Happy New Year! I haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions this year that I would probably eventually give up on, so instead I’ll make a wish. I wish to eat just as many or more amazing things this year as I did last. I also want to find things I haven’t gotten a chance to discover or try yet. Here’s to a great 2016 all!
There was a time Michael and I went to The Original Sab-E-Lee at the original location across the street almost every week. Okay, maybe it seemed like every week but we went a lot. Ever since they moved and more Sab-E-Lee’s popped up, we sort of stopped going. Now they have a location in Rancho Penasquitos, and another location in Santee (although this one is not “original”).
Thai iced tea please! Always a good way to start things off. A tall glass of that super sweet stuff to level the spicy playing field.
Papaya salad is a normal dish I like to get and their spice levels here are not toned down for our Americanized tongues. I think we got a 4 and I felt it right away. I don’t remember it being super fish saucy, but this one had a pungent taste that was a little off-putting. Don’t get me wrong. I like my fish sauce, but it seemed a bit much.
The Tom Yum Soup was spicy as well but didn’t have as strong of a lemongrass taste as I remembered. It was still quite satisfying but I didn’t feel it as much as I used to. The spice level was no joke. I literally coughed after one small tiny sip to check for temperature. I must be losing my ability to eat spicy foods. Shame!
The Pad See Ew with chicken matched the flavor from the smaller location, bite for bite. I like the flavor and the chew of the noodles and the crunchy broccoli. I think this was our second food stop for the day so we didn’t order more dishes.
The Sab-E-Lee in Santee is closer to me and I end up going there more often even though I don’t think they are affiliated with each other. Their menu is also quite different but you gotta do what you gotta do over in the East side.
The Original Sab-E-Lee
6925 Linda Vista Rd, Ste B
San Diego, CA 92111
originalsab-e-lee.webs.com
Actually, Koby, the original owner of Sab- e-Lee in Linda Vista owned the one on Santee before he sold it. It hasn’t been the same since he left.
I like the fiod at the RPQ location but it’s pretty far for me, down here in CV. Some of my favorite dishes at SEL include the Thai sausage (although Suppannee House of Thai in Point Loma has a more superior version since it is housemade), the beef nahm tok, and the ginger pork.
We loved Koby! He was always so nice and fun to talk to back at the original location. We tried to track him down but weren’t able to. I think someone said he moved back to Thailand. RPQ is pretty far from CV. Michael and Jorgina have that same predicament with finding good Thai food in CV. I haven’t tried the Thai sausage at Supannee yet…add it to the list!