Funky Elephant

Cuisine	Thai
Price	$$ (16-30)
Rating	7/10
Last Visit	Oct. 18, 2023
Location	SFBA: Berkeley + Oakland

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General Notes

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One of the best Thai restaurants I've been to in SFBA. This is not your prototypical Thai restaurant that you see all across America. They offer a small but incredibly well executed menu combining familiar Thai classics like Pad Thai and less common but even more delightful dishes like their Crispy Rice Salad. Vibrant, well balanced, intensely savory, and delicious. Seating is limited and they can get pretty busy -- don't be surprised if there's a short wait. This review was originally for the Berkeley location, but they also recently opened a new location in SF.

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Positives

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> Their GG (ginger-garlic) rice is delightful! Would definitely recommend giving it a try alongside one of their more saucy / meaty mains. It has a lovely fragrance and just the right amount of ginger (which is not too much).

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★☆☆☆ Motherland Curry -- wild rock cod, housemade red curry paste, herbs, coconut milk, cabbage, vermicelli. A bit bland and the curry was a bit too watery for my taste.
• ★★★☆ Pad Thai Old Skool -- gulf white shrimps, shallots, HODO tofu, egg, Chan noodle, tamarind sauce, peanuts, bean sprouts, chili, garlic chive. Great flavor, excellent texture on the noodles.
• ★★☆☆ Party Wings -- four fried Mary's chicken wings, tossed with spicy homemade chili jam, crispy green. I like the sticky texture, the flavor was alright; could use a little more sweetness.
• ★★★★ Gang Rawang Beef -- grilled flat iron steak, house made green curry paste, yellow turmeric, coconut milk, Thai basil, Thai chili & watercress. The beef was cooked well and paired really well with the green curry. The salad and dressing on top were delightful and paired well. The curry is pretty spicy -- definitely recommend getting a bowl of GG rice to go along with the curry. Only complaint was that the beef had a lot of connective tissue and was difficult to eat.
• ★★★★ Mango Sticky Rice -- mango, sticky rice, coconut, sesame seeds. One of their specials for the day, as mangoes are in season. The mangoes are SO tender and perfectly ripe. The sticky rice has a perfect texture and a lovely fragrance. With just the right amount of coconut milk/cream/sauce scattered across the dish to bring everything together.
• ★★★☆ Asparagus w/ Basil Garlic Sauce -- blistered asparagus with a basil garlic sauce. One of their specials, as asparagus is in season. Perfectly cooked, and the basil garlic sauce is so good
• ★★★★ Crispy Rice Salad (Nam Kao Todd) -- fried jasmine rice in house-made red curry paste, herbs, peanuts, lime, fish sauce, fermented pork & pig skin. Fresh, herbaceous, vibrant, (very) spicy, and intensely savory -- so good! If you have good spice tolerance, I'd absolutely recommend giving this a try!