| Clean, recently-opened restaurant with a large menu and friendly waitstaff. |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 6/13/2006
Rating: 9
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I love the feeling of getting an excellent tasting meal where the prices are cheap and food taste healthy. Thanks to Monique for letting us know about The Old Siam. The restaurant is kinda hidden as the location is tucked away in a shopping center next to Longs. You might not be able to see it from El Camino Real because of the trees along the sidewalk. Trust me, it's worth the effort, this place is the real deal.
The Old Siam is a newly opened restaurant in the Sunnyvale area and hope word spreads about their delicious food. We walk in and quickly the waitress smiles at us and asks us to seat where ever we want. We choose a window and began to browse the menu. Lunch combos are the way to go at a bargain $6.49.
I was planning on eating pork tenderloin for dinner so I figured I'd eat something healthy, something like the Pad Puk. Each combo comes with soup of the day, small salad, and steamed rice.
soup (picture #3) arrived and it was a mixture of vegetable broth? onions, black pepper, celery, carrots, and cabbage. One of the 1st things I noticed was the lack of the orangy/red oil slick thats more common with thai restaurants. It wasn't as salty either. Tasted very healthy to me probably because of the lack of MSG.
pad puk - stir fried vegetables with a secret sauce. OMG, this dish was so flippin good my mouth is started to water as I write this. Keep in mind, I'm a dedicated carnivore but willing to trade a new york strip steak for this perfectly cooked veggie meal. IT'S THAT GOOD! If you look at pictures 5 and 6, doesn't that look appealing to the eyes? Bright colors and great combination of vegetables with fried tofu. I don't know what type of sauce it was but you can taste seasoned wok in the meal. High heat left some of the vegetables charred but nothing was overcooked. Vegetables were firm and crisp. Rice was AWESOME, it was plain white rice but fluffy. Mix a little of the secret sauce and you are golden. The salad was pretty good, it had a sweet peanut dressing on top.
Super good stuff and it only costs $7. I didn't feel bloated after eating my meal but felt good I had my daily dose of fresh vegetables. All the outstanding flavor without the guilt. Service was equally pleasing as our waters were constantly filled and all done with a smile. The Old Siam is a real jatbar find where both Terry and I walked out saying, DAMM that was one heck of a meal. It's not often where Terry and I will continue to talk about the meal in the car and compare the restaurant to previous favorites. We were positive Old Siam left a lasting impression to make it towards the top of our Thai list.
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 6/13/2006
Rating: 9
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Last night I sprained my ankle, so was on the fence about reviewing a new place. But it came down to- I had to eat, so might as well make it count. Armed with a cast and crutches I hit the streets with Jason.
We drove around a bit looking for a new place, until Jason spotted The Old Siam, which was a request via email that he remembered.
I walked in without knowing what to expect. I guess the standard thai experience. Aside from Blue Mango, I had not really had a home-run thai experience. Sure, the cuisine is good, but not my first choice very often. Dishes can be greasy, prices high, and the atmosphere a little too fancy for my tastes.
We walk in and, with me being on crutches, I immediately notice that the place is a little cramped. Tables are close together. Wonderful. We do manage to find a table and I squeeze into there, but still my back is mere inches from a person at the next table.
I look over the menu. See a lot of interesting items, but settle on the lunch special of Pad Thai with tofu. Spicy. And a thai iced tea. The thai tea arrived quickly and I was thirsty. I downed it just about as quickly. It was delicious. I have had few bad thai teas. Sadly this drink was about as small as other restaurants item. After I was finished, a water was brought out to me without me having to ask. Good service here.
The soup arrived and it was a bit bland but was not swimming with grease. There was a lot of pepper in it which spiced it up. It tasted fresh, but otherwise uninspiring.
Soon afterwards my pad thai arrived. The dish was huge. Much larger than I was expecting. I quickly dug in (after the required photos from Jason). This dish was also not greasy or particularly spicy, but it was damn good. I'm talking hall of fame. No pretenciousness. No reliance on msg or super-saturation of oil. Just clean, solid ingredients, building up to a satisfying dish. The broccoli and mini-corns in my dish were firm and fresh-tasting. The noodles were soft and non-greasy. The tofu was perfect.
I ate about 95% of the dish and was really pushing myself the last 5% as it was so good. Even though it wasn't as spicy as I would have liked, it had fantastic flavors. And what a price! Even if my dish was another $3, I probably would still rate this place a 9.
I look forward to returning and trying other dishes here. This is now my thai place to visit. Cheap prices, solid menu, excellent food. The place is a little cramped, and the thai tea did not impress me (should have made the quantity match that of their dishes).
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Reviewer: pyunnyhana
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 6/26/2006
Rating: 9
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The special for Monday is the chicken curry with bamboo shoots, pumpkin, bell peppers for 4.59. WHAT A DEAL. With tax and tip it was only 6 dollars.
Soup: eggdrop soup with clear broth and bits of carrots. It didn't have much flavor. Just so so
Salad: colors were beautiful. Purple cabbage, green salad, orange carrots and a slice of red tomato with a peanutbutter-like dressing. The presentation against the white plate made the food even more delicious.
Chicken Curry: I asked for medium spice and whooo... it was pretty spicy for me, but bearable. I like a challenge when eating my food. I absolutely loved the fact there was pumpkin in the curry. The chicken pieces were tender, the bamboo shoots crisp, and they put in some jalapenos in mine. I didn't eat it but it gave a big kick. I sopped up every drop of curry. The portion was bigger than I thought it'd be.
Rice: Perfect. Soft fluffy goodness. Soaked up the curry well.
It was a small and intimate lunch with only me and a friend. There were only two other men eating in the restaurant (it was 11:45am). The waitresses were very helpful with the menu and they must've refilled our water 4 times! The water was good, I must say. Very refreshing with a hint of lemon. At the end of our meal, they gave us slices of watermelons with our checks. Watermelon! An old white lady came in to pick up a togo order and I overheard her giving a lot of compliments to the owners/waitresses, saying how her husband loves this place and how she hopes they never close. It was sweet =]
I highly recommend The Old Siam. Great food, great portions, cheap specials and lunch combos, and attentive service.
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Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 6/30/2006
Rating: 8
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Having reached the century mark, there is no resting for this bad boy. I kicked off review 101 with the Jatbar crew. Jason suggested we meet for lunch at The Old Siam in Sunnyvale to celebrate. The Old Siam is located in a shopping center with Longs Drugs and Fresh Choice. The restaurant is located across the street from a carwash.
I lunched with the original top three head honchos at Jatbar, Jason, Terry, and Eddie. Upon sitting, our waiter brings our menu. Terry, Eddie, and I order Thai iced tea and at first Jason only wants water but changes his mind and orders the same. Our waiter brings the Thai iced tea and glass of water for each person. We are given a few more moments to decide.
Prices here are decent. Lunch items are 6.95 and the special of the day is 4.95. Lunch specials include soup, a small salad, and main entrée. Entrees include your choice of tofu, chicken, or shrimp (add $2 for shrimp). I decide on the fried rice with chicken. After we order, our waiter brings small bowls of soup to our table. Soup consists of a light broth with finely chopped veggies. Good flavor but not something I would order as a starter.
Terry commented that the Thai iced tea was a bit sweet and I concur. After what it seemed like a few minutes, our lunch is brought to the table. My fried rice consisted of moist sticky rice, large chunks of tender chicken, bits of eggs, peas, and slices of carrots and tomatoes. Included on the plate was a small salad with drizzles of Thai dressing. The dressing was good but not enough of it for me to enjoy the salad. Fried rice was good, but a tad salty. The saltiness of the fried rice balanced with the sweetness of the iced tea. I could see myself downing at least two cups of water with this dish. I left over many chicken pieces and slices of tomatoes, as they did not go well with the rice.
During the meal when our iced tea ran out, our waiter stopped by and asked us if we wanted a free refill. Our table looked surprised but accepted the generous offer without hesitation. This is a great bargain considering the Thai iced tea fits the budget. To differentiate the glasses, she removed Terrys straw so she would know later which was mine and which was his. This is a good trick that usually the waiter almost never does and is up to the customers. Later, she tried to recommend desserts but by this time, we were all too full.
Pluses: Plenty of parking, accepts credit cards, friendly service, affordable.
Minuses: $2 extra for shrimp? Food might be a little too salty of some. Drinks might be a little too sweet for some.
Over all, the meal is not bad, the prices are reasonable, the food tastes authentic, and service is hospitable. I would come back and try some other items on the menu. I would rate this a 7.5 but add 0.5 for great service and free Thai iced tea refills.
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Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 148
Reviewed: 11/22/2006
Rating: 7.5
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dropped in for lunch with jsatre today.
they were busy catering to a large party, a table of at least 20 as well as a pretty full restaurant.
i had the 'special' pad thai and a thai iced tea. what 'special' meant i had no idea.
service seemed a little spazzy, but had a lot to do with the group.
first came the soup - cubed baby corn, carrots, celery, cabbage, stewed in either water or a broth. it was a little watered down and the flavors were not clear.
next came the pad thai - first, the dressing on the salad was excellent. the salad itself was very fresh and crisp. the dressing enhanced everything. the pad thai, special meant 'pad thai with fried tofu and strips of chicken' it was good, not fantastic, not horrible, just good. the noodles were a bit soft to my liking and the pad thai was overall a little 'wet' came with bean sprouts and jullianed carrots to mix in. no peanuts.
pad thai - $6.95
thai iced tea - $2.00
for those prices, and the portion sizes there's not much to complain about. if i was in the area and felt like thai, i wouldn't mind dropping in again.
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Reviewer: jsatre
Total Reviews: 75
Reviewed: 11/22/2006
Rating: 8
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Meet up with my favorite Jatbar buddy wchane for lunch last Wednesday... He was in the mood for something hot and rice. The Old Siam sounded like just the place.
We arrive and the place is pretty packed. We get one of the last tables. I notice a huge party of 20 of so taking up half the restaurant. Oh craap...
We notice the homey feel of the place and WC noticed the place was fairly clean...
We are handed menus and start looking at the lunch menu. At $6.50 (or so) you get an entree with rice, salad and soup... decent deal! WC ordered the daily special (Pad Thai) so it must have been a little cheaper. I had a hard time deciding but went with Gang Ka Ree (L14) - A chicken curry with potatoes, carrots, onion and coconut milk.
Now the wait... I kept seeing the waitress scurry from the kitchen with dishes for the big party - they were taxing the kitchen for sure.
We had soup arrive and it was unusual, but taste... The lime-coconut broth was tasty, but the lack of veggies left me unsatisfied. I finished off the broth however.
We waited at least 20 minutes or more for our plates to arrive. At least we have tea (me) and Thai iced tea (WC) to keep us busy... of course we can chat for hours too. Yet that doesn't do anything for our hunger.
When our plates finally arrived I was happy with the portion size... The salad was delicious - crisp, carrot, tomato and red cabbage and the peanut dressing very tasty. I could just go for a huge salad with a dressing this good. Now for the main event: the flavor of curry was good, but not spicy as I had hoped. No condiments on the table to improve things, but the curry was velvety smooth. The chicken was a little tough however, and several of the potatoes uncooked. I dished out the sauce on my rice and did fill up nicely and just left the uncooked potatoes in the sauce bowl.
The service was lacking - we barely had any attention at all. The tables of two ladies next to us were even waiting longer for a take our dish of Pad Thai than we received our food. No apologies either and that what have helped a bit.
Overall - I had high hopes with J&T's 9 rating but with the service taking a dive an 8 seems very fair. I know we came on a super busy day and I would be very happy to return and enjoy another dish with better service.
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Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 6/27/2007
Rating: 9
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Since reading about Old Siam on Jatbar, I have become a regular customer here. The food always tastes fresh and homemade, the service is friendly, and the prices are excellent, especially for the daily special. This not your typical Thai restaurant filled with Thai decor and piped-in music. It's very basic, understated, yet tasteful, and absolutely spotless. I have been back to Old Siam at least a dozen times now.
Here's a summary of my first two meals there:
Had a very delicious lunch on a Friday at peak lunch hour. The place was about half full. Nice spare decor and very clean. Service was excellent, and they insisted I sit at a bigger table by the window even though I was by myself with the newspaper. Ordered the daily special, panang curry chicken, which included salad and soup. This was outstanding: steaming hot, very fresh, with veggies that were slightly crunchy. The rice was perfect. The quantity was just right, not a huge amount, but enough to fill me up. Plus a watermelon slice as a kicker. With tax and tip this was only $7. Amazing! I think I've found a new favorite Thai place. A 9.5 rating so far.
On my second visit I tried the lunch special again, This time it was Pad Thai with chicken. The waiter actually recognized me and welcomed me back. When the food arrived I was shocked at the large amount of delicious Pad Thai heaped on my plate. It came with a small salad plus soup. I actually had a bit of trouble finishing it. Again there was a watermelon slice with the check, a really nice touch. Total cost with tax and tip was $6. Amazing again! This time, however, the place was full and consequently they were a little understaffed. Getting change from my $20 took a bit too long. Still a great meal though.
They have since done away with the complimentary watermelon slices at the end of each meal, but they still have the daily lunch specials. I was just here again last Friday and ordered the daily special. It's pretty amazing when you have a delicious meal with soup/salad and the check says $5.36!!
For the most part service has been excellent, but I've had terrible service on two more occasions, even once when the place was not busy. Based on that, I'm moving my initial estimate of 9.5 to 9.0. Still, this is currently my favorite lunch spot right now, and I plan on being a regular for awhile.
Pros: Top-Notch, fresh Thai food; Good prices, especially the daily special; Clean & pleasant decor; Friendly staff
Cons: Occasionally poor service |
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