Spices Thai Cafe

I was craving another Thai restaurant so we decided to go locally to Spices Thai Cafe. Plus, it was the perfect opportunity to continue on my Thai quest! We've been here before but it was seriously a long time ago...

One thing I immediately noticed after ordering the Pad See Ew with chicken ($10.95) is that the waiter asked what level spicy. Most restaurants do not have a spice level for this dish since it is typically on the sweet and salty side. I decided to suck it up and go for a ... 3 ... still mild! The dish came out very steamy hot and stayed that way through most of dinner. There was also regular broccoli along with carrots and onions. I don't know why but I like when they have the OTHER greens that typically go with this dish, but at least these veggies were cooked with a bit of crunch and tenderness. Flavorwise, I thought this one was better than Thai House Cuisine although the extra spice may have thrown my taste buds off. I did need to drink some water between various bites! Here the chicken pieces were slightly bigger and juicier for the most part too.

For Dennis's dish, he ordered a level 5 Spicy Noodle with pork ($10.95). I was also surprised at the veggies that came with his meal because there were bean sprouts in it! I think that particular mix looked unappetizing, at least for my taste. I did take a bite but the spice level wasn't something I could eat much of. Dennis commented that the spice was overwhelming while the flavor was almost non-existant. He also thought the pork meat was a little oily. Sounds like we won't order that particular dish again... there are definitely plenty of other options on the menu.

We didn't get to sample too much food on this visit but I would like to come for the lunch special to try something different and save a few dollars. There's still one other Thai restaurant in Mira Mesa that I need to revisit (Siam Nara) so after that, we'll know which local place is our go-to when we're lazy to drive far!