Thai Kitchen by Daoraung — Restaurant in Porterville

UPDATE: About 2 months after new ownership, they bought all the delicious Thai ingredients that we know and love! It is my favorite restaurant in all of California. The flavors are incredible. The Thai basil and Kaffir lime is back. I do wish there were bamboo shoots in more of the dishes but that is simply my preference! Highly recommend. You can request different levels of spiciness. I can never go wrong with Drunken Noodles, Pad Thai, Suki Hang, or Sticky Rice (which comes with the best spicy sauce. It is so craveable.)

OLD review: Under new ownership. DO NOT TRAVEL to come eat here. It doesn't have any Thai ingredients in it anymore. No bamboo shoots. No Thai basil. No Kaffir lime. The previous owners bought Thai ingredients for their foods. I've tried 3 dishes and they all lacked Thai ingredients. Drunken noodles, Pad Thai, and Red Curry. The Red curry had whole American basil leaves in it. :( The Pad Thai didn't taste like peanut. The Drunken Noodles were plain. Very sad to lose the best...

Stopped in here after a weekend camping in Sequoia. Not many well reviewed places around this area, so we have this place a shot.

Decor and setting was kind of lackluster. Definitely a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but those tend to have some of the best food! Thai kitchen didn't disappoint.

Portions were large, packed with great flavor, and lots of spice. Maybe too much spice because my girlfriend's Pumpkin curry was too spicy for her, even though it was listed as only mild. And I'm not sure what kind of pumpkin they used, it's very different from the kabocha used at other places we've tried (mainly Los Angeles Area).

The big negative I'd give was the lack of air conditioning. I'm not sure if it happened to break recently and just hadn't been repaired yet, or if they are saving money not turning it on. It wasn't even a hot day, can't imagine the place during the middle of the hottest parts of summer.

The wait staff was very helpful and friendly. Huge plus. But I feel bad for them...

The drunken noodles was the first to arrive, and I thought it tasted quite well for a Thai restaurant in a little town...

The pad see ew was the second thing to arrive. This dish was pretty delicious; the flavor was good, and I would get it again (if I ever come back).

The Thai bbq chicken was the third course.... When the waitress placed the chicken on the table... I took a whiff; the aroma of the chicken fired neurons in my brain…. I had previously smelled this before.... Rotisserie chicken from Costco. Do you know that distinct smell of Costco chicken? Have you ever seen the chicken wing of the Costco rotisserie chicken? Soggy chicken skin… All the signs checked out from this “Thai BBQ Chicken”.

I was in total disbelief, so I had to ask one of the workers and they confirmed to me that it was dam rotisserie chicken. I was told that the owner should remove the item from the menu. I agree.

Would have gave this place a 4+ star, but dam really Costco...