Asian restaurants Archives

Thai Esan

March 17, 2017

Thai Esan is a small and unassuming (and easy to miss) Thai restaurant located in a strip mall on Ringgold Road in East Ridge, Tennessee.

I still have plenty of places that I need to try, but after almost 6 (SIX!!!!!) years of writing about Chattanooga restaurants there are times that I feel like I’ve been everywhere and pretty soon I’m going to run out of new places to try. Totally irrational, I know, but the truth is that I can’t be everywhere and there are always new places opening that I don’t know about (not to mention long-standing secrets that I need to be told about).

I posted on my Facebook page recently asking for my readers to tell me some new places that I needed to try. Multiple Thai spots were mentioned, which caused me and Philip to develop a craving for some noodles. It is not difficult to make us crave Thai food (by the way, will someone please open a Thai restaurant in Hixson? Please and thank you.). One of the places that was mentioned was Thai Esan, which is located on Ringgold Road near the Food Lion complex (in the strip mall where Cakemakers, Etc. is located).

Thai Esan is located in the former home of Mom’s Thai Kitchen, another spot that I was told by multiple people that I needed to try and never got around to before they closed up shop. I have no idea if there is any common thread (other than Thai food, obvi) between Mom’s and Thai Esan, but I did not want to make the same mistake twice.

We headed out to Thai Esan around 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon. There was only one other couple in the restaurant dining and several to-go orders were picked up while we were there. It’s a pretty bare-bones place…not a lot of decor, and the booths need to be reupholstered or at least patched. It was clean, though, so it was all good.

A server quickly greeted us, brought us menus, and took our drink orders. We both decided to get a Thai tea because it is just so good, and we also got an order of spring rolls (4 spring rolls per order). The spring rolls were hot and fresh and the dipping sauce sweet and just a little spicy. The Thai tea did not disappoint, with the sweet black tea spice that you expect from Thai tea and a generous splash of half-and-half.

Chattavore followers, you know that I love my pad Thai. I just can’t order anything else when I visit a Thai restaurant. I know that I should, but I like to use the excuse that if I always order pad Thai that I can be consistent with giving a review. So….I went with the pad Thai with chicken. I was not disappointed. It was a generous portion – I only ate about a third, then had more for dinner the following Monday, and Philip had the rest for lunch one day. This is a lot of food. The noodles were sweet and a little bit spicier than most pad Thai that I’ve had (though I ordered it without spice). The chicken was very thinly sliced and cooked well, but I would have liked to have had a little bit more chicken just for a balance of protein and carbs.

Like me, Philip has his usual these days, ever since discovering pad see ew at Thai Chili. Unlike me, he is a little bit braver with the spice and went for “medium”. He ordered tofu as his protein, as his visits to Hong Kong Chinese restaurant have helped him discover a love for tofu. Everything was well cooked (the tofu was a gorgeous golden brown and it did have a great flavor from the sauce). He did end up regretting the medium spice, though. Apparently Thai cooks have a little bit of a different definition of “medium” than he does, and he ended up spending much of the meal picking out little pieces of fresh red chili from the dish in order to avoid breathing fire. He did say that aside from the heat, the food was delicious.

Thai Esan is relatively quick and very casual. The food is very tasty, but be careful with the spice levels unless you know that you can handle it. The prices are pretty much on par with other Thai restaurants in the area and the portions are huge so you are likely going to get more than one meal from it.

If you’re looking for some tasty Thai food in East Ridge, give Thai Esan a try!

Thai Esan is located at 4330 Ringgold Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37412. They are open Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday – Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. You can call them at (423) 668-8924. They do not have a website, but you can like Thai Esan on Facebook.

Typhoon of Tokyo

March 8, 2017

Typhoon of Tokyo is a popular quick-service Hibachi restaurant that’s been around in Red Bank, Tennessee for years. They’re known for their white sauce!

When Philip and I were first dating, he lived in an apartment off of Mountain Creek Road in Red Bank. When I revealed to him that I had never seen the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, he was pretty much beside himself and insisted that we plan a date night in which we would get dinner from Typhoon of Tokyo, a restaurant of which I had never heard, and watch the movie, which, of course, he owned. Naturally, I loved both immediately! Once we got married, we actually lived in that same apartment complex for the first year. I miss three things about apartment living: 1) no yardwork; 2) weekly trash pick-up that consisted of putting the trash outside the door of the apartment; 3) close proximity to Typhoon of Tokyo.

Sadly, for many years we rarely got to go there because they were a cash-only establishment, but a few years back they rocketed into the 20th century (not the 21st century, because everyone else was taking cards in the nineties) and were finally accepting credit and debit cards. Now we can go there whenever we want! Of course, now we have lots of other places to go, so we don’t get to go there super-often, but Typhoon of Tokyo is one of those places that I get a craving for on a pretty regular basis. I wrote about it very early in my blogging days (July 2011, to be exact) so I thought I’d update with some nicer pictures.

Typhoon closes briefly after the lunch rush, at 2:30 each afternoon, and reopens for dinner at 4 p.m. We went for a very early dinner at about 4:15 on a Saturday. It was early enough that there were not a lot of people, but it definitely wasn’t dead. Several tables were occupied and several people came in to pick up take-out orders while we were there.

When you walk in to Typhoon, there is a seating area the size of your average fast-food restaurant (the building used to be a Bojangle’s) and you walk up to the counter to order. Once you have paid, the server (usually there is only one server, and somehow they manage to keep up with it all!) brings you your drink, a bowl of very simple chicken broth based soup, and a small bowl (or two if it’s dinner time) of white sauce for dipping your food. Their sauce is the best I’ve ever had, though mine is a pretty close second. We also ordered some spring rolls. The soup is maybe a little bit too salty but still delicious. The spring rolls were okay, but not the best I’ve had. They were a little more doughy on the inside than we prefer.

For many years Philip and I both went with the small chicken dinner but on this visit I decided to order the teriyaki chicken, which only comes in one size. It’s a huge portion of fried rice served alongside chunks of dark meat chicken, zucchini, onions, and a little bit of broccoli. They used to serve mushrooms in their vegetable mix but there were none today, so I don’t know if they have stopped serving mushrooms or if perhaps they were just out. The fried rice here is always good and the white sauce makes it even better! I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the regular chicken dinner and the teriyaki chicken. It’s lightly sauced with a slightly sweet soy sauce based glaze, and it’s delicious.

Philip has moved from the chicken dinner to the chicken and steak combo dinner, but on this visit he decided to get just the steak. The steak dinner is basically the same as the chicken dinner – steak and vegetables served alongside fried rice. The steak was very tender and lightly sauced just like my chicken was.

The teriyaki chicken dinner, the steak dinner, and two spring rolls (and two waters) was $15.59 pre-tip. The menu items all fall into this price range (I think the actual price on the small chicken dinner is $6.25) with the larger meals costing a dollar or two more. It’s tasty, quick, and consistent-the chicken dinner is exactly the same now as it was in 1999 when I first started eating there.

Typhoon of Tokyo is a great quick dinner and also a great take-out option. I highly recommend it!

Typhoon of Tokyo is located at 3953 Dayton Blvd., Red Bank (Chattanooga), TN 37415. Their phone number is 423-875-6142. They are open Monday through Friday, 11-2:30 and 4-9 and Saturday from 4-9. You can like Typhoon of Tokyo on Facebook.

Teriyaki House (East Ridge)

October 26, 2016

Teriyaki House in East Ridge, Tennessee, serves quick and inexpensive hibachi-style food in a friendly and casual atmosphere.

Our dinner out plans got messed up last weekend. We had planned to go back to Bones Smokehouse, since they just recently reopened in a new location after a long vacation. However, the Tennesee-Alabama game was starting right around the time that we would be arriving, so we decided to go somewhere where there would be a little less raucous football-watching.

We ended up at Teriyaki House on Ringgold Road in East Ridge. It’s been on my list forever, but we so rarely go to East Ridge that it never really lands on our radar. When I started trying to think of restaurants that would not be full of football fans, Teriyaki House came to mind. We arrived at around 4 p.m., and while there was a television showing the game, there were no fans watching, unless you count the two employees who were rolling silverware. There was only one other table occupied (though a few other people did come in while we were there and several came in to order or pick up takeout.

We have eaten at Teriyaki House before, though it has been a very long time – long before the Chattavore days. When I worked in Brainerd I liked to get takeout from there from time to time because it is very similar to Typhoon of Tokyo – so similar that I think that they must be connected in some way. Unlike Typhoon, where you order at the counter, you are seated at the table at Teriyaki House and the server takes your order.

I decided to go classic and order the chicken and steak combo. Since I went with a “large” plate, it was served with fried rice, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and broccoli, as well as two (TWO!) little bowls of white sauce. The “regular” plate is not served with broccoli – and only a few options are available in both regular and large (mine was only available in large). This is your classic quick service hibachi style chicken – no frills, just chunks of chicken and steak browned and tossed in a light brown sauce, fried rice, and vegetables. The rice was not quite as good as Typhoon of Tokyo, but it was still pretty good. The sauce was delicious, the vegetables cooked well, and the chicken tender. The steak was tasty but cooked just slightly past the doneness that I prefer.

Philip decided to go with the garlic steak. We were a little concerned when we could smell the garlic cooking from where we were sitting (far from the kitchen!) that it would be too garlicky. It was indeed very garlicky, but not in an overwhelming way – just in a flavorful way. His plate was identical to mine otherwise. The steak was delicious and his was a little more tender than mine.

The total for our meal (steak & chicken combo, garlic steak, and two waters) was $18.68 – definitely an affordable dinner. Our server was very friendly and attentive, though sadly, I did not get her name (this was the second week in a row!). The restaurant is clean, and while not really super-modern in their decor, it’s not your standard outdated Asian restaurant decor either. By the way, the building quite obviously used to be a Pizza Hut (prior to that, it was located in a former Kay’s Kastle, complete with the giant ice cream cone outside – and, to top it off, they actually do have several ice cream desserts on their menu).

Teriyaki House is a great place for a quick, tasty, and not too pricey meal in East Ridge.

Teriyaki House is located at 5908 Ringgold Road, Chattanooga, TN 37412. They are open Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, 4-9 p.m. They are closed on Sunday. You can call Teriyaki House at (423) 892-8483. You can find more information about Teriyaki House on their Facebook page (the website linked on there is not their website).

58 Teriyaki Grill

March 9, 2016

58 Teriyaki Grill is one of the great restaurants in Chattanooga to get delicious teriyaki, hibachi, or Thai food!

A few weeks ago, Philip and I visited Thai Chili in Ooltewah. A reader suggested 58 Teriyaki Grill, which I’d never even noticed even though I travel Highway 58 a few times a week. This past weekend I decided that I was craving chicken teriyaki. Our choices were 58 Teriyaki Grill and Teriyaki House (in East Ridge). Since 58 Teriyaki Grill was closer, we decided to go there.

When we walked in, we immediately noticed a sign to order at the counter. We were quickly greeted by a very friendly cashier/server, Hope. I immediately knew what I wanted – chicken teriyaki. Philip started to order hibachi steak, but then he noticed the Thai menu to the right of the regular menu. Hope urged him to order something off the Thai menu, so he decided to order pad-see-ew with chicken, which he just tried for the first time when we went to Thai Chili. We also ordered a couple of spring rolls.

We seated ourselves in the dining area, which is dimly lit but very nice. Straws and chopsticks are in a glass on the table (BTW: one of my bucket list items as of last week is that I must learn to eat with chopsticks). Hope brought our drinks along with forks and napkins. Our spring rolls came out quickly and she warned us that they were very hot, so we waited a few minutes to eat them. They were extremely crispy and filled with cabbage and noodles. They were simple and delicious.

Our entrees came out almost immediately after our spring rolls. My teriyaki chicken was served with a simple fried rice (the only detectable vegetable in the rice was corn) and sautéed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and cabbage). The vegetables were very tender and lightly coated in the sweet and sticky teriyaki sauce – I would have liked more carrots and broccoli, though. The chicken was cut into perfectly bite-sized pieces and browned until just a little bit crispy before being coated with that wonderful sauce. It was fantastic. The rice was nice…as I said before, very simple, but with a good texture and flavor.

Philip was given the option of ordering his pad-see-ew mild, medium, or hot. He went for medium. At first as he ate it, Philip commented that he thought that the spice made it a little more interesting than what he had at Thai Chili, but as he continued eating he started sniffling and remarked that if he were to order it again he would probably go for mild because it became so spicy that the spice distracted from the flavors of the dish. He loved the flavors, though…I think pad-see-ew really has replaced Panang curry as his go-to Thai order.

Hope came to our table several times to check on us and make sure that we had everything that we needed. She was extremely bubbly and helpful and thanked us profusely for coming in (and she didn’t even know I was a food blogger!). As we walked out Philip gave her a Chattavore card and we met the daughter of the owner, who also thanked us for coming in. They told us that they hoped we’d be back, and we will. The prices were good (right at $20 for my teriyaki – $5.99, Philip’s pad-see-ew – $9.99, and two spring rolls – $.99 each), the place was very clean and nicely decorated (I was especially intrigued by the reservations-only Thai lounge!), the people were so friendly and welcoming, and the food was delicious. Definitely worth a trip.

58 Teriyaki Grill is located at 4762 Highway 58, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37416 (in the same strip mall as United Grocery Outlet). Ignore the hours on the menu I’ve included below; Hope told us that they are open Monday-Friday, 11:30-2:30 and 4:00-9:00 but they are open 11:30-9:00 on Saturday. You can call them at 423-296-2899. They don’t have a website, but you can like 58 Teriyaki Grill on Facebook and follow them on Twitter (@58Teriyaki).

For the menu, click here and here.

Thai Chili Asian Bistro

February 17, 2016

It may seem unassuming and out of the way, but Thai Chili Asian Bistro serves excellent Thai food in Ooltewah, Tennessee!

This weekend, Philip and I decided to head out to Ooltewah to try Aji Peruvian restaurant…it’s been on my list for quite some time now. When we got there, we discovered that they aren’t open on Saturday. Oops. I guess I should have check the hours!

No matter, though, because we had a backup plan. A friend had recommended Thai Chili a few weeks ago, and since it was just a couple of miles away we just zipped over there to check it out.

When we walked in, there was only one table occupied (it was 2:00 in the afternoon, so no big surprise that they weren’t crowded) and Kristen, the server working, seated us immediately. It’s a small space, maybe 10 to 15 tables (that’s just an estimate) and is decorated very nicely. Plus, their restaurant inspection is hanging on the wall and the score was 100. Nice.

They were still serving lunch, which is served from 11-3. The lunch menu consists of appetizers, entrees, rice and noodle dishes, and curries. We ordered waters and spring rolls, which are vegetarian crispy fried spring rolls served with a sweet chile sauce. They came out very quickly – impressively so – and were very hot and fresh. Kristen confirmed that they are made in-house (they were that perfect…they looked like they must have been made by a machine!). The chile sauce was very sweet and just a little bit spicy. Our meals were preceded by coconut soup, which is a perfectly flavor-balanced mixture of coconut milk, broth, lime, mushrooms, and green onions. It was a wonderful combination of sweet, sour, and salty. Delicious.

Since pad Thai is my standard Thai restaurant order, I decided not to buck tradition for my post. I ordered shrimp pad Thai, which was $1.00 more than chicken, beef, or tofu pad Thai. Pad Thai, for those who aren’t familiar, is thin rice noodles stir-fried with eggs and scallions, served with bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. As with our spring rolls, we were amazed at how quickly our food came out – we were still eating our soup! It was a good-sized portion, but not outrageously so. Everything was perfectly cooked, with noodles that were just a little firm and nicely cooked shrimp. Thai food is really all about balance, and like the coconut soup, the pad Thai was wonderfully balanced with sweet, salty, and tart (from a squeeze of lime) flavors and lots of contrasting textures from the rice noodles, the shrimp, the bean sprouts, carrots, and peanuts. This pad Thai was as good as any pad Thai I’ve been served in more established Thai restaurants in Chattanooga.

Philip typically orders Panang curry, but today he decided to go off script and order pad see-ew instead. Pad see-ew is wide rice noodles sautéed in a sweet light brown sauce with egg, broccoli, carrot, and your choice of meat (Philip chose chicken). He took one bite and declared that this was now his favorite Thai food order, replacing Panang curry. I was shocked, as he has been eating Panang curry pretty much exclusively when we visit Thai restaurants for 10+ years. When I tasted the dish, though, I completely understood. The brown sauce was very flavorful, with fish sauce clearly being the prominent flavor component (please don’t let the name fish sauce scare you…it gives an amazing, complex “umami” – that is, savory – flavor component to anything you add it to). As with my pad Thai, the textures and flavors all had amazing contrasts and balance. It was delicious.

The prices weren’t bad either. With the spring rolls costing $2.95, my shrimp pad Thai costing $7.99, and Philip’s pad see-ew costing $6.99, the total before tax was just under $20 pre-tip. The atmosphere was nice, the food came out incredibly quickly, and Kristen was a great server. She told us that she eats there every day, including on her days off, and that she loves every item on the menu.

Thai Chili Asian Bistro is located at 9203 Lee Highway, Suite 12, Ooltewah, TN 37363 (in the Food City plaza). It’s a very unassuming location and very easy to miss – it’s between China Rose and Liberty Tax. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11-3 and 5-9:30, and Friday-Saturday 11-10. You can call them at 423-777-5055. They do not have a website, but you can like Thai Chili Asian Bistro on Facebook.