Pin Kaow

VERDICT: Some food is done very well.  You have to know what to order or you'll be sorry.

Let me start by saying what I don't like at Pin Kaow.  Their curry is not very good.  I don't know what flavor it is that sets me off, but it reminds me of uncooked flour.  I actually can't stand the flavor.  The other thing at Pin Kaow that is horrible is their chicken.  I don't know if they age their chicken before serving it or what.  Their chicken has a strange texture and is quite flavorless, unless, of course, you love the flavor of uncooked flour.

Authentic?  I hope not

Now let's talk about what is good.  Their Thai beef jerky is addicting to the Nth degree.  If you've never had Thai beef jerky, you must try it.  It is one of the best foods in the world.  They take strips of beef and dry them and then, the best part, they deep fry them.  It's served with a sweet and spicy sauce.  It's truly a mouth orgasm that you have to experience.

The other item that I recommend is the Tom Ka Koon, a delicious spicy soup made with coconut milk and shrimp.  The Tom Ka at Pin Kaow has an amazing complex flavor that only comes with good Thai food.  It's another must try.

That's it.  That's all I ever get and all I ever need to get.  As far as I'm concerned, Pin Kaow should change its name to Thai Beef Jerky and Tom Ka Koon store.  Delicious!

Little Dumpling

VERDICT: Another Las Vegas Chinese crap-fest.

I often complain about the Chinese food in Las Vegas as either being crap or too authentically full of chicken beaks and moth balls.  This is just crap.  Although, to its credit, it is cheap crap, which is a nice twist.  I'm used to paying through the nose for crap in Las Vegas.  I thought this little place might be different with its slick look.  Just look at that font on the sign...trendy!

 

It already broke one of my rules:  I never eat at an Asian restaurant that serves food from more than one Asian country.  Chances are that they can only cook one well or even cook neither well.  I can't speak for the Thai food, which there wasn't very much of, but I can say that the Chinese food is bland.  I had the Kung Pao combination.  The shrimp was obviously low quality and not fresh with its overpowering fishy taste.  Overall, I've had more spice from a carrot than was in this flavorless Kung Pao.  Little Greg had the strawberry chicken, which appeared to be deep fried bread stuffed with small nugglets of chicken, covered with store bought strawberry glaze.  That's right, I called them nugglets; they were way to small to be considered even a nugget. 

 

I forgot to mention that flavorless fried rice.  The soup was super thickened and tasteless.  The hot and sour soup was like eating hot gelatin spattered with sparse egg whites.  The corn egg flower soup was like eating hot corn-flavored gelatin spattered with sparse egg whites.

In the way of a compliment sandwich, I must say that the crab rangoon appetizer was deliciously yummy.  By the way, this is an open-faced compliment sandwich.  There is only a compliment at the end.

Krung Siam

VERDICT: Typical Thai, but the only Thai open 24 hours! Really it is only open until 6:00AM.  That's close enough to 24 hours for me!

A Thai Restaurant open late in Las Vegas?  You would expect to find this in Las Vegas, but really late night restaurants off the strip are rare, unless they are a crappy pub serving deep fried sandwiches with fries.

This place rocks at 4:00 AM!  Their Tom Yum soup is delicious and flavorful.  We ordered our spiciness at a "5" out of "10" and we could have gone higher.  Thai food can get very spicy...so much so that even spice lovers can shy away from going all out, but they seem to tame their spiciness for gringos.  If you like jalapeños, I suggest a "7".  If you like habaneros, might as well go to "10".

Thai beef jerky is a must have for anyone.  It thick pieces of meat that they deep fry!  What they take something great and make it greater?!?!  I know....yum.  It's flavor is greatly complemented with a pinch of sticky rice, the traditional way to eat Thai beef jerky.

They have a typical Thai selection with prices around $9 - $15, which is typical for Thai food.

Atmosphere: Well, when I went at 4 in the morning, they were blasting Thai karaoke even though nobody was singing.  By blasting, I mean we had to shout over each other.  We asked them to turn it down, which they did happily from a volume of "10" to a volume of "9.5".  It is otherwise clean and cozy.

The sign reads open until 6:00 AM.  Who wants Thai food for breakfast anyway?

3755 Spring Mountain Rd
735-9485
24 hours!