Tang's Thai Kitchen

While running some errands and socialization with Merlin a couple of weeks ago, we noticed a new Thai restaurant that just opened in the mall on Pomerado and Ted Williams. It sits between Cold Stone and Great Clips (near Target). There are 2 small tables out front and 3 tables inside. The menu board was empty when we went in so they must not have been open for very long.


With lunchtime near and hunger setting in, we decided to try it. Let's just say that the first month of a grand opening always makes dining interesting. There was a sign on the door looking for part time help. And boy, do they need more help. The Mister did the ordering while I stood puppy watch outside. He said the lady at the counter taking the order must be very new to Thai food. Guess she was pretty clueless. There was one other woman in the back cranking out the dishes. It took another 20 minutes before we got our order. The lady behind the counter ensured the Mister that the food would be worth the wait. Finally getting our order of Pad Thai with seafood combo and Rard Nah with shrimp (wide rice noodles with special gravy sauce), we realized the dishes had zero spiciness. But overall, very tasty dishes. I was very surprised by the size and amount of shrimp in the Rard Nah, very nice. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the food we ordered. But since we enjoyed our meal, we went back the next night for take out.

I called in the order this time (20 minutes before we wanted to eat). The same ditsy lady answered the phone. Either the phone she was using is very poor or she's a bit hard of hearing or the noise in the restaurant is very very loud. Or it's a combo of any of the three. I almost had to yell the order into the phone and this time I made sure she took down the spicy level (mild, medium, spicy). It also sounded like she was still getting familiar with the menu. I ordered using the name of the dishes, she asked for the numbers. Good to know for the next time. I added an extra dish of Yellow Curry with chicken (potatoes, onions, carrots) along with Pad Thai and Rard Nah but once again, I forgot to take picture. The Yellow Curry was very runny but had decent flavor. It came with an order of rice. I enjoyed it better the next day. BTW, there's a list of meat choices for the noodles and rice dishes (chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, calamari, seafood combo, tofu, vegetables). I'll scan in the take-out menu and will update a bit later.

Determined to actually do a food post with pictures, we went back a third time. We wanted to try different dishes this time. Once again, I called it in and once again, it was the ditsy lady. Hoo boy. They certainly have some kinks to work out because I was put on hold for about 3-4 minutes (actually the phone was laid down on the counter and I could hear everything, including the noisy kids in the background screaming, no wonder the ditz was hard of hearing). Finally, the ditz took my order. Once again, I was talking very loudly and speaking very very slowly so she can follow along. Me: One order of # 59, Spicy Seafood, with Spicy heat. Her: Wait, I will get that later. So.....[long pause] 59 [pause] that's spicy seafood [pause - uh huh]..............okay, that's it? Sigh...no, unfortunately. After taking the remaining order, she said thank you and hung up. Didn't ask me for my name or phone number and didn't say how long for the order to be ready.

I handed the Mister a slip with the exact dishes I ordered in case the ditz has trouble finding it. Thank goodness because the Mister had to help her find our order when he went in to pick it up. He had to wait an extra 10 minutes because the menu wasn't very clear as to whether all dishes have a choice of meat (not all), and ditz forgot to ask me what kind of meat I wanted with my pineapple fried rice. So the cook didn't make the rice and was waiting for the Mister to pick up the order to make it. Confused yet?? Uh huh. Well, at least the fried rice was piping hot. The Mister also noticed that the menu board was finally up.

So here's what we got.

This is (what's left) the fried meatballs (6/order). It has the same texture as a fishball but not much flavor. It came with a sweet dipping sauce. Meh.



The Pineapple Fried Rice with Pork in medium heat was very tasty. The pork was tender and had decent flavor. The pieces of pineapple were small bite sizes (obvious from a can). I wish the broccoli were chopped a little smaller but overall, good flavor and we both would have this again.

The Mister ordered the Spicy Seafood at spicy heat. He said it had decent heat but could have been hotter. The Mister said he wouldn't order this again. He'd much rather have his Pah Thai again. The sauce reminded me a bit of a mild ma la sauce. Meh. He did like the various seafood items.

I tried the Hot Basil with Calamari in medium heat. There was straw mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, zucchini, baby carrots and green onions. It was okay in flavor, mild heat, and the calamari was pretty good, tender and not chewy. I felt the amount of calamari was less than when I had it with the Rard Na during the second visit. Although the dish was okay and I enjoyed the calamari, probably wouldn't order this again.

The Mister and I decided that we'd wait a little while before going back. That will give them some time to work out the kinks. If you do stop on by, anticipate a bit of wait for your order. I'll post the menu in a little bit.

Tang's Thai Kitchen
14791 Pomerado Rd.
Poway, CA 92064-2802
858-668-1754

Next "food" post, Chicken Pie Diner, another dog friendly establishment.