I recently met up with CC for lunch and we decided to check out Siam Nara. It just so happened I had recently purchased a groupon for the restaurant and was happy to have the chance to redeem it. I visited Siam Nara all the way back in 2011 and recalled a few decent meals there.
Inside, the place is adorned with gold colors, giving it a very fancy appearance. Despite it being early in the day, the restaurant does not have a lot of natural light, so it was actually quite dark in the dining area.
I ordered some tea which came in this pretty cup.
We decided to forego the more popular Thai staples and be a little more adventurous. We chose from their “ZAAP!!! E-San” section, which is explained on the menu as Thai dishes bursting with bold flavors.
Som Tum Thai with Salted Crab
Crunchy shredded green papaya salad with salted crab, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and crushed peanuts tossed with fresh garlic, lime juice, and palm sugar.
This was my first time have papaya salad with salted crab. It basically tasted the same as the regular som tum, except it was topped with little crab shells that contained some crab roe. It added a little more brininess to the dish, but honestly if I hadn’t seen the black shells I don’t think I would have been able to tell the difference.
Thai E-San Sausage
Thai Northeastern style sausage served with ginger, red onions, Thai chilies, peanuts, and a wedge of lime.
I’ve had this style of sausage before and I found this one a little disappointing in comparison. It lacked flavor complexity, and the only thing I could really taste were the sour fermented notes.
Ko Moo Yang
Marinated grilled pork shoulder served with a special house sauce.
This dish was surprisingly simplistic. Considering the price ($11.99), I expected more. It reminded me a lot of grilled teriyaki chicken. It was accompanied with two dipping sauces: a spicy salsa-like one and a sweet one. I enjoyed the sweet sauce more than the spicy one.
Overall, we had an okay meal here. Everything we ordered tasted fine, though nothing was particularly memorable. It was more fun to spend time catching up with CC and I’m glad I had a groupon deal to make the meal cheaper. For those interested, the groupon deal is still active.
Menu:
Siam Nara
8993 Mira Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA
I loved all the gold decor in here. It felt like we were in a palace! I agree about the sausage; after having had better versions elsewhere (namely Supannee House of Thai where it is housemade and fresh), this version was the storebought frozen kind. Bert enjoyed the leftovers, especially the pork shoulder while TC liked the papaya salad which was very sweet.
I’m glad they enjoyed the leftovers! I really want to try Supannee. I was actually telling Mr. K about it when I got home.