cha-ba thai — Restaurant in City of Long Beach

I was a huge fan of their "pumpkin custard" dessert until one rainy night last August when I was rooting around in their dumpster in the back alleyway looking for some leftovers of that fake duck they serve (scientists in Thailand have been "growing" mock-duck under semi-sterile conditions since after the Second World War and it's friggin' delicious) and I happened to glance inside their kitchen through the open back door. It was the grunting and shouting and loud squishing noises that led me to investigate further. It was at that moment, as I crouched beside some overflowing garbage cans in the hot August rain that I learned the awful truth. Two members of the kitchen staff, a terrified busboy, and the gal who runs the cash register were physically restraining a fifth individual--morbidly obese, profound skin discoloration from what must have been hazardous levels of beta-carotene overdosing, screaming and desperately trying to wriggle free as the staff kneaded, squeezed, and forced "it" out of the person's body. There were buckets and buckets filled with the stuff lining the wall near the walk-in refrigerator. It was then, in that terrible moment of realization, that I thrust my trash-smeared hand up into the dark and rainy sky and shouted "Pumpkin custard is a person and that person is pumpkin custard!" The two star rating is because I admire...

Great food. Not correctly placed within its price point in google. This establishment is ‘$$$’ not ‘$’. The location itself is rather small but nicely done.

Lately, Hub and I order food at least 3 times a week. Sometimes 4-5 (we love their food). BUT, It would be great if the owner wasn’t so hard on existing frequent customers...

For the first time we had decided to ask for a small sauce on the side. One they serve with a particular appetizer.

They said, it’ll be $2.00. What?! It’s not the fact that it’s $2.00. It’s the Principle...

I am sure our frequent ordering will calm down as it has left a poor taste...

Update 10/2019 we decided to dine in. Husband received partially uncooked chicken. It was brought to the servers attention. Did she offer a new plate? No. She offered to recook it. Did they offer to have it taken off the bill and or provide dessert as a gesture (as other restaurants do) if that wasn’t possible. No. Not at all. ...

We ordered Pad Se Ew with chicken which was horrible. It tasted as if it was cooked in old oil leaving the noodles tasting like bad meat with a very bad after taste. We sent it back and requested the pad Thai with chicken which was even worse. The chicken tasted like old meat. Even my three year old niece was like it smells and refused to eat it. They didn't charge for the first entree, only the second.

The only good thing here were the appetizers. Ordered the wings with chili sauce which was seasoned and cooked well. The Thai spring rolls and curry puffs were mediocre. Supposedly the curry puffs had chicken in it...didn't taste it at all. But it was done very well- flaky crust, very soft on the inside. Ordered edamame for the table which was good. The TomKa soup was way too salty I couldn't have it- guaranteed headache. Will not...