Thai Excellente — Restaurant in El Monte

Small cute space. Service was great as well. She was a sweet older lady from the motherland who looked like she was trying a bit hard to stay young. (Heavy make-up and blunt cut bangs)

The reason this is not 5 stars ⭐ is that the food isn't that awesome. I tried the fried wonton appetizer ($6.99) that were filled with such a tiny amount if filling that I couldn't taste anything but the oily wrapper.

Every time I go to a Thai food place, I HAVE to get the green curry. First of all this place didn't have a beef option, just chicken, pork or tofu. I chose the chicken. 🐓 ($7.99) It had just a bit of spice (btw, the server didn't ask how spicy I wanted my food, which was an indicator that I wasn't gonna get something I was used to in Seattle) but was also kind of bland. The veggies in the curry, I wasn't to fond of.

The lunch specials are served with soup. When I got the soup, I nearly LOL'd. It was a clear, bland chicken broth with 9 pieces of green onion & 2 bits each of carrot, onion and potato floating in it. Not something I'd boast about.

Not sure I'd like to come back to this place, but if I'm in the area, I might try something else before...

My favorite exercise is a cross between a lunge and a crunch…I call it Lunch. :D So without further ado let’s do my first lunch review for 2022.

We were in the neighborhood in search of a good Thai lunch food. Thai Excellente is a Mum and Pops restaurant located in a small plaza near the Santa Anita exit 10 freeway. It’s indoor vibe was very homey with a spacious layout. Their wall decor were composed mostly of picture frames of their menu and thai culture such as elephants. We were greeted by the matriarch of the restaurant.

We ordered their chicken sate, sweet and sour chicken and lemonade. The appetizer (Sate) was soft, tasty and warm. It’s dipping sauce (peanut and vinegar spice) added more flavor. Similarly, their chicken sweet and sour was warmly delicious and scrumptious. Lemonade was refreshing.

Staff has a soft spoken voice with a thai accent, was assiduous, professional and amiable. Menu prices were very reasonable and competitive. Overall, we had a nice lunch and it’s definitely a hidden gem that...

The chicken sate skewers were also perfectly paired with this little dish of cucumber salad and peanut sauce. I think they should give more of the cucumber salad because it wasn't enough for the 5 skewers we received. Perfect appetizer to start off! The panang curry here is so flavorful and creamy. The mint leaves were plentiful (at least 10 big leaves floating around) and I think this is what set it apart from the other panang curries I tried at other restaurants. We also ordered the tom kha kai. It was delicious on a cold rainy day. However this dish didn't come with rice, which was a bit strange to us.. so we doubled up on my rice that came with the panang curry. The only reason why I only gave 4 stars instead of 5.. They do offer delivery. I would probably recommend this so you can eat your dishes at home with as much rice...