Royal King Elephant — Restaurant in Garden Grove

Our family's first visit here and it was an overall good experience. The food was better than where we normally go due to distance, but worth the extra time & miles. 😊

We ordered: Blood clams sauteed with onions and bell peppers: clams were a bit chewy but overall flavoring was great. Thai Papaya salad: we ordered no spicy but it did come out spicier than we expected. Still good and satisfied my spicy cravings. Pad Thai with tofu: This turned out to be the family's favorite dish for the evening. The flavor was well-balanced and reminded me of the pad thai that we had in Thailand. Boat Noodles: My son enjoyed his order... Minus the tripe. 😅 Beef Larb: Spicy & perfectly salted. Hit the right taste buds and the right cravings. Thai/Lao Sukiyaki: It was ok. I really didn't know what to expect, but was not my favorite dish of the evening.

When we come back, we're going to definitely try some...

As an out-of-towner, I was definitely craving some good Asian comfort food. This restaurant is tucked in a little strip mall and is kind of small (mom/pop looking). I ordered the crispy rice (nam khao tod), raw larb and lao stew. The crispy rice was ok. I'd give it a 2.5 star alone. It was kind of plain compared to others that I have had and what I would make for myself. Crispy rice is hard to find around town so not much complaint on my end as it did satisfy my craving. The raw larb was delicious. The only down part was that I like it sour and the restaurant does not have lime (only lemon). The lao stew was delicious. The meat was cooked until tender and they kept it beefy and not too salty/artificial tasting. The menu is pretty good. I'd come back again and try other items on he menu. Lao...

This is still my go to for the boat noodle soup place. It’s Lao/Thai place but I would say more of Lao style. The soup here is very delicious and big portion. It would filled me up all day. Now they do have special lunch portion and I think it still big. The broth here is very consistency, full of deep rich favor. I also ordered the papaya salad, unfortunately for me it’s very strong puncheon of the sauces but I do know other folks love it (packed it to go and gave it to them and they ate them all). I think this is family runs so it’s very homie feeling spot and very friendly folks. Will definitely come back for more of the boat noodle soup plus the Lao...