Sa Beang

Not all Thai restaurants are created equal nor is their service, but if you want a slow, relaxed meal, that you can savor and linger over, Sa Beang Thai will work for you. Even though their service was be painfully slow, it has improved over time. Their food is better than average and reasonably priced, especially the $10 three course lunch. I doubt you'll find a better lunch for that price.

        

If you are so inclined, they make some interesting fruit based cocktails to drink with your appetizers. In the photos above you can see fried pumpkin with seaweed, Crispy rolls with Thai sausage and a sweet chili sauce and  best of all Thai style,  chicken wings glazed in another honey based chili sauce.

You can easily find competently made versions of Tom Ka Gai, the coconut based chicken soup, or Chicken Larb, the minced chicken salad, that are mainstays of the Thai menus throughout San Francisco. Both are fresh tasting and have just the right amount of acidity to brighten their flavors, although the soup might have been better had lemon grass been used instead of lemon juice.

 

Mild yellow curry as well as red Thai curry are available, but their green curry stands out. With its classic combination of  zucchini, eggplant, peppers and basil you may choose your protein. This one was made with pork.

Jasmine rice is available, but these photos show brown steamed rice, that looks much more like red rice, and Crab Fried Rice. One order is plenty for two people., and several other fried rice dishes are available including Fried Chicken, Pineapple, Duck, Green Curry and Thai style fried rice with eggs, tomato, onion, green onion and your choice of chicken, pork or beef.
 

Crunchy Roasted Duck Salad was served with a lively lime salad dressing. Spicy Eggplant and Spicy Basil have many of the same ingredients and I must admit that in these photos I can't really tell the difference. Each comes with your choice of chicken, pork or beef. I regularly prefer to order the pork, so even that doesn't help.with the identification. I'd order either or both again.

 

Bankok Curry served with a fried potato Roti was an agreeable dish that included green curry paste, grilled flank steak, bell peppers and basil. Being a purist when it comes to fried potatoes, I decided to serve it over brown rice instead and savor the potatoes all on their own. that was rather agreeable as well.

As far as fried bananas and coconut ice cream go, this dessert went far enough, but I've tasted better. I laughed at the menu when I saw Tea flavored "panda catta" the Thai take on Italian panna cotta, but ordered it anyway, because it was served with sweet sticky rice. This was a fail because of the excessive sweetness, but I admired the creative idea.

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312 Divisadero St

San Francisco CA 94117

(415) 552-6881