First, take this review with a grain of salt (or Grain of Paradise if you prefer.) Based on one visit, three items, and the new operators had been open fewer than 10 days, so I can't offer a fair appraisal of the whole establishment, of course, but here are a few impressions.
Bottomline first. I wouldn't be afraid to try a takeout item or three. Place looked very clean. Food was hot and ready to go right on time. The dishes we had were good. So let's just say, "Low hurdle crossed."
The owners have been in business in Dover for years and are regularly lauded as "the best Thai I've ever tasted" by many Yelpers. But, best Thai chow ever? With all respect to fellow reviewers ... Ah, no. Good and not objectionable in any way. Sure. This is decent formulaic Americanized Thai food (which is fine with me. No offal, deep-fried frog or red ant eggs -- suits my NH upbringing.)
Essentially, Khaophums is squarely in the middle of that broad genre of domestic pan-Asian food borrowing heavily from original Cantonese Chinese cuisine loosely re-created and evolved here in response to mass taste buds and thin wallets. (You already knew that!) After all, Western diners have made crab rangoon (most likely born NYC during the 1950s) a measuring stick of greatness. Add to those ubiquitous rangoons the mini-burrito-style "egg" rolls with no egg, the omnipresent pad thai variations, and all manner of gooey deep fried protein served sweet and sour or just plain sweet. Witness the common chef's "specialities" that appear dressed in General Tso's uniform and you see that our American melting pot applies literally to the untold number of so-called Asian eateries that span the landscape from the northernmost reaches of Maine (tangschinesecuisine.com) to the southernmost tip of the Baja peninsula. (chinscabo.com) Those restaurants report that General Tso's chicken is far and away the #1 GrunHub order. The General's bird is, in fact, among the top five revenue producers in all of GrubHub's world.
Anyway, enough blather. On to take-out from Khaophums II.
Soup first. The Tom Yum was average/good. Not real spicy hot but kicky enough. The umami level was adequate from a fish paste or similar funky ingredient. I'd like a bigger hit of lemongrass, but no big deal. Thankfully, not overly salty but not a lot of sour either. Maybe a little heavier foot on the kaffir leaf? I do like the chopped fresh-off-the-supermarket-shelf tomato in there, though. In totality this Thai classic didn't exactly make the taste buds tremble with complexity or depth, but pretty good nonetheless.
Long-time dining companion went with an American Thai pop standard -- massaman curry. This version was worthy if you want mild-ish and sweet-ish. Another "good" rating, the many curry flavors balanced and pleasing. Although pronounced too spicy for the delicate French palate of my takeout date of 30 years, I found it pretty tame by Thai standards. (If you want absolutely no heat, as she prefers, I guess you better ask. Or if you want more than just mild heat, better ask for that too.)
Now, the most curious part of this first encounter with Khaophums. I ordered Pad C-U after asking just what the "C-U" means. Guy on the phone said he didn't know. The menu description says stir fried flat rice noodle, with Chinese broccoli, broccoli, carrots, egg, and thick soy sauce. I chose fried tofu for the protein. I'm still trying to figure out, after forensic analysis of my entree, just what order I received.
Comprising my dish along with tofu cubes were what certainly must have been egg noodles (not rice,) along with spring pea pods (not listed,) broccoli, carrots, and a ground ingredient that might have been peanuts or perhaps finely ground pork in minute amount (another mystery guest ingredient.) Egg? Chinese broccoli? Thick soy sauce? I don't have a spectrometer but I'm pretty sure those ingredients were absent.
So I figured I must have been given another menu item by mistake. But I can't find anything that lines up with the ingredients I was served. So maybe it was an unlisted "Jazz Noodles" improvised by the cook (?) Or maybe the "C-U" stands for C if U can figure it out. The dish tasted OK, mind you. No heat at all so I added chili oil at home.
But here is why I'm truly thankful when it comes to this particular wayward dish. It contained none of the dreaded baby corn. Hate those tasteless little canned things. Let them grow up to adulthood, shuck 'em and eat 'em out of hand or in a chowder, for Brahma's sake. I'm totally against corn infanticide. read more