Thai Chef Cuisine — Restaurant in Azusa

I suddenly realized that I never wrote a review for this restaurant-my hidden secret favorite. I’ve eaten there more than a dozen times. Why have I never mentioned it? From a lunch set that used to cost $6.95 to the current price of $12.50, I’ve been eating at this restaurant for almost a decade.

I used to live in Glendora, just across the street from Citrus College. The restaurant, located on Citrus Ave, is only about a mile south of my home. I love Thailand, and I also love Thai food.

The restaurant offers an All Day Special set for $12.50 with 9 options, and every one of them is good. Sadly, it used to have 17 options as the Lunch Special. Some dishes have been removed, like Chow Mein, Stir-Fried Basil Leaves with protein, and other stir-fried items. But you can still order them from the regular menu-Chow Mein is available as a single dish for $12.

The set includes an entrée, mostly curries: red, yellow, green, or Panang. Red curry is the spiciest; green curry is mixed with coconut milk; and Panang has more flavor than yellow. You can choose a protein: beef, pork, or chicken. Pork is the best-if you eat pork. The set also includes a salad, a spring roll, and a bowl of white rice. I still miss the old lunch set-it came with both a soup and a salad. I always asked the restaurant to swap the salad for an extra soup. That soup was umami-rich, smelled like chicken, and had a few grains of rice at the bottom of the bowl. I miss it.

For such a good restaurant, I honestly have nothing bad to say. I’ve tried almost every dish on the menu, and I’ve never had a bad experience. It’s just an authentic Thai restaurant that consistently maintains its standards.

Strongly...

The Azusa/ Glendora area has no shortage of Thai restaurants. In an area no larger than three square miles, there are five Thai restaurants. Five! But, as I have been to each several times, I can say with a degree of authority that Thai Chef Cuisine is the best Thai restaurant in the Azusa/ Glendora area. They have the best phone order operation. They have the best lunch and dinner specials. And they have the best Thai tea. The staff of Thai Chef, like most Thai restaurants in California, is first generation Thai and Indonesian immigrants, so often language is a barrier. However, even in this regard, Thai Chef excels. If you enjoy Thai food, you likely already know it is not a dining experience with lends itself to modification, but in my experience, the staff at Thai Chef is the most willing to work with you that I have encountered. They also do my favorite thing at a Thai restaurant, which is warn their customers that things are spicy. With four levels of heat, the staff have an adorable habit of reminding anyone who orders anything hotter than level 2 that "It is very hot". And they are not lying. It is just another example of their consideration towards customer service. Friendly staff, quality service, delicious food. Thai Chef should be called Thai King because they reign over the...

This is honestly my all time favorite Thai place. Ever since I tried it this is the only place I go to. Before Covid I have dinned in and it’s a small but nice place. Ever since Covid though we have just been doing pick up orders I was nervous the food wasn’t going to be as good but they proved me wrong it is just as delicious! And the food is always nice and hot!!! Which I absolutely love and appreciate! The people that work there are always very nice, even though I usually just interact with the same 2 girls who work the registrar but always really friendly. I was super happy when they finally got apple pay / tap at their location. This place has delicious, great, high quality food, I always recommend this Thai place to my friends and they all love it. I always get their pad sew eww, they have the best noodles absolutely delicious! And their combo fried rice is bomb! My mom gets the green curry with shrimp and she loves how spicy they can get it. My boyfriend gets the crying tiger and loves that. I’m hooked to their pad sew eww though I don’t even care for soy sauce but this dish...