Jasmine and The New Taste — Restaurant in Bakersfield

My husband and I love yellow curry. We have only had Thai in Orange County and we had our share of favorite spots but since we moved to Bakersfield we hadn’t had any Thai until last night. I had a craving and so we came to Jasmine and The New Taste.

We were the first diners of the hour and then a few other guests came in and out mostly picking up their To-Go orders. One other group came in and dined-in but otherwise it was just my husband, our 3 year old and I.

We both ordered the yellow curry with chicken (mine mild and his medium) and a chicken fried rice for our daughter.

The staff was very friendly and served us quickly. Everything was hot, fresh and my husband and I both agreed that it was the best we had had. The flavor in the curry broth was amazing. Even the chicken fried rice was amazing. We ended up ordering an extra side of chicken since our daughter wanted more and they took care of that quickly. They even complimented us/her on how cute she was.

We had great food and even though it was a slow Saturday night, they took care of us and we felt really good about going back in the future. If you like yellow curry, this was the best we had had and we recommend it. Great food and service 🫶🏻

Edit: The photo of my yellow curry features some of the chicken fried rice added to it. I saw my husband scoop some into his bowl and I thought it...

On 5/1 I spent a night in Bakersfield. Jasmine and The New Taste had lots of good reviews. So, I gave them a shot, and I'm so d@mn glad that I did. I arrived during their happy hour, meaning that the appetizers were 50% off. The savory steamed chicken dumplings I ordered were a great way to start my meal.

My main dish was Spicy Chicken Fried Rice. I believe the waitress said their spice levels were mild, medium, spicy or Thai Spicy. I requested spicy. Credit to Jasmine for absolutely nailing the spice level. I've requested spicy at a good number of Thai restaurants that turned out to be 'meh' because they didn't go full-tilt boogie w/the spicy. I did not have that problem w/Jasmine because every single bite had fire, especially the latter half of the meal! It was the second hottest Thai dish that I've ever eaten.

Know what you're getting into at Jasmine, if you request spicy. I knew what I signed up for, and I still cleared the plate ;-) Inside the restaurant the videos that they played on the screens had lovely images of Thailand. And the waitresses were very courteous, attentive...

My GF and have been to many Thai restaurants up and down California most of which have been so delicious I feel like I'm in Thailand. Jasmine And The New Taste........well...... new yes because Thai food this bland is new to me. Our Panang chicken was very watery and the veggies had a glass look to them, the kind of look when you cook with frozen produce. Also, had an inadequate amount of coconut milk. The Pad See Ew we ordered felt it was missing its brown sugar/oyster sauce component and was only seasoned with soy sauce. The most egregious part of all.....the fish cake.... a staple among many Asian cultures, cooked lovingly by grandmothers (including mine)......cooked unloving and possibly by a microwave used by grandmothers. The texture was like gnawing on a rubber gasket synonymous with being frozen then overcooked when reheated. I'm sure the fish cake could have been used as a hockey puck in case the world supply of hockey pucks is ever depleted. The staff is friendly and nice...I wish the food was just as warm...