I have come to love Thai food after moving to California from Hawaii. I especially love chicken satay and anything with snow peas in it. I crave Thai food often and Rincome Restaurant is good enough for me to get through the day. Located in a strip mall in Granada Hills, Rincome Restaurant is anything but extraordinary.
The place is small and compacted in the corner of the mall and the parking space is limited. There are a few décors, like bronze wares and paintings, but it feels like you are in a typical diner and not an authentic Thai restaurant. There is no host to greet you once you enter the glass doors, but my friend and I got seated right away.
We ordered dumplings as an appetizer and a glass of Thai iced tea for me. Unfortunately, they didn’t have boba. The appetizer was delicious, especially when dipped in their “special sauce” which I believe is a mixture of soy sauce and ginger. The wonton wrapper was filled with ground pork and finely chopped vegetables and was served fresh out of the pan. The dumplings cost $5.95 for five pieces.
We chose three a la carte dishes for dinner: Pineapple fried rice ($6.50), Siam delight ($7.50) and Panang ($6.50). You may choose your meat – pork, chicken or shrimp – for most of the dishes. Shrimp dishes are a dollar and a few cents more.
The pork pineapple fried rice was OK. It had chunks of pineapple – straight from the can – pieces of cashew nuts and slices of pork. The rice was too sticky, which is never good for making fried rice. It was bland so I added soy sauce to my plate. The serving was a bit small for the two of us who love rice and an extra cup of steamed rice is an additional $1.50.
The Siam delight, a combination of chicken, shrimp, tofu, snow peas, carrots, green beans and “special Thai sauce,” had a little more taste than the rice and was better. The vegetables were crispy and the meats were tender. There is something about the “special Thai sauce” that makes this dish tasty. It’s sweet and a little peppery, which I adored. I asked the waitress what exactly is in the sauce and she said, “Special sauce, secret house recipe” with a smile.
The waitress recommended the chicken Panang, the “most popular Thai curry dish,” so my friend and I decided to order it. This made me remember how much I dislike curry dishes. I love coconut, but combined with spices is a bad idea. I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy food so I ordered medium, and I regretted it. It was beyond spicy and to top it off, my water refill did not come as quickly as the first one. The chicken was gristly and drowned in red curry sauce and the bell peppers did not taste cooked at all.
I thought my first time at Rincome Restaurant was going to be my worst restaurant experience until I ordered dessert, deep fried banana with ice cream ($5.95). I thought I was in heaven when I took the first bite of the warm, sweet and delectable slice of banana. It was the best fried banana I have ever had. The ripeness of the banana was just right and the wonton wrapper was crunchy and fried to perfection. It was served with two scoops of coconut ice cream and drizzled with hot fudge syrup. You can also order the banana without the ice cream for $4.25.
The bill came to about $40.00 for two hungry people, not including tip. I could have spent this much money on better restaurant, with tastier food and service.
My overall experience at Rincome Restaurant was just OK. I honestly blame the waitress for being impatient and tried to rush my friend and I in ordering food. If given enough time, we would have ordered better dishes. The only thing that will make me go back to this place is the dessert.
Rincome Restaurant offers lunch and dinner specials that range from $6.00 to $8.00. Phone orders and delivery are also available. Beer and wine are also served in the restaurant.
Rincome Restaurant
17050 Devonshire St.
Granada Hills, CA 91325
(818) 366-5805
Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 11:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday: 5:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
