Thai Test Kitchen

Ordered pad thai and fried tofu, both were out instantly!WARNING: Don't go above 8/10 spice even if you have a high tolerance...

The Pad Thai had good flavor by itself however the noodles were super chewy to an extent I had to use my finger to break it. I brought this to the attention of the staff and it was remade, however I wonder if the same bowl was reheated or if the noddles had gotten stale today cause at this instance it felt unevenly cooked with most of it still chewy.It was unfortunate since I think the flavor was very good so I'm giving 3 stars but the noodles were simply a struggle.I was approached by the staff and was asked if it was better and I shared my concern. I was told to ask for soft noodles next time and that here they use fresh noodles unlike soaked noodles at other Thai restaurants. That may be, but I have had pad Thai countless times in my life and easily at over 50+ Thai restaurants, and I can say I have never dealt with as chewy of noodles.Here's me after trying to pull to break the remade noodles which were still better than the first batch.

THAI "HIDDEN" KITCHEN (3.7 stars)Craving (authentic) Thai without the need to go to Convoy. It's a mom and pop kind of place, nearly a one person kitchen. - FOOD: good- SERVICE: good but takes 20m for food - PRICE: decent- AMBIANCE: hidden and tiny Would have never discovered this place if I didn't look on yelp. It's hidden in the middle of SeaView corporate buildings. Authentic Thai food cooked by Thai people serving business people on their lunch breaks and a sprinkle of college students. It's an interesting spot, upon arrival there were two cash registers - one for another business and another for this restaurant. The menus are laid out infront of the register (don't forget to flip them as there are more items on the back to select). Typical Thai food selection but I saw Singapore Noodles (yet no picture of it on yelp). I will be the guinea pig for yall. Wait time "15 - 20min" easily turns to "25min" (keep the wait time in mind).:: ORDER ::SINGAPORE NOODLES (~$14) - rice vermicelli noodles with curry powder, served with green onion, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Choice of protein: chicken. Their version is ok. I use to eat Singapore Noodles once a week in SF and hold that experience with high standards. SD does not quite execute Singapore Noodles in the way I remember them and finding a place for my fix has been the challenge. This place does it better than many other places I've tried the noodles in SD and for now would be the place I'd go to order it. However, I do feel the flavors in this dish need to be a bit more elevated. But why did my Singapore Noodles kind of tasted like Pad See Ew flavor with Singapore Noodle appearance (that should not be the case). When the food arrived, the appearance looked as it is expected, had that yellow tint from the curry powder BUT the curry powder's presence was faint. I'd love a little more curry flavor to come thru in the dish - I feel that's what makes the Singapore Noodles pop. All the other ingredients were cut so largely (but chicken pieces, big vegetable pieces). My chicken wasn't as soft and kind of chewy and dry but still edible, not the best but edible. Vegetable ratio was fine but wish there were a little more green onion and onions. And the noodles, something about it was kind of dry. Yes, the dish was oily (at the bottom) but the noodles just felt dry. The description forgot to mention egg, there were small pieces of scrambled eggs. I still ate my meal and felt semi-satisfied. RECOMMEND (if you craving "like" Singapore Noodles).WARNING. Order was "for here" but served in cheap to-go plates. The bottom quickly soaks in grease. When asked for "to go" containers they just provide a lid and rubber bands. Also, watch your clothes... all plate soak like this on the tables and they don't wipe the tables down so expect greasy spots that can get on your clothes. Will be back to try other things. Until the next review...

Heard about this place from a friend so I went to go check it out for lunch on a weekday. It's hidden in a big business area in Sorrento Valley and there was a constant stream of customers coming in for lunch. I thought the food was flavorful but a bit salty. The portions were quite small for the price too. I don't think any of us will be returning. We choose bbq pork as the meat options on a few of the dishes and regretted it. They were dry and didn't add anything to the dishes. Just dry bbq pork belly pieces added to the dishes on top. Choose different meat options so that they are cooked in with the dishes.

Tried this place for the first time today. Came in around 11am to place a to go lunch order-- wasn't quite busy yet and my order came out pretty quick! I got the fresh rolls with shrimp, pad see ew with fried tofu, and pineapple curry with crispy pork. The pineapple curry was phenomenal! So flavorful and not too heavy. The pad see ew was good as well but I thought it could have used a little bit more seasoning. The fresh rolls were great as well-- I would definitely add tofu or shrimp to them. I also got mango sticky rice (not pictured) and this was a great way to top off the meal, not too sweet and the mango was perfectly ripe! This place is a great lunch stop

This place is hidden in a business park, plenty of parking. Lots of seating both inside and outside. Service was great and food came out quick. Received recommendations, which I welcome all the time. I was so excited to try their food, I love Thai food.Ordered the Spaghetti Kee Mao as recommended and the Gra Prow Kai. Both were flavorful and fresh. The only issue, was both dishes were a tad bit too salty for my taste. Not horrible when it makes your stomach hurt, but close. The flavors were good. Maybe I'll ask to lessen the salt? Less fish sauce maybe? Other than the salt factor, this place is a good option. It's close to my dentist and my husband's job, so it's a perfect spot to grab lunch after.. I would like to come back and try their curries maybe those aren't as salty.

I remember seeing this building go through a journey on Instagram! The owners son painted a beautiful sign on the wall of the building but the landlord painted it back to gray and said the sign must be acrylic (as now seen in my photo). Looks great! They were able to keep the font. And they have great graphic posters printed on the doors. The son (I'm not sure of his name- sorry!) even did the word paintings inside the restaurant on the orange! Such a cool process. I recommend checking IG for the videos! Anyways back to the review, they had more tables than I thought they would and even outdoor seating. The lighting was bright thanks to the many windows! It was clean inside and bright. The menu was posted on the left side wall but I was too short to properly read it! I'm 5ft2 btw! Luckily when we walk up to the counter, they have the menus there. I love the graphic and colors used on the menu. It really matches the theme they have. In addition they have the name of the dish, description, and occasionally some pictures. The girl working there was really sweet and informative about the menu items. They also asked what spice level we wanted and when we ordered a latte drink she asked which milk we prefer! They had many options (: To share we ordered:- Larb Chicken Salad with Sticky Rice: I'd order this again. I never knew what it was and was always intimidated to order it because of it's name. But my aunt ordered it and I tried it~ it was surprisingly zingy and citrusy. The basil worked well in this and the sticky rice was 100% different than Vietnamese sticky rice. I really liked it! The only thing I can't get behind is eating raw cabbage (even with the larb inside). Next time I'd mention it to them so that they don't waste their cabbage with me! Pad Thai with Beef: we got mild, but I think next time I'd go up one level because there wasn't any heat to it. I enjoyed it though! The beef had a great wok hei flavor to it. Pad See Ew: I'd skip this next time. It was good but compared to the other dishes we had it just wasn't up to par. A little on the bland side (for me!-- maybe if we ordered spicy or medium I'd enjoy it better). Although I didn't like it, my aunt throughly enjoyed it and the veggies that was in it. Eggplant* over rice: (has stir-fried basil, beef, bell pepper etc) in it. This topped the pad Thai, I don't even LIKE eggplant. But this dish was top tier. I really really enjoyed it! The flavor was out of this world. I would 1000% get this again! Papaya Salad: It was well dressed, we got the mini shrimp on the side. It tasted delicious. We got some sambal oleck in little packets and in mini containers we got fresh grinder chili peppers! Spicy but tasty. To drink, I ordered the Thai iced tea which had great flavor and a strong "vanilla" aroma to it. My aunt ordered the Dang soda (thai fruit syrup with soda) and it was refreshing! My other aunt ordered an iced strawberry hibiscus but it was too sweet for her liking. As a dessert, one of my aunts ordered the Roti. It's like a fried flaky 'pancake' lightly tossed in cinnamon and drizzled with condensed milk. Overall, I found the food to be very delicious and we enjoyed our lunch here at Thai Test Kitchen! I like that the food comes in to go containers because if you're full you just ask them for a lid and then you're on your way! The food came out relatively fast and the aroma from the kitchen was in-cre-di-ble! If they opened on a Saturday I'd come here for dinner with my friends. But at the moment they are only open weekdays until 5pm. There's also plenty of parking spaces. We went on a Monday around 1-2pm!

I came here for some quick Thai food and drinks for lunch, and it wasn't half-bad. It's a bit hard to find, located on the corner of a business park. However, the service is great here and they have a ton of delicious, though pricey, options on the menu.

The review is based just on their Khao Mun Gai or steamed chicken over rice. I always look for places which serve hainanese chicken or khau min gai because I just enjoy it so much. And this place is soooo good. The rice was perfect, chicken was perfect, the sauce was perfect and the broth was perfect. What more can a khaumun guy ask for :PNote: this is not on their menu, but I saw it on their Instagram and just asked for it. Will be back to try other stuff.

Thai Test Kitchen is located in the Sorrento Valley area and is easily accessible for many UCSD students. It's in a business plaza and can be tricky to find at first but has plenty of parking spots available. I came here after studying and I was more than happy with the food I got. We ordered the drunken noodles and the pad thai, which were both delicious and has that smoky/charred taste that I really enjoy. Prices were affordable and it's a great place to have a quick lunch. I was also made aware that this is a family-owned business which was more of a reason for me to support it! Will definitely return here for more Thai food!