Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Eastlake's Mea Kwan 2

On the last night of my mom's visit, she requested Thai food. I’d seen Mea Kwan 2 (Eastlake) on the way to and from my daughter’s ballet classes, and we decided to give it a try.

Inside, the yellow walls, turquoise floor, and red tablecloths create an exotic and calming atmosphere. The lighting in restaurants often feels like an afterthought, but at Mea Kwan 2, the lighting is dim enough to feel intimate and bright enough to eat by.

Every time I go to a Thai restaurant, I have the same conversation with myself:

“Pad Thai?”

“You always get Pad Thai.”

“Ok. How about Pad See Ew?”

“Maybe, but you always get that, too.”

“So, something new? I’m not much into curry.”

“Me either. Let’s go for the Pad Thai.”

Occasionally, the conversation ends with me ordering duck something or Pad See Ew. That evening at Mea Kwan, it ended with the Pad See Ew (spelled Pad See You on their menu) with beef and a Singha beer.

Mom ordered the red curry with mango and a cabernet. And for the little one, fried tofu, steamed white rice, and a lemonade.

Fried tofu.

I love the combination of the sauce’s sweetness and the bitterness of the Chinese broccoli. Mom loved her dish, too, but halfway through it, she realized she hadn’t yet tasted any mango.

Where's the mango?

She mentioned it to the waitress, who apologized (profusely) for her mistake on the order.

“It’s ok,” Mom assured her. “It’s still really good.”

We forgot about it until ten minutes later when the hostess brought us a plate of sweet sticky rice and mango.

“Please accept this,” she said.

We did. I’d say from the first taste to the final battle over the last bit of coconut-flavored stickiness, it took us about 1.2 seconds to finish it off.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Southern California Asks: 'What Is Vinivia?' Meet the New Creator-First Livestreaming App

Next Article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo

On the last night of my mom's visit, she requested Thai food. I’d seen Mea Kwan 2 (Eastlake) on the way to and from my daughter’s ballet classes, and we decided to give it a try.

Inside, the yellow walls, turquoise floor, and red tablecloths create an exotic and calming atmosphere. The lighting in restaurants often feels like an afterthought, but at Mea Kwan 2, the lighting is dim enough to feel intimate and bright enough to eat by.

Every time I go to a Thai restaurant, I have the same conversation with myself:

“Pad Thai?”

“You always get Pad Thai.”

“Ok. How about Pad See Ew?”

“Maybe, but you always get that, too.”

“So, something new? I’m not much into curry.”

“Me either. Let’s go for the Pad Thai.”

Occasionally, the conversation ends with me ordering duck something or Pad See Ew. That evening at Mea Kwan, it ended with the Pad See Ew (spelled Pad See You on their menu) with beef and a Singha beer.

Mom ordered the red curry with mango and a cabernet. And for the little one, fried tofu, steamed white rice, and a lemonade.

Fried tofu.

I love the combination of the sauce’s sweetness and the bitterness of the Chinese broccoli. Mom loved her dish, too, but halfway through it, she realized she hadn’t yet tasted any mango.

Where's the mango?

She mentioned it to the waitress, who apologized (profusely) for her mistake on the order.

“It’s ok,” Mom assured her. “It’s still really good.”

We forgot about it until ten minutes later when the hostess brought us a plate of sweet sticky rice and mango.

“Please accept this,” she said.

We did. I’d say from the first taste to the final battle over the last bit of coconut-flavored stickiness, it took us about 1.2 seconds to finish it off.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pad Thai three ways

There's more than one road to authenticity
Next Article

At Last, True Thai

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader