Eatery - Cuti's Thai Food (CA)

11001 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92840
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Thai
www.cutithai.com

My parents wanted to eat dim sum the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend but we didn't find any places open at the time we went that we were ready for business. I used the handy dandy Yelp app and located a Thai restaurant nearby that had good ratings so we went there. It seemed like such an unassuming place but the inside was very nice and the food great. It looked to be family run. The owner(?) came out to talk to us and was very friendly; it could've been that we were the first customers of the day or he was just super awesome.


After we put in our order, the owner said that he'd give us some papaya salad on the house because he wanted us to try it. How generous of him! It looked great when it came out but I think we're all pansies in the family. It was quite spicy! Nevertheless, the papaya was crisp and delicious. The sauce, though spicy, was very good. I loved that it didn't cross over into being salty or anything. It was just refreshingly savory.


Our first ordered dish was the Crying Tiger Rib-Eye Steak. Yes we did order it because of the name, haha. It was very good actually. I liked how thinly sliced the beef was and how flavorful its marinade was. Full of Thai spices but not crossing over into unbearable, the beef was paired with straw mushrooms that nicely picked up the thick sauce. There was even a dipping sauce to have with it which pleasantly was unnecessary because of how much flavor was in the beef already.


Our next dish was the green curry. I opted for tofu in this. What a load of lemongrass! There was definitely a lot used in making this curry. Now, I'm not a fan of lemongrass but I bore it through the meal because it was dang delicious otherwise. The tofu was thick and hearty, the bamboo a little green but nicely crunchy. My mom really liked the curry so I was happy that she did.


The favorite of dishes for my dad and younger brother was the pineapple fried rice which came out plentifully in their stone pot. It had dried pork, shaped vegetables, and a shrimp on top for some topping. In the rice itself was a mixture of chicken, pineapple, raisins, and magic, apparently. I liked that it wasn't greasy or buttery as fried rice tends to be. Delicious!


When we'd finished, the owner actually said that he was going to treat us to fried ice cream too. How nice of him! We were honestly very fortunate - thank you! The batter was a tad thicker than I like my fried ice cream but I really liked the cookies-and-cream take on it with the Oreo crumbs on top and the vanilla and chocolate ice cream inside. I'm definitely going to have to eat from here again, especially since they deliver!