MarneeThai Revisited

Marnee Thai restaurant was only 5 years old when I first stepped into their simple, small and quaint Irving Street location in 1990. Back then a majority of Southeast Asian eateries were in the Inner Sunset and Richmond districts of San Francisco. 15 years later, increasing competition has spread to the Mission, Tenderloin and Polk Gulch, but old school Marnee Thai continues to make savory, fresh and affordable Thai dishes. Chef Chai Siriyarn opened the Irving street restaurant in 1986. It’s won 16 local, national and international awards and about a dozen rave reviews including Zagat’s Top Ten Thai Restaurants for 15 years. He opened a second restaurant on 9^th Avenue a couple of years later.

Their signature Spicy Angel Wings was the first dish to pop in my mind the minute I walked in the door. My friend Mags hadn’t been to Marnee Thai in about 10 years and said that’s the only dish that stood out from the pack. From Oakland and Redwood City to San Jose, I have yet to find another restaurant that makes this unique sweet and spicy appetizer. Deep fried chicken wings coated with a sweet sticky mixture spicy chili sauce, lots of minced garlic and fresh basil. Unlike Buffalo wings which have a soft texture, the sticky sauce on the angel wings was caramelized just right. This gave the skin a chewy bite. The fried basil leaves were crunchy and quickly melted in my mouth releasing just the right hint of balance to offset the garlic and chilies which had just enough bite. I was disappointed that that the wings were not as meaty and thick as I remembered a couple of years. Nevertheless, I cleaned every bone of these messy starters as they fired up my taste buds for the next appetizer.

Mags ordered the vegetarian Corn Cake, which I initially didn’t think too highly of due to its bland and simple description: fried fresh corn fritters. Simple. It didn’t have a long list of ingredients like the other dishes we ordered. I’ve never seen this appetizer on their menu before so I wondered when they introduced it. To my surprise the sight, texture and taste of the fritter exceeded my low expectations. Big whole fresh yellow kernels mixed with a light doughy batter. The crunchy tator tot crust exposed a soft, bread like filling. These surprise delights were crispy and light, not greasy and heavy. It had a slight sweetness to it and was a better accompaniment to the angel wings than the jasmine rice.

The Kao Rad Kang rice plate is a smorgasbord of sautéed Thai staple spices: red curry, sweet thick coconut milk, Thai basil, tender chicken, sweet peas and huge chunks of fresh bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots were cut larger than the chicken and other ingredients unlike the standard issue thin, rectangular slivers which are usually canned. They were so tender you can easily mistake it as a root or mushroom. We had asked our friendly and attentive waitress to make our dishes mildly spicy, except for the corn cakes. The Kao Rad Kang did have a kick after a couple of spoonfuls which we tamed with the soft rice or crispy corn cakes. The sauce was so rich and creamy that it can be easily disguised as a hearty soup dish. The red traces of curry and oil from the coconut milk were well blended. It was obvious that it was cooked slowly to release all the rich flavors.

The Pad Prik Pao was most average tasting meal compared to our other dishes. Tender beef sautéed in a deep savory sauce of the familiar chili paste with onions, baby corns, deep red bell peppers, onions, large mushrooms, bamboo shoots and cilantro. I’ve eaten this dish before at other Thai restaurants but Marnee Thai’s soft beef slices and big mushrooms made them stand out from the pack. The premier cut of beef must have been further marinated and or tenderized and the mushrooms were firm. Although the vegetables weren’t cut in uniform sizes, not one morsel was over or undercooked.

An hour into our meal and $32.00 later, Mags and I were impressed with modest tab. Each dish averaged $7.25 to $7.50 with enough left overs for a single serving. 15 years later Marnee Thai did not disappoint. The unique Corn Cake was a surprise treat and the superb rich coconut based Kao Rad Kang made great comfort food for a cold and cloudy day in the Inner Sunset. The angel wings were a bit on the skinny side but their sticky, sweet and spicy flavors continue to burn in my memory. The Corn Cakes now join the Spicy Angel Wings as my must haves. Like old times and old friends, over the years it’s good to know I can always come back to an all time city favorite that continues to create some underestimated and simple surprise dishes.

1^st Location: 2225 Irving St (betw 23^rd + 24^th Ave), 415-665-9500

2^nd Location: 1243 9^th Ave (betw Irving + Lincoln Way), 415-731-9999