Sabuy Sabuy II...the Thai search continues

When I started my Thailand-stomach training, I had no clue that it would be difficult to find spicy Thai food in San Francisco. In a city that in no way lacks amazing dining options, Thai food that’ll sear off one’s taste buds seems to have gone underground. So, my next journey took me across the Bay, to the jungles of the Berkeley-Albany border to Ruen Pair, which was named home of the spiciest Thai food in the East Bay by the East Bay Express last year. But as I was driving to meet Colin and Eleanor there, I got a call a from the digital Eleanor telling me that the folks at Ruen Pair had gone on vacation and that they wouldn’t return until the 25th. What was I supposed to do? It seemed as if the Thai gods were laughing at me, mocking my attempt to prepare my taste buds and stomach lining for the realities of real Thai cooking.

But, Colin suggested another Thai restaurant not too far down along San Pablo Avenue, and so we met up at Sabuy Sabuy II. When we arrived, the restaurant was filled with Asian people. I was surprised and rather excited. Were these real Thais eating at this Thai place? If so, then it had to be good. But it was too good to be true. They were speaking Cantonese.

We looked over the menu and made our decisions. We ordered the appetizer sampler, their Tom Yum soup, the stuffed eggplant with green curry, and the combination seafood with eggplant. On the menu, the combination seafood dish looked promising--the description implied that it would be spicy. And, the soup allowed diners to choose their level of spiciness. I told our friendly waiter my plan--that I was heading to Thailand soon and that I wanted to see how spicy I could handle their food--and asked him how spicy he thought I could take it and ordered accordingly. I waited anxiously for our food.

Our soup came out first. It smelled fragrantly of lemongrass and fish sauce. The broth was both sweet and sour. The shrimps weren’t rubbery, as can happen when cooking the shellfish in soup. And although I could tell that there was some heat to the soup, it didn’t take me by surprise, it didn’t overpower my senses, and it didn’t convince me that it was spicy.

The appetizer sampler came out next. It seemed like a large plate of fried things, very similar to the appetizer sampler Scott, Gabe, and I ordered at Mi Lindo Yucatan not too long ago, and I was nervous. But it wasn’t all fried. There were some chicken satay, which had grill marks on them. There was also a green salad in the middle with slices of carrots cut into chicken shapes and a cucumber salad on the side. The fried taro root was good--the taro cakey and flakey and not too greasy. The fried mushroom was a fun surprise. The fried eggroll things with a single elongated shrimp inside were incredibly crisp. The other fried thing that we couldn’t quite figure out of what it was composed with also tasty. And the chicken satay was decent too.

Our entrées were coming next and here was where I hoped the lack of spice would some redeem itself. The stuffed eggplant was nicely presented—leaf-like slices of eggplant with fish paste stuffed between were arranged in a circular flower-like pattern. The eggplant was just a little bit mushy, as eggplant should be, and the slightly tougher texture of the fish paste was a nice balance. The green curry sauce in which the eggplant was resting was strong in coconut flavor at first taste but the complexities of the curry, along with the subtle spiciness, slowly crept out. The seafood and eggplant stir-fry was also good. The red hue hinted at the dishes spiciness, although, as with the previous eggplant dish, the spiciness was subtle. With each successive bite, the heat of both dishes gradually climbed although at their peaks I would still fail to call them spicy.

I was beginning to wonder if spicy Thai food did exist or perhaps that my tongue was already trained to be able to handle the spiciest out there or, which is most likely the case, that the chefs in Thai restaurants just refuse to serve their idea of spicy food to non-Thais for fear that those farangs won’t be able to stomach it. I’m still searching though and I’m sure I’ll make it back to Ruen Pair sometime soon and sometime when it’s open for business.