Loved it. Cheap, really tasty and generous helpings. With 10€ for dinner had a very nice main…read morecourse and a mango juice. Go for it!

The papaya salad is the best. It's the real deal. I came from California n this is the first place…read moreI came to try Thai food. The best papaya salad I ever had from a restaurant anywhere.

Great food. The pad thai was alright, I've had better but it was affordable and delicious :)read more

AMAZING! I went for my birthday and had a bonus 50% off my meal :) we did the all you can eat…read moreoption. So many bases (noodles, rice), veggies, proteins, etc to choose from, so there really is something for everyone. The spicy garlic sauce is HOT. Way spicier than I anticipated but very yummy. Second round I got Thai curry, and was disappointed in the sauce. Cocktails were delicious and so was the starter soup: coconut lemongrass. It was served with curry bread and some kind of dip. We also got the homemade raspberry sorbet which was super yummy. I definitely will be back to try out more sauces and flavor combinations! The service wasn't amazing, but the restaurant was packed so I'm not deducting a star since everything else was great.

It was at Mongo's that I discovered the wonderful, delicate taste of crocodile. I was a bit…read moreskeptical about trying Mongolian barbecue in this small city in Germany, but after so many business trips during which I ate only bratwurst and schnitzel, it turned out to be a welcome change. We were a group of ten and so made reservations (though it seems that reservations are a must for groups of any size), and most of us picked the winning formula: a 25€ all-you-can-eat buffet. The drinks were extra, and we shared a bottle of red wine (not amazing) and each had cocktails (these were good). The self-service bar had everything you could think of, from the typical bean sprouts and mushrooms to okra, jalapeño, pineapple, different types of noodles, seafood, and then meat. I wasn't expecting to see crocodile, camel, kangaroo, turkey liver, and ostrich among the choices (hello sustainability?), but I was curious to try them. Once you pile your bowl with these raw ingredients, you set it on the counter before the chefs and in a few minutes it arrives, steaming hot, on your table. We ate and ate and then ate some more, but at some point we had to stop. The benefit of the buffet is that you can try so many different flavors and toppings, but quickly I found a favorite: a noodle-heavy, vegetable-heavy bowl with lots of crocodile and chili garlic sauce (my fellow diners also seemed to prefer this sauce to the others. It was genuinely garlicky, but if it isn't spicy enough, you can add more chili on top of it from the small chili bar across from the main serving station). I would come back to Essen just to eat here again. I haven't found anything like it in Paris!

The Chilli House is located on the more quieter part of the Rüttenscheider Straße. The setting is…read moresimple and rustic, all dark wood which makes the restaurant a little too dark for my taste. They service is normally efficient but not overly friendly. When it's packed, it can get slow! The menu is huge, they serve all kinds of different Asian food including Thai, Chinese and Japanese. I came here for lunch and they have a lot of different good value sets. Just be prepared that the food is not authentic Asian. The names of the dishes may sound like that but they are not. If you understand this, you may have a decent meal. It is very popular amongst locals but I will not return if I don't have to.

My favorite place in Essen, one of the best Thai's I know globally ! Very good value. Try the…read moreNoodle soop with Pork and Ramen.

Came here with a group of six colleagues. It was easy to make a reservation via email and they were…read moreso accommodating to our changes with timing and the amount of people! The restaurant space is beautiful with warm lighting. Their menu has a variety of items like soups, curries, and appetizers. I think it's interesting they call eggrolls "spring rolls" here and what I consider spring rolls is DIY special rolls. I got a pot of chrysanthemum tea, "spring rolls," dumplings to share, and a bowl of pho (recommended to me while I was choosing between that and bun bo hue). I think it's cool that they offered bun bo hue and chè banh lot here. I don't see it often in Europe so I wish we were able to go twice so I could've tried it. The chrysanthemum tea was a whole flower (wait for it to bloom before drinking!). It was warming for the cold weather. I also got a non-alcoholic beer which tasted just like liquid bread without the tang of alcohol. It was my first time having a non-alcoholic beer so it felt like a prettier carbonated drink to me. The spring rolls came in three small pieces; one order is meant to be for one person. I liked how crispy it was. The dumplings were probably the letdown of the meal. Texture and flavors were lackluster. You really got to dip it in the curry sauce that it's plated on which makes for an awkward experience when sharing. There are six pieces per order. The veggie type had mushrooms and while I usually like them, I didn't enjoy them as much as the meat version. My pho hit the spot after a whole week of European food. I find Germany's pho to be better than those of other European countries probably due to the big diaspora. It didn't come with hoisin and Sriracha like it does in the U.S.--just bean sprouts, lime, Thai chilies, basil, and I was surprised they had the spiky leaves too. It was a good portion and the meat was tender. I demolished the whole bowl. The service was amazing. I think the final price was a bit much per person (30€+ each). Overall I highly recommend this spot in Essen!

From the owner: Asiatisches Essen. Lecker und frisch vor Ort zubereitet.read more