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Thep Thai Cuisine and other Puna Kai restaurants
#1
Well we finally tried the new Thai place at Puna Kai and I thought I would share our experience with you.  

The good news:  Friendly staff, clean establishment, fast service, large portions and very generous with the meat.

The bad news:  The food is horrible.  I hate to say it, but it was the worst "Thai" food we've ever had.  And not just a little bit worse, I mean like exponentially times infinity the worst Thai food we've ever had.

What we ordered:

Crispy Spring Rolls
Pa Nang Curry (medium heat)
Green Curry (medium heat)

What we got:

Soggy Bland Rolls
Pa Bland Curry (no heat)
Boiled Chicken floating in dishwater smuggled out of Ning's

Let's break it down a little further:  The "crispy" spring rolls were drenched in a bland sauce that made them soggy and bendy.  I couldn't tell what the filling was, it might have been cardboard soaked in cabbage juice.  I'm trying to think of something positive to say about them but after spending $9 on dog treats I just can't think of one.  We did get "take out" which I'm sure made them more soggy than normal but seriously they were more like bland dumplings than "crispy" spring rolls. Grade:  D-

The Pa Nang curry was definitely the star of the show.  Unlike Ning's where you're lucky to get two McNugget's worth of chicken in the entire dish, this curry was almost entirely chicken.  There was maybe a spoonful of bamboo shoots and other vegetable chunks in there.  But the dish had no flavor and the sauce was so runny it wouldn't even stick to the rice.  No spice, no flavor.  Grade:  D

If ever there was an F- for a food dish the Green Curry is it.  It was neither green, nor a curry.  The sauce was beyond watery.  It was more like a coconut tinged water broth with boiled chicken and a couple big chunks of raw bok choy floating on top.  Again, very generous portions of chicken.  Flavorless chicken.  I can't think of a word that is more devoid of flavor than bland, but this is it.

I understand that every kitchen has a bad day, but there is so much distance between mediocre and the culinary atrocities that we were served I would never give this place a second chance.

The most positive thing I can congratulate them on is large portions and generous amount of chicken, but on the flip side of that, it just means more leftovers.  I can't bring myself to throw out $45 worth of food so I just have to suffer through it.  The wife said she might try to "fix it" somehow.  That would be a miracle.

I know you are thinking, terracore, stop sugar-coating it, how do you really feel about the food at Thep's?  Well, with COVID going on I'm trying to focus on the positive things happening around us.  That's why I didn't even mention the gelatinous over-cooked rice.  It was probably an attempt to make the dishwater they call curry stick to it.
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#2
Someone has to pay the mainland-style rent at Puna Kai.

That said, I can recommend the L&L. "It's not like the others."
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#3
(09-08-2020, 12:50 AM)kalakoa Wrote: Someone has to pay the mainland-style rent at Puna Kai.

That said, I can recommend the L&L. "It's not like the others."


Wait.  What?  How?  

That being said, I only ate at L&L once (different location), early in the lunch hour and clear it was the previous night's leftovers, but it was still better than Thep.
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#4
Clean. No steam table. Everything fresh to order. They serve breakfast.

The other "L&L In Name Only" is on Oahu.
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#5
Good to know. I would actually try that. The steam table is usually where the refuse of leftovers goes to die (or be fed). A trough for humans.

This is from a Thep thread on social media:

"We were not impressed either. It isn't really thai... more like Chinese in my opinion. The orange chicken and lillikoi chicken were exactly same. Both should have been called Thai chili sauce chicken. We enjoyed it but not what we considered Thai. Decent amount for $ but don't think we will return. Will stick with Ning Thai in pahoa town"

"I heard the same thing from a few different people. Sorry."

"seriously huge portions!"

"I thought everything was way to sweet and all tasted the same"

"I am bummed about it too. We had food take out once. Nings is better"

"I've seen both smashing and terrible reviews of this place. A friend went when they opened and gave it rave reviews. Went back a week later and said it was awful all the way. Sad shame. Too small of a town to keep that up."
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#6
Where's Popeye's Chicken??? Yes it's a chain store and not local but I love their Cajun style chicken.
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#7
Popeye's probably won't bother opening until New Malama opens "sometime next year".
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#8
My wife and I tried Thep and found it tasteless. The food was awful.... otherwise it was a nice looking restaurant. Just don't do there to eat.
Assume the best and ask questions.

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#9
(09-08-2020, 12:27 AM)terracore Wrote: We went by Thep Thai a couple weeks ago. We walked in, one unmasked person standing over food while putting food in containers, another was taking orders with a mask but not covering nose. We walked out. 

Well we finally tried the new Thai place at Puna Kai and I thought I would share our experience with you.  

The good news:  Friendly staff, clean establishment, fast service, large portions and very generous with the meat.

The bad news:  The food is horrible.  I hate to say it, but it was the worst "Thai" food we've ever had.  And not just a little bit worse, I mean like exponentially times infinity the worst Thai food we've ever had.

What we ordered:

Crispy Spring Rolls
Pa Nang Curry (medium heat)
Green Curry (medium heat)

What we got:

Soggy Bland Rolls
Pa Bland Curry (no heat)
Boiled Chicken floating in dishwater smuggled out of Ning's

Let's break it down a little further:  The "crispy" spring rolls were drenched in a bland sauce that made them soggy and bendy.  I couldn't tell what the filling was, it might have been cardboard soaked in cabbage juice.  I'm trying to think of something positive to say about them but after spending $9 on dog treats I just can't think of one.  We did get "take out" which I'm sure made them more soggy than normal but seriously they were more like bland dumplings than "crispy" spring rolls. Grade:  D-

The Pa Nang curry was definitely the star of the show.  Unlike Ning's where you're lucky to get two McNugget's worth of chicken in the entire dish, this curry was almost entirely chicken.  There was maybe a spoonful of bamboo shoots and other vegetable chunks in there.  But the dish had no flavor and the sauce was so runny it wouldn't even stick to the rice.  No spice, no flavor.  Grade:  D

If ever there was an F- for a food dish the Green Curry is it.  It was neither green, nor a curry.  The sauce was beyond watery.  It was more like a coconut tinged water broth with boiled chicken and a couple big chunks of raw bok choy floating on top.  Again, very generous portions of chicken.  Flavorless chicken.  I can't think of a word that is more devoid of flavor than bland, but this is it.

I understand that every kitchen has a bad day, but there is so much distance between mediocre and the culinary atrocities that we were served I would never give this place a second chance.

The most positive thing I can congratulate them on is large portions and generous amount of chicken, but on the flip side of that, it just means more leftovers.  I can't bring myself to throw out $45 worth of food so I just have to suffer through it.  The wife said she might try to "fix it" somehow.  That would be a miracle.

I know you are thinking, terracore, stop sugar-coating it, how do you really feel about the food at Thep's?  Well, with COVID going on I'm trying to focus on the positive things happening around us.  That's why I didn't even mention the gelatinous over-cooked rice.  It was probably an attempt to make the dishwater they call curry stick to it.
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#10
Wonder if the owners would ever see this thread.
Puna:  Our roosters crow first!
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