Top Southeast Asian Restaurant in Palm Springs
Thai Smile Palm Springs
100 S Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States
Its possible it could have to do with the color of our skin: Me and a colleague are down in Palm Spring on a work trip for a conference and the restaurant was highly recommended to us by a local friend. During our lunch break we headed to Thai Smile with another acquaintance, we were three ladies in total.We walked in a busboy served us iced tea, 10 minutes pass by and no one comes around to take our order nor ask if we needed anything. Meanwhile we are trying to make eye contact with restaurant staff while 5 paces from our table there is this gentleman who is a server, busy in conversation with two customers at the bar. There is no problem with that. The problem is that he sees us, but does not acknowledge our presence. Until a supervisor noticed that we wanted our order taken and until she told this server at the bar he deigned to come to take our order.Then our food takes too long, but the place was not even busy to say that there is a reason for the service to slacken and foods to take longer than reasonable. The server mentioned above does not come to check on us, continues to be busy with other customers. A couple walk in the restaurant and sit near us and the server immediately leaves his conversation to take their order.What is curious is that the couple at the bar and the couple that sat near us were both white people, meanwhile we were three women of color. Maybe he did not think we were as important customers as them.Since the food was going to over 20 minutes from ordering and we needed to leave, and we had no update on our food. We left and let the manager know that his server was preferential to the other white customers compared to us. I may be wrong, but that is what it appeared. We left without or food and an a good portion of our time wasted.
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Johannes
196 S Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States
I really enjoyed my meal here the other night.Came on a Wednesday night around 7:30pm with my parents. We were seated at a table inside near the windows so we could look out onto the street while we ate. We were seated with drink menus, and once we turned down drinks we received food menus and fresh bread. Each of us was given three small slices of bread, served with some kind of pesto spread. It wasnt actual pesto, as it wasnt oily or buttery in any way, it was drier.My mom and I shared a mussels special for a starter. It was a 5-star dish: humongous mussels perfectly cooked and served in a sauce of thai chili, fish sauce, passionfruit, and maybe a few other tropical fruits. It was a great combination of spicy and sweet, and the fruits included created a unique taste I had never had before in a mussels dish.Dad got the Mamas Schnitzel - 4-stars. It was piled high with arugula, which he wasnt thrilled about, and thought the arugula mentioned would just be a bit, not a TON. He also thought it came on potatoes, which it didnt, but he thought it was tasty, that it was a good sided portion, and there was lots of cheese and tomato.Mom got the Lemon Caper Schnitzel - 4-stars. She said it wasnt as lemony as she expected, but the veal was tender and perfectly cooked. She liked the sweetness of the cucumber dill dish served on the side, but said her broccolini was oversalted.I got a Veal Medallion special - 5-stars. Three generous chunks of veal served perfectly rare inside. The veal was accompanied with a mushroom sauce and crunchy asparagus that wasnt overcooked at all. It was served with cheesy lobster spätzle which was like a more delicious mac and cheese with huge chunks of lobster.Overall, the place was really cute. Ambiance was on point, it was perfect for a cozy parents dinner and looked like a great date spot. Our server had all dozen specials memorized and was incredibly friendly. Id definitely make this a regular stop when Im in town.
Rooster And The Pig
356 S Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States
The Rooster and The PigMy partner and I had a chance to experience dinner at “The Rooster and The Pig”Echoing other reviews, the line upon arriving at 4:50pm was quite long, but we were able to get seated right away. They open at 5:00pm, so I definitely suggest getting there at 4:30-4:45PM if you want to get seated right away. Otherwise you may have a little bit of a wait.The menu was very interesting seemingly taking a more gourmet take on traditional Vietnamese food.For Starters we had the following:1. Fish Sauce Wings: A nice light crispy finish on the chicken wings and the right amount of sweet and savory between the fish sauce and sugar. I would get these again.2. Calamari: Excellent. Crispy battered finish, with just the right amount of ‘chewiness'. The spice was excellent… just a bit spicy and the right amount of saltiness.3. Vietnamese Crispy Rolls: These were OK. Between the jicama and glass noodles we found those to be a bit overpowering.For the Mains we had the following:1. Pork Belly Fried Rice: This was good, overall. A little more bland, but definitely had some great starting tastes. The chunks of pork belly and crispy shallots were awesome.2. Shaking Beef: Pretty good. Would have enjoyed a little more flavor in the sauce, but the meat was very tender, and high quality.The Experience:Overall pretty good. The waiter was attentive. The dishes were on the smaller sides. Echoing some of the other reviews, the food is good overall, but there wasn't anything that struck us as amazing.At the beginning of our meal, we asked out waiter if we could place an additional order of Pork Belly Friend rice to go, and he was a bit hesitant saying that the manager was very picky about placing to go orders. This didn't make any sense to us, but we remedied the issue by placing two orders of fried rice right away and taking the extra to go.We also ordered two Vietnamese Iced Coffee's. They were a little strong, so my partner asked if we could have just a little extra condensed milk… again the waiter was very hesitant, but said he would ask the bartender if we could have some… to which he said no. We found that was odd. Would have gladly paid extra for it.Interesting place. Food was good, but the overall experience seemed a little… interesting.
Fuzion Five
285 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States
These people will NOT honor your reservation.I made a reservation to have dinner with them @6:30pm on a Saturday night several weeks ago and was bringing my relatives visiting from Canada. It is after all a lovely restaurant with good food that I've visited many times before. To my disappointment, we arrived there @6:30pm and they had just given the last couple of open tables to the guests that walked in before us. I mentioned to our waitress that we have a reservation made for 6:30pm and she soon realized that she messed up (didn't know that a reservation was made). She apologized and asked us to wait at the bar which we did. She brought the drinks menu and invited us to get a drink if we wanted. I asked her if the drink would be complimentary and she immediately told us that they were not going to be complimentary. We waiting around for approximately 10 minutes and realized that most people really had recently begun their meals so we decided to get up and leave. I asked my waitress to have the manager to come out and talk to me and she told me she was the manager. I was shocked because this person handled the whole mishap in a very poor way to begin with. I expressed my frustration and told her that we were going to just leave. She apologized again for the inconvenience and ask for my name and address and offered to send me a gift card for our inconvenience. After several weeks of not getting anything in the mail I realized that I will never get a gift card from them. It is a shame because I used to frequent that restaurant and they now lost a customer. I felt compelled to finally share my story so others people become aware of their lack of professionalism. A reservation there may likely mean very little to them so beware.
Two Bunch Palms
67425 Two Bunch Palms Trail, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240, United States
UPDATE: I returned to TBP in January 2023. This time I brought my BF to celebrate his birthday. As always, the pools were lovely but I have to change my ratings from 5 stars to 4 stars. There have been even more changes since my last visit...1. They now require reservations to use 85% of the tubs. The 5 or 6 original tubs do not require reservations but all others do. The first available time for a concrete tub was at least a 5 hours wait on both of the days we were there.2. On my previous visits we were allowed to arrive early and enjoy the tubs prior to checking in. This time, if we wanted to come more than 2 hours prior to check-in time, there would be a $100 charge. Check-in isnt until 4pm.3. There is now a wellness charge added to spa services and restaurant purchases. They tell you that this money is used to provide healthcare for the TBP employees. While I applaud the offering of healthcare, why not just provide it without letting your guests know? It feels like they are just using this as an excuse for an additional charge.4. We specifically booked a couples massage, but were placed in separate treatment rooms. We both asked about it prior to our appointments but were just told no, that wasnt how it was booked. During my previous visit, we received a complimentary beverage after a spa service. That was not the case this time.5. Our room appeared pretty well worn. I have included photos of the bathroom floor and the door to our room to help show what I mean. The room we stayed in definitely did not justify the pricetag of over $300/night. I feel like a few simple repairs could make a big difference. I think mattresses are new, which I didnt find to be very comfortable (memory foam).Came to Two Bunches in early January 2022 for a three night getaway with a girlfriend and had the most amazing time. This was my second time visiting Two Bunches and I will definitely be back. My first trip was in 2019 and several things have changed since then (both good and not so good), but Ill list the improvements first.1. They added a lot more pools (guessing somewhere around 12-15). We always had our own pool (It wasnt too crowded during our stay).2. The old spa is gone and they now have freestanding treatment rooms at the top of the property (near the wine bar). These rooms are much nicer and a lot more private.3. During our trip they werent charging the daily fee (I think it is $25 pp) and they arent allowing people to purchase day passes in order to limit the number of guests.The not so good:1. There are several changes to the rooms. The first time we stayed our room had a large private (fenced) backyard/patio. The fences have been removed and the privacy is gone. Also, they updated the decor in the rooms and Im not crazy about the new look (I posted pics of the new light fixtures and what I can only assume is a beanbag chair). Im not sure if anyone would actually sit on this or find it comfortable. Also, they removed the coffee makers from the rooms. They do offer free coffee/tea in the restaurant for several hours in the morning but its something I definitely miss.2. They are finding ways to cut costs and/or charge more. The spa prices have definitely increased (I paid almost $200 for a facial). Also, you no longer get a free water bottle at check-in (but you can buy one for $15).Along with the good and not-so good changes, many things have remained the same and they are the reasons why I will continue to come back.1. The staff is amazing. They are so polite and helpful. Hands down the best hotel/resort staff I have ever encountered.2. The restaurant is great3. The overall atmosphere and hot springs are so relaxing. Honestly, I dont consider myself to be a hot tub person (I hate being too hot/overheating), but the water here is perfect.