Bangkok Thai Deli (Take 2) – St. Paul, MN

I mentioned we really liked Bangkok Thai Deli, so we went back there again recently (yes, probably too recently, but we’re hooked on this place). I normally don’t re-review places within the same year, unless there’s something ground breaking to try. Well there is!

Rita mentioned she loves the stuffed chicken wings at Bangkok Thai Deli, so we ordered two of those. D.Rough was in the mood for some spicy pork and I was tempted by the Dry Suki Yaki (more Japanese, but whatever, I love it no matter which country makes it).

The chicken wings were the game-changing part of this meal .I’m not even sure what they stuff these things with – it looks like more meat and vegetables. But they’re reallllly delicious. The fried part is awesome and they take the bones out of most of the wing (where they stuff it full of other filling). I can’t thank Rita enough for recommending these to us. I’m glad we tried them.

The pork dish was pretty good, as well. Not amazing like the first dishes we had here, but still really good. I think I ate about half of D.Rough’s meal, since I really liked it. It was just a touch salty (which is what I love) and the mound of rice was pretty intimidating. Thankfully, it wasn’t as spicy as the first go around with this place, so we ate it without any problems. The soup was a little thin and I’m not even sure what it was, but we ate about half of it. The dish comes with a small bowl of what looks like pickled peppers. They were hot but still sweet and tasty.

(I can't get this stupid picture to rotate, even if I change the name of the file - AAAGGHHHH!)My dish was really good, but it had a more fish-saucy after taste. Just a tiny bit. I loved the noodles and the meat flavor, and even the chili oil that was used generously didn’t overpower me. The veggies in it (mostly bok choi and carrots) added some awesome texture and flavor to the noodles and sauce as well. It’s not really DRY, but compared to traditional Suki Yaki, it was (traditional Suki Yaki is a bowl of soup with noodles and veggies in it). I really liked this dish.

In order of awesomeness, it’s got to be the stuffed chicken wings, then the dry Suki Yaki, then the pork with rice. But clearly, they were all good. This place is slowly making its move to the front of our go-to places…

Bangkok Thai Deli (and Supermarket) – St. Paul, MN

A blogger friend of mine from An Herbalist Eats, Jen, has been raving about this place for some time now. I keep meaning to get there, but I’m never in that neck of the woods when I’m hungry for some reason. However, D.Rough and I made a special trip there to check out this food. We did a quick run through supermarket side of the building.There is a lot of large case-style Asian ingredients, as well as a hodge-podge of American and household items. They also have a huge candy section, from which we scored some Hello Pandas – I’m 5, what can I say?

A lot of the reviews online refer to this place as a hole in the wall, but I was really surprised how large it was on the inside. There’s a lot of seating available and there were a lot of people eating dinner here. We grabbed a booth and checked out the menu the server brought us. There are a TON of things on this menu. More than we ever expected. Then there’s an additional “special” menu with more items. Thankfully, this place has photos of almost every item on the menu, which helps you visualize what you’ll be getting before you order. VERY nice feature.

It took us a while, but we finally figured it out. We knew we were going to go with the fresh spring rolls. And then we ordered the Hot Pot with pork and also Red Curry with Roasted Duck. Well, I meant to order it with Roasted Duck, but the words Mock Duck came out of my mouth for some reason. And I realized it too late. I have no idea what I was thinking. I’m sure I was distracted by the Doodee Noodles on the menu, since as I mentioned, I’m 5. Speaking of 5, the server asked us how spicy we’d like our food – on a scale of one to ten. We asked him how serious the spice level is here and he said it was serious – with a smile. We decided on 7’s for both dishes.

The spring rolls came out quickly and they looked pretty good. They were open at the ends so if you tried to pour the sauce into the things, you’d just end up with it running down your wrist (which we both did). But the ingredients were fresh and delicious. They weren’t the best we ever had, but they were pretty darn good. The sauce was the thinner light and spicy sauce with tons of peanuts in it. D.Rough and I both mentioned how we used to not be a fan of that sauce – we usually preferred the hoisin sauce – but this one was one of the best light sauces we had. Good bit of spice in it.

The Hot Pot was something I had had in China last year and it was really fun to eat. It is served a little different here at this place, but it was still phenomenal. In China, it’s more like a fondue – you have many plates full of ingredients and you drop them in the boiling broth and fish them out later with chopsticks. At Bangkok Thai Deli, it is served with the ingredients already in it and you scoop them out with a ladle. The whole thing is constantly heated with a sterno-type deal at the bottom of the pot. The soup was hot. HOT. Both temperature and spice level. Wow, but it was delicious. The temperature heat opened up your flavor receptacles to allow more spice level to penetrate your skull, in this case. Thankfully, they had also brought out a serious mound of plain white rice. D.Rough and I like our food spicy – really spicy in fact, but I think next time we’ll scale back to a 6.But as I said, the ingredients and the broth were delicious and exactly what we needed. There were large chunks of ginger and lemongrass in it to avoid, but all of the meat and kafir limes were fantastic (once we figured out they were kafir limes). We would totally get this again. We had to bring half of it home since there was so much of it.

The Red Curry, somehow, was even better than the Hot Pot. And this was despite the fact that I ordered mock duck instead of the real thing. I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. I knew it would be tasty, but this was the best red curry I’ve had in a long time – if not EVER. Again, it was really hot, but the flavor was well beyond my expectation. Lots of delicious vegetables in it and the mock duck was surprisingly delicious, as well. In fact, I’d probably order it again with mock duck just to ensure it would be equally delicious. I kept raving about this red curry to the point where D.Rough got sick of hearing about it. Which was awesome since it meant I got to eat the left-overs the next day. I’m surprised they made it that long, but I was absolutely stuffed after this meal.

Really a delicious experience and I owe Jen a huge debt of gratitude for telling me about it.
On the way out, we found out they had Cream Soda Fanta (which I had never seen before) and some Mangosteen drink, so we grabbed a couple for the road and headed home to lounge in front of a Netflix movie.

We WILL be back here.

Top 5 things about Bangkok Thai Deli
1. Red Curry with mock duck
2. Hot Pot
3. Huge menu with photos
4. Spice level is actually appropriate
5. Spring rolls

Bottom 5 things
1. The menu is so big it is difficult to decide on one thing and still not sure why there are two different menus – that part was a little confusing
2. The place gets loud when it’s full of people. Really loud
3. A lot of strong flavored ingredients in the soup to maneuver around – you’ll get over this when you realize how much flavor those things add to the soup, though
4. Those little green veggie things aren’t green beans – they’re Thai chilies – kapow!
5. Fresh spring rolls were open ended, which caused a severe mess at our table - hahahaha

Bangkok Thai Deli and Supermarket
315 University Avenue W.
St. Paul, MN 55103

Rice Street Deli – St. Paul, MN

EnyaFace! got me hooked on this place years ago and I have really needed to visit it again. It had been too long. I’ve reviewed this place before and it was absolutely incredible. Granted, last time I got the largest menu item they had – the Gangster Burger (read the previous review for details on this monster) – so you knew I’d be happy. I decided before I even went this time, that I wouldn’t get the Gangster Burger, I’d get something smaller and more reasonable. EnyaFace! and I agreed to meet at the Rice Street Deli for dinner and pick up some delicious food. There aren’t any chairs or tables in here, so you really do have to take it somewhere or eat it in your car.
Just as a recap, the Rice Street Deli is in the Reemco gas station at the corner of Rice and Maryland. Not the safest neighborhood, but also not the worst – I’m just warning people. There are some shifty characters walking around. There are also some really nice characters walking around too, and there’s an awesome Asian grocery store across the street if you want to pick up some supplies for dinner (The Double Dragon). There are regular police patrols that drive by the area and pop into the deli – multiple in the time I was waiting for EnyaFace! to arrive. At the deli, you order your food and receive a ticket which you take to the gas station part and pay for it along with any drinks or chips you’d like. Efficient operation they’ve been doing for years.

I have to mention that the afternoon I went to Rice Street Deli, I saw three different people with prosthetic legs. I’m not sure if that was some sort of sign, but I just thought it weird that in the space of 5 minutes, I saw three different versions of fake legs. Odd.

I got there before EnyaFace! and set about figuring out what I wanted to eat. I also was very amused at the people that came in to pick up food orders. A LOT of variety in the clientele, but I’m guessing as word of this place grows, it’s going to continue to be a diverse crowd. I said I wasn’t going to order the Gangster Burger, so I had some work to do deciding what else to order. They don’t have an online menu, so you have to do it right there in the store at the counter. (And I noticed they have small printed menu flyers next to the counter so you can bring them home or keep one in your car – bonus!!!). They had a lot of things I wanted, but I kept coming back to the Meat Lovers Sandwich and the Gyro Burger. Both sounded delicious. And both were much cheaper than the Gangster Burger – which is $19.99 – so that means they’re both much smaller right?
EnyaFace! showed up and we decided what to get. She had been talking about the Gangster Fries for months, so we decided to share a large order of those. She also opted for a Gyro. I asked about the Meat Lovers Sandwich and he explained it was cheesesteak and gyro meat chopped up on a roll. He mumbled something about it being huge – which intrigued me, as well. The guy working the deli is amazingly nice. The guy is also an amazing cook. I decided to go with the Meat Lovers Sandwich, since if you couldn’t already tell, I’m a meat lover.

It took a while for him to make our meals, but I could see him working hard back there. When he asked what I wanted on my sandwich and showed me the almost finished product, I realized why. The sandwich is like a foot and a half long. I’m not kidding at all. I asked if I could take a photo of what he had made for me. He agreed as he was putting the finishing touches on our Gangster fries. If you didn’t read the previous review, Gangster fries are a slop pile of crinkle-cut French Fries covered in gyro meat, cheese, and tzatziki sauce. Holy crap these were amazing.

Here’s the photo. But I worry this isn’t the best perspective for you to truly appreciate the magnitude of this sandwich. How’s this:



The guy behind the counter is really nice, as I said before. He handed me the sandwich and told me how to carry it, so it stayed right-side-up. The guy takes great pride in his food flavor as well as presentation and it was wrapped so it could withstand traveling to its destination. Waxed paper on the inside kept the things together. Really smart guy and he made sure I knew how to manage this sandwich.

We schlepped all this food to EnyaFace!’s house and dug in. I made a very small dent in the Gangster fries – which I’m sure they gave us the super size instead of the large size – I hope. They were delicious. Basically, you just need to order one of any of these things for a group of 5 or 6 people. I’m dead serious. Huge amounts of delicious gyro meat covered in delicious cucumber sauce. It was awesome.

I began to tackle this Meat Lovers Sandwich. It too was really awesome. The gyro meat and the cheesesteak were chopped up as they were cooked on the flat top grill and then mixed in with cheddar cheese. It was an amazing combination. I’m pretty sure there was American or white American cheese on the giant baguette before the meat is put on. Then I had asked for tomatoes and lettuce. Delicious. Oh wait, then I had him slather the whole thing in tzatziki sauce for me – can you tell I love it??? Amazing meat flavor combined with the cool deliciousness of cucumber sauce – it isn’t wrong to have it on two things you’re eating, I promise.

You can’t eat this thing with your hands. No way in the world. You HAVE to eat it with a fork and maybe a knife. The bread itself was much better than I anticipated. Very soft and had some good buttery flavor. I managed to get bread in just about every bite of this meal, although there were a couple of meat-only bites. I felt pretty good about my progress, but I honestly only managed to eat half of this thing. But to eat about 8 inches of a 6x18” sandwich is pretty good. I really didn’t want to quit, since it was all so good, but I didn’t want to get the meat sweats on this one. I just wanted to enjoy it. I took a photo, so you know what kind of damage I did to it.
I also took a photo of the weak attempt EnyaFace! and I made with the Gangster Fries. Next time, we’ll skip either the sandwich or the fries. There’s just no way you can do both. Maybe if you were feeding 12-15 people this would be a good amount. (I'm guessing you can tell which side was mine and which side was EnyaFace!'s)
EnyaFace! really loves the lamb gyro meat at Rice Street Deli, so she was really happy with her Gyro. She didn’t finish hers either and ended up giving the remainder to her father who was in town visiting.

Like I said, this place really is amazing. And I know they do have normal sized portions of things. Someday I will choose to order one. The gyro burger is next on the list and maybe a couple of the appetizers – the wings in particular. We noticed the guy had dessert kinds of things in his case this time around – cakes, cheesecakes, and baklava. I can’t see myself ever leaving enough room to do something like that, but for those that need dessert, this guy has it.

You really need to go here. Rice Street Deli doesn’t appear to be advertising anywhere, so you just have to spread the word on your own. I’m doing my part, trust me.

Top 5 things about Rice Street Deli
1. Meat Lovers Sandwich
2. Gangster Fries
3. Gyro Sandwich
4. Never-before-seen portion sizes
5. Really awesome staff

Bottom 5 things
1. You will never be able to finish one of these gargantuan sandwiches without a crowd of people
2. A little confusing the first time with where you pay
3. When your health coach at your insurance place finds out about this, you’ll probably get yelled at
4. It’s a little bit “hood”. Don’t be a nancy – just deal with it.
5. I feel like I need to buy a white Tall-T shirt when I’m in the gas station part – they sell them there, next to the hostess cupcakes (really)

Rice Street Deli (Reemco Gas Station)
1200 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN 55117


My next trip to this area will likely take me to the Frogtown Deli on Maryland. I'm looking forward to that!

Cheng Heng – St. Paul, MN

We got a recommendation from one of my coworkers with this caveat, “Don’t expect much in the way of ambience…” Actually my coworker raved about the food, but when I hear warnings about ambience, it’s a green light for me. This is a Cambodian restaurant, and since we’d never eaten Cambodian food, an almost-recommendation was all I needed.

We dropped by this place after work after a really long drive down University Ave. It’s almost to the capitol building (the opposite direction of home). The building is split into weird sections. When you walk in, you’ll be faced with a smattering of toys – apparently this is where the owners/workers kids play. To the left are a handful of Asian-inspired decorations (planters, statues, and plants) and also the entrance to some sort of jewelry store (also filled with toys and randomness). To the right is most of the restaurant. A little further back and there is a sectioned off area which I assume is overflow.

We got a table and Gerd put her purse down loudly and started emptying it. Apparently, her spillproof coffee mug wasn’t all that spillproof. So I offered to order some cream cheese puffs (crab rangoons basically) and that cheered her up just a little bit. I also ordered some fresh spring rolls since we always have to get them when they’re on any menu.

We ordered our meals as well, but I can’t tell you what we got, unfortunately. There were a lot of “c”s in the items if that helps. We got a #24 and a #28. I can’t give you any more than that.

The crab rangoons were quite good. You know they’re good when you pick them up and grease drips out the end. Seriously, that means they’re good. These were very good. The fresh spring rolls were awesome as well. To be honest, we’ve never had bad spring rolls anywhere, so it’s a safe bet they were going to be good. And they were.

The #24 was some sort of glass noodle and mushroom dish that was really good. Wasn’t spicy at all and Gerd really liked it a lot. There were some cabbage-y things in it as well as some long skinny Asian mushrooms that look like worms. I even got to finish up the plate when Gerd got full. It was a winner.

The #28 was also good, but a bit bland honestly. It was noodles and bean sprouts and chicken and was pretty good, just not a lot of flavor going on. I dumped the sauce they brought out for me all over the top of it and that seemed to help though. Nothing weird about it, although it didn’t taste like Chinese food – more like Vietnamese food. So I guess where Cambodia is at, they stole more things from Vietnam than China. Go them.

After being worried about receiving a plate with a stick and some blades of grass on it – you KNOW you think of Cambodia the same way *I* do – I was pleasantly surprised to have really good food. I’d recommend this place, but we still have another 2,000+ restaurants to go to before we get back here. We won’t be scared of it any more if that’s any consolation!

Top 5 things about Cheng Heng
1. #24 (whatever that is)
2. Fresh spring rolls
3. It was pretty cheap
4. They have hoissin in ketchup bottles on the table – awesome!
5. Really good descriptions of each dish – very helpful

Bottom 5 things
1. Seems like a lot of weird stuff going on in there besides cookery
2. #28 was a tad bland
3. It’s really far from us
4. Pop in cans – Gerd HATES to ration her drinking
5. Gerd’s spillproof fail – not the restaurant’s fault of course