Lers Ros Thai (Hayes Valley)

Lers Ros Thai on Hayes is the chic  sister restaurant of the original Lers Ros on Larkin.

Lers Ros on Hayes is indeed modern and new. It has a contemporary bar  that is separated from the dining area by a frosted glass. The walls are made of cut stones with exposed pipes on the ceiling.

 

However, the venue has a very poor noise insulation. The place is very loud even with very few diners at 2 o' clock in the afternoon.  I can only imagine how loud Lers Ros can be when it is in full swing during dinner time.

I ordered the LUNCH SPECIAL which I always order at Lers Ros on Larkin.   I had the YELLOW CURRY WITH TOFU AND SAUTEED EGGPLANT W/ RICE.
 

Portions were generous but both dishes were very sweet and oily. I only finished the yellow curry and rice because the sweetness became too overwhelming for me. Even the complimentary salad with peanut sauce was sugar-sweet.

TOTAL:
Lunch Special at Lers Ros on Hayes = $9.95 vs. Lunch Special at Lers Ros on Larkin = $7.75 (I guess you pay $ for the location, decor and the ambiance.)

VERDICT:
If I want chic sugar-sweet Thai dining with classical music on the background I will go to Lers Ros Thai on Hayes. If I want close to authentic Thai food, I will go to the one on Larkin. They have the same menu but different chef interpretations. My experience at this Lers Ros Thai was not very impressive that I would continue to go to Lers Ros Thai in the Tenderloin despite its unpleasant location.

TOP 100 BAY AREA RESTAURANTS: http://www.sfgate.com/fo…
Mr. Bauer added Lers Ros Thai on Hayes to his 2012 Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants. Although I only had one meal at Lers Ros on Hayes, I do not agree with Mr. Bauer. I am not inclined to go back again to try the other dishes.
 

Les Ros Thai on Larkin

January 20, 2012 @ 1PM

Now that a sparklier Les Ros Thai has opened in the more desirable Hayes Valley neighborhood, Les Ros Thai on Larkin is now the ugly older stepsister. In reality,  there is nothing ugly about Les Ros Thai on Larkin. I do not know how old she is but her clean contemporary interior does not show her age.

The trip to Les Ros on Larkin leaves indeed leaves one's stomach in a tight knot. It is by the way located in the Tenderloin--the home of the hardened and broken spirits with no access to bathrooms.
The real challenge is not losing your appetite before you get to the restaurant.

Once you make it, it is all worth the adventure--Tenderloin-style.

DECOR/AMBIANCE:
Les Ros is modern and contemporary. The plates are geometric and sparkling clean. It is not a huge restaurant but spacious enough.

SERVICE:
The servers are efficient and polite like the kind of local service you will get in Bangkok.

FOOD:

7x7 BIG EATS 2012 #45: DUCK LARB I am no stranger to larb since my Laotian bestfriend introduced me to this dish decades ago. Les Ros Thai's Duck Larb was good. Should you eat it before you die or is it worth dying for--cholesterol and all?

Yes, it was delicious with chopped pieces of flavorful boneless duck skin and meat in citrus-lime dressing. The duck was not gamey. It was tangy and a little overly salty. I even ate grains of MSG, I think. It was mixed in with mint, red onions, whole dried pieces of chili peppers and sprinkled with rice powder.

But NO, I'd rather tempt fate with Peking Duck with super-crispy paper thin skin and moist/juicy duck meat in bun with hoisin sauce and green onions.

My verdict for this 7x7 dish is it is a delicious salad but so was almost every dish that I had at Les Ros. It is worth ordering but it did not send me to foodie heaven.
#17 YUM KOH MOO YANG (Pork Shoulder Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing) $9.95

An appetizing dish of thinly sliced pork on top of basil, side of cabbage and generously drizzled with lime, chili peppers and herbs, this dish reminds me of LECHON (Filipino roasted pig.) It was not melt in your mouth like lechon which is slowly roasted over charcoal for at least 10 hours but the pork was tender and flavorful. There were little pieces of crunchy skin here and there. A good dish for pork lovers!

2 ORDERS OF LUNCH SPECIALS ($7.75 each)
Les Ros Thai's lunch specials are one of the best deals in town if not THE best deal in town! For $7.55 you get a salad, 2 choices of entrees and white or brown rice. The portions are generous and the entrees are very good!

I ordered YELLOW CURRY WITH TOFU and STIRFRIED EGGPLANT W/ BASIL.

The birthday girl, Edelmira, ordered the RED CURRY W/ BEEF and MARINATED BBQ CHICKEN W/ SWEET & SOUR SAUCE.



The curries were of the right consistency which should not be too thick or watered down. The flavors are lovely and complex and "come alive" in the palate. The dishes are on the spicy side, though, which we both loved but a caution to those who have low spicy threshold.

VERDICT:
Thai food that would not disappoint with great service. Les Ros Thai is the place to bring Thai food novice and purists. The dishes are guaranteed delicious and the flavors bold. The portions are generous and reasonably priced. We really enjoyed our lunch.
Les Ros offers over 110 dishes to choose from so I am sure you or your picky friend will find and enjoy something.

ALLIGATORS, FROGS, BOARS, RABBITS, ANYONE?I kid you not! If you find yourself telling yourself, I want me some "alligator at around 11PM, you can find it at Les Ros which stays open until midnight.

Me, I will wait until I go back to New Orleans but for solid Thai food, Les Ros is the place for me here in the the Bay Area.

CHECK: $36 including tip, Thai Iced Tea, app and 2 lunch specials with plenty of leftovers for the birthday girl to enjoy at home.

HAYES VALLEY LOCATION:For those who do not want to go to the TL (I do not blame you), there is a second and more palatable Ler Ros Thai located in the Hayes Valley. Probably safer to go to at night but lunch time at Les Ros on Larkin only requires a dose of courage but not necessarily pepper spray.

Marnee Thai: Small Space, Big Flavors.

Girl-bonding Dinner: September 6, 2010 at 6:45 PM








It is such a struggle for hard-working professional gals to find a couple of hours at the end of the day to share a meal with one another. However, my girlfriends and I have made a commitment that no matter what, we will find time for each other.

That special time might not be as frequent as we like but every couple of months, one reminds the other that "we're on for another catching up!"

And my girlfriend, Rebecca and I finally made it after one cancellation (me) and confusing the date of our dinner (probably me again). Finally we agreed on the day and this time, Rebecca chose the dinner venue after watching "Marnee Thai" on "Check, Please! Bay Area."

I got there 15 minutes early because I was stressing over parking. Parking in the Sunset is a nightmare but at 6:25 PM, I found plenty of parking inside Golden Gate Park and Lincoln. I just decided to go straight to Marnee Thai for our 6:45 PM dinner reservation. The staff seated me right away.






Marnee Thai is teeny-tiny. The dining area was cramped. The place was equally loud that despite the packed seatings, Rebecca and I were able to catch up. (I heard from a couple of friends that Marnee Thai on Irving is much bigger and nicer.)

She was right on the dot and arrived at exactly 6:45 PM but I went ahead and ordered a starter before she got to the restaurant. The servers kept on coming to the table to see if I was okay. I did not feel pressured but appreciated their attention. They were very nice but I just decided to order hoping the Rebecca will like the food. I opted for Prawn Salad with chili sauce, lemongrass, mint and cilantro. This is when Rebecca walked in, tried it and she liked it.  The flavors of this salad was good which are typically sweet and made savory by the fish sauce. However, the prawns were not plump enough.

We also shared the Pad Kee Mow: Stir-fried flat noodles with basil, mint, chilis and tomatoes with beef. The beef was on the sweet side.  However, the sweetness of this dish did not turn me off unlike most Thai-American dishes.  The beef was very well-seasoned and flavorful.

Pad Kee Mow


Rebecca and I wanted Sticky Rice with Mango for dessert but they were out of mango. Oh, well.... next time! Which I would not have a problem driving back to Sunset for a next round of great Thai food and great girl-bonding dinner with Rebecca.

Dinner was short and sweet. Rebecca and I wanted stay longer and linger. However, the long lines of diners waiting for a table made us feel guilty for not giving up our space. The staff never pressured us but we decided to just have a girl-bonding "part 2" which is hopefully sooner than two months!

Tab was $23 including a hot Thai tea for me and Iced Thai Tea for Rebecca before tip.

FOODIE GIRL'S RATINGS: 4 Thai Food packed with big flavors.
Service:      5  No-pressure, accomodating and genuinely friendly.
Decor:        4   Beautiful  artwork for Thailand
Ambiance:  3  Loud and lively. Do not expect privacy.
Key:

0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)