Top Southeast Asian Restaurant in Hesperia
Thai Lotus Restaurant
12027 Hesperia Rd L, Hesperia, CA 92345, United States
First time going to this restaurant because I thought I'd give them a try. I enjoy Thai food so I like to try all of the Thai restaurant in the area. This is the last one of the restaurants in the area I had not tried yet. I was exceedingly disappointed with the food. If you've ever seen Gordon Ramsay cook pad Thai for the monks and the Thai chef says “this is not pad thai” that's pretty much my position on the food I received. Traditional Thai food is about balance. This food was not balanced. Simple dish of Nam Tok Beef (beef salad) was without a doubt the worst I have ever been served. The cilantro was basically whole in the stem, there wasn't even a imagination of mint in it, maybe someone forgot to buy mint leaves, the toasted rices was so finely ground that the texture of crunch was barely there and to top it off the meat wasn't bad as in rotten but something was off about it. Just a weird flavor. Next we have the pork satay. In all my years of eating Thai street food, never have I been served peanut sauce with pork skewers. Anyone who has ever had esan/isaan sausage from any of the many vendors that you can find in any of the 77 provinces of Thailand knows there is not peanut sauce. Those skewers come with a bag of cabbage and a handful of Prik Kee Nu (Thai birsdseye chilis). It's pretty basic cause it need nothing else. Maybe a beer but that's subjective. I will say the pork satay was better than the nam tok nua but hardly anything to speak about. I was very disappointed that this restaurant did not have Thai chili. I mean that's a staple in Thai cuisine. If I wanted jalapeños I'd go to a Mexican restaurant. You will never see jalapeños in Thai food but you do here. I had ordered pad krapow to go prior to receiving my food that I was to eat while dining in. Upon tasting the food I should have cancelled the order but I legitimately wanted to give them a thorough try. I was very hungry and I ate most of the food but it was nothing I would want again. When I arrived home with the to go order of pad krapow, I opened up the container to see it covered in jalapeños. I gave up right there and threw it out. In the garbage bin my I can't remember 15$ goes. Oh well. I have honestly prepared better dishes in my own kitchen and although I'm experienced in the kitchen to a good level, I am not as experienced with preparing Asian cuisine as I am with western food but I have personally made these dishes on my first try better than what I received. And no mango sticky rice was disappointing. It was on the menu but they said they had no mangos in cause it's out of season. Really? ??♂️ I bet I can find mangos in Thai town.On a positive note, the staff was courteous and polite to me. The staff seemed nice enough and asked me if everything was ok. I did say it was alright. Not good, alright. But thinking of it and getting that pad krapao opened up at home. No…this was not alright. This was not Thai food. This I believe is someone's interpretation of Thai food or a person who doesn't want to get authentic ingredients's Thai food. I saw many positive reviews on google saying this it was great Thai food but I'm sorry, those folks either have very low standards or simply don't know what good Thai food is. Thailand is known for its culture, its beaches, its wonderful people, and for its food! So when I see Thai food done like this, it really annoys me because it would make someone think Thai food is terrible. I can walk down Sukhumvit soi 11 in Bangkok any day of the week, at anytime of day or night and find food that is 1M times better for a fraction of the cost. In fact, I've had better Thai food from Bangkok's cheapest buffet located outside of Lumphini park, I paid $1.45 USD for the buffet and even at this cost the pad krapow and all the other food I ate there was decent and at least had the proper Thai flavors and chilis. Sorry, I will not be back to this restaurant. I'm actually inspired to open my own Thai restaurant after this so the people can try good Thai food in Victorville.