Thai, Thai Again (2K Thai - Davis, CA)

Rob and I happened upon 2K Thai, when our favorite Thai place in Davis, Thai Nakorn was closed for some renovations. I was crushed as I had my heart set upon yummy Thai treats. Rob suggested we simply go home. I chuckeled and insisted we could simply go down a few blocks to 2K Thai! I had heard mixed things about the place, but surely it will do, and who knows, may even be better?!

This is called, "tempting fate."

At first walking in the shabby enterance I was shocked. Exceptionally contemporary design on the bar, gorgeous tumeric and saffron colored walls, and lighting that gave the whole place a deep emotion. The wait staff were dressed all in black, with a simple splash of solid pastel color due to their ties. I was impressed, this was the kind of restaurant design you don't find in Davis, and something the entire student crowd craves, what with their rap music and OC addiction.

Anywhose, the fashionably designed menus were delivered and we were seated. The menu opened up to a quick and touching history of the restaurant. The owners, both with names starting with "K" (not a Y2K reference), opened the restaurant in order to give their three children the chance to have a quality American education. The father passed on, and she keeps the restaurant as a standing testament to him and their kids. Sweet. I felt better about this choice.

We sat down and looked around, admiring the decor a little more and we were brought out Thai Iced Teas. The walls were inspiring futrue kitchen desgins, but the art on the wall... like a crack addict blind man obsessed with Thai mythology in a spray paint medium. It just a severe beating for the eyes. Ah well, at least I had my sweet yummy tea; which I finished in about 3 good sips. Apparently it's all show with a very tall glass and a whole lot of ice. Then I was informed that refill's were extra.

Lovely, you cruel fascist bastards.

Soon our Mun Tod came. Deep fried sweet potato battered in coconut batter, served alongside a sweet and sour sauce that had a slight kick to it. This was damn good. Good enough to make ya' slap yer mama good. Plus, the presentation was something you would expect to see in Mikuni's or Dragonfly, not at anywhere in Davis. A welcome surprise all around.

Then our meals came, and all went screaming downhill. Screaming like a schoolgirl screaming. Both meals were presented in a trendy fashionable manner. I approved with glee. Then I bit into it.

I had ordered Gai Yang, charcoal broiled half chicken"marinated" in Thai herbs. I put marinated in quotes because the marinade was fiendishly bland. In fact the marination time was probably a quick 29 seconds. The Thai herbs weren't present. Niether was the heat, and I mean temperature wise. It was just warm. Plus, the trendy plates were not even, so my cutting the chicken served as entertainment for all around.

Rob didn't believe me about the taste so I let him have a try, to which he made the same blank stare I did.

"That's marinated? You sure? Tastes like dry chicken..."

"Yeah, well... I'm hungry, I'll eat it anyways. How's yours?"

Rob took a big bite of his Pad Kee-Mow, a rice noodle dish fried with egg, chicken, and a variety of vegetables. No taste. At all. And again massive heat problems, but this time in both temperature and flavor. I want my Thai food blazing, enough to wake a comatose man and then set him on fire. This almost matched up to a sprinkle of Taco Bell Mild. Second, it had been flash fried, the outside had been toasty warm, but the the core of each piece of food never absorbed any heat, so it cooled rapidly. In five minutes it was stone cold.

This had been the most bland, dissapointing meal I had had in a long time. And, slightly disgusting as we later discovered a hair in my food.

That's it, we were done. I didn't want to argue. (Normally there would have been a storm, people can attest to this, but I had had a long day at work and this was supposed to be quick and simple.) This was over. I wanted to go home. If only the waiter would remember we existed and would give us the bill.

Eventually he did. We paid the damn bill. We left. I carved a quick mark-o-satan on the corner, and left, hopefully dooming the cook's soul. We went to Safeway and bought a box of cereal.

Seriously. We got "Oats and More with Strawberries." Good shit. I highly suggest it.

Overall, I would give 2K Thai a 1.5 out of 5. I only give zeros for food poisoning and attempted murder. This was just food rape. Props to the architecture and plating. The appetizer and Thai iced tea were good (though again, fascist tea). But if you want Thai food in Davis, go to anywhere else.

2K Thai Food
223 G Street
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 759-2255