemade peanut sauce

--- dif'rent take on how they made the chicken. it was coated with uhm... curry and bbq'd (or perhaps, marinated in), bamboo shoots, a lil bit of ginger. The bbq'd chicken was nicely done. As for the homemade peanut sauce, in all my years of eating Thai I've never had peanut sauce the way I prefer it; which is (as I explained to Mikey-Ike) I like my peanut sauce to be at least 98% peanut, then he said why don't you just asked for peanut butter - lol. Then I thought, oh yes ha... the way I like my peanut sauce is peanut butter, which dif'nitely will not go well with my chicken satay. EEECK... how awful would that be. ANYWAY...)

Papaya Salad
shredded papaya, tomato, green bean, iceberg lettuce, peanut and Spanish anchovies

---- This was a huge disappointment =/. I like the papaya salad at Slanted Door (wayyy)better.

Green Curry
homemade green curry paste, green bean, bell pepper, zucchini, basil and bamboo shoots

---- OMG! this was mind-blowing. Never had green curry like this one =)))) The best I've tasted. Everything was fresh (some rest's uses some sort of coconut paste, that after a while it'll congeal - disgusting) After tasting this Thai Curry, it was like I've gone to Thai-Green-Curry-Heaven. My mum makes curry-like dishes also, and this green curry reminded me of that - pure heaven.
Pad See You
stir-fried flat noodles with soy, chinese broccoli and egg

---- They used pappardelle clear noodle. I was a bit doubtful when ordering this dish b/c of the spelling. However, after I tasted it, it was amazing. Slightly sweet, balanced well with Soy

Mango Sticky Rice
vanilla infused coconut sticky rice topped with caramelized pop rice, mango coulis served with Tom Kha sorbet
---- The vanilla ice cream and the caramelized pop rice was surprisingly delicious together. I grew up with Sticky rice, this measured to my expectation (deteste it when rest's does not use the rice particularly used for making sticky rice, and when the rice is not well cooked -ugh!)

Fried Banana with Ice-Cream

fried banana, pineapple ginger caramel, cashew coconut brittle served with Singha beer ice-cream

---- I didn't get this b/c I was full already. But I was intrigued of what Li-Hing was... apparently it's a flower (tried searching about it but to no avail). I've never had beer ice cream before, so I asked about it, the waiter was kind enough to give me a sample. It was incredible! A bit sweet, the bitterness did not disappear, and the malt after-taste - the perfect way to end.

Everything was meant to be shared. One entree is meant for at least 3-4 people. The dessert and the app is good for 2-3 people. The decor was not bad, a bit over done but clean. The staff were pleasant and welcoming. I think we found our new Thai place in the City =))). YEY YAH!