Top Thai Restaurant - San Dimas

Sometimes in all this talk about blog rankings and pageviews, what gets lost is why I started a food blog in the first place. Armed with a battered Canon SD110, I set out to highlight some of the mom and pop restaurants that didn't receive much, if any, coverage. Not the latest "trendy" food. Not the restaurants located in culinary paradises like the San Gabriel Valley, Little Saigon, and Koreatown. Just the small ethnic restaurants in average places.



Top Thai Restaurant, located a block away from the Western-style downtown of San Dimas, serves up good Thai food. While that doesn't sound like high praise, it really is when you think of the culinary wasteland that is the Inland Valley and Inland Empire.



The interior is decorated with lots of Thai knick knacks and travel posters.



This was the old menu. Their new menu has the same dishes, but everything now costs about a dollar more. It's a pretty extensive menu though. Even with the raised prices, most dishes fall within the $8 range.



On this night I was dining with my brother and his wife and lil' sis, who was craving tom yum kai (Thai hot and sour chicken soup with lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, mushrooms, chili, and lime juice) for $8.99.



The broth was lovely with all the subtle fragrance from the galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves. I actually appreciate when Thai restaurants leave the herbs in the soup because I think it makes the broth so much more flavorful.



We also ordered a Thai green curry with tofu for $7.99. It comes with a choice of smoked or white tofu, snow peas, asparagus, red and green bell peppers, squash, and fresh basil leaves. The green curry was too light in flavor, too subtle. I like their red and yellow curries better.



The pad kee mao with beef (Thai stir-fried thick rice noodles with ground beef, chili, onion, mint leaves, green pepper, green beans, and tomatoes) for $7.99. Good flavors but not very spicy. I'd ask for it to be spicier next time.



Pineapple fried rice with eggs, pineapples, cashews, curry powder, and chicken for $8.99. I had forgotten about the cashews and curry powder when I made my version of pineapple fried rice with Spam. The curry powder was subtle, but a very nice touch.



Previous visits and with my old camera.

Thai beef salad for $8.99. It's funny for me to compare my old and new photos. While I don't think my photography is that great, I did learn some things in the past few years. Such as, if I'm going to take a picture of a beef salad, I should angle the plate so you can actually see the beef. :P But yes, there was beef and it was good.



Red curry with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, bell peppers, fresh basil leaves, and hot pepper sauce for $7.99. I like red curry more than green or yellow so this was my favorite of the three.



The yellow curry is just listed on the menu as curry chicken with potatoes, yellow curry paste, coconut milk, and onions for $7.99. This is richer and thicker than the red and green versions.



Phad Thai (Thai pan-fried rice noodles with eggs, chicken, bean sprouts, green onions, and ground peanuts) for $7.99.



Vegetarian pad kee mao with tofu for $7.99. I liked the vegetarian version here more than the beef. More sauce. More flavor.



While it won't knock your socks off, finding not only a decent, but a good, Thai restaurant out in the 909 makes it worth a visit if you're in the area.

Other Thai restaurants:
Bhan Kanom Thai - Los Angeles (Thai Town)
Noodle World - Alhambra
Palms Thai Restaurant - Los Angeles (Hollywood)
Thai Purple - Alhambra

Top Thai Restaurant
110 N. San Dimas Ave.
San Dimas, CA 91773
909-971-9800
11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

*****
1 year ago today, Japanese cream puffs -- Beard Papa's - San Gabriel.