Shine Sarintra is a natural-born salesman and people person. When he greets customers at the entrance to Rose La Moon Thai Food & Desserts, his enthusiasm for Thai food beams across his face. While his wife, Suawaros, busily prepares meals in the kitchen behind him, Shine directs diners to the large menu screen at the front counter. Happy to explain every item on the menu, he points out the “Choose Your Own Adventure” approach to ordering.
Side containers of sauces play a key role in the meal. There are five to choose from. And, thanks to modern technology, mixing and matching seems easy when the order is entered on screen. Triangles of crispy fried tofu ($10.95) automatically come with the sweet-and-sour sauce containing chilis, garlic, sugar, vinegar, salt and tapioca starch. Helpfully, the menu adds sauce descriptions. In this case the menu reads, “This helps brighten dishes with a very light kick.” Each additional 1.5-ounce container of sauce costs $1.50.
While I decided what to order, Shine took the time to explain that he and Suawaros want to make dishes familiar to Americans in addition to Thai dishes they miss from their homeland. Noodle dishes such as pad Thai and pad see ew ($13.95) are available alongside a section named Hawker Street Food. From the hawker fare menu, I ordered fried corn fritters, or tod man khao pod ($10.95). The batter of the fritter, made with red curry, exudes that hue after the fry. Kernels of yellow corn embedded in a mash give every single bite a textural mix of something crisp and soft.
My favorite Thai dish, chicken or pork larb ($13.95), also made it to the menu. I’ve always loved the combination of red onion, lime juice and cilantro—it makes an ideal summery salad. Suawaros’ fish sauce isn’t overpowering. She lets the flavors of the ingredients settle without adding a mountain of spice. One notable omission: Larb usually comes with a heap of cabbage or lettuce leaves, but the chef left them out for some undisclosed reason.
Another familiar menu item, a fresh salad roll ($10.95), comes with one’s choice of sauce. When I entered my order, I decided to indulge with two, yes, two sauces. Both came with a rating of three red-hot chili peppers. Prik num pla is a fish sauce with lime and peppers, whereas the green seafood sauce is cilantro-based and lime-flavored, too. Hovering near the table, Shine explained that even though the sauce is traditionally paired with fruits de mer, he uses it as a dipping sauce for everything under the sun.
My friend ordered a crispy fried-egg-whites salad ($12.95), new to both of us. The description initially didn’t sound appealing, but once I took a bite I was sold on the idea. The egg whites, fried until they’re golden and crispy, are mixed in with greens, carrots, tomato, onions, cilantro, lime juice and fish sauce. The taste proved unexpectedly refreshing—but I wouldn’t have been offended if an occasional yolk had showed up, too.
The dining room at Rose La Moon is tiny, with four tables lined up in a row with only a small aisle between them and the ordering counter. Our table faced a tantalizing case filled with a variety of desserts. They proved impossible to ignore. Although several of them had subdued colors—such as small, dark-green packages of sticky rice tightly wrapped in steamed banana leaves—half of them were bright neon orange. These “golden desserts” are available individually or in variety packs of four ($12). The menu notes that they are frequently used to provide blessings.
Although we both took photos of a mini chiffon cake, also golden, I ordered sweet sticky rice with banana ($7). When I took a bite, it tasted like a pure infusion of taro. I’d either pressed the wrong choice or the server had picked up the wrong container of sticky rice. Taro works better for me in smaller doses. The rice wasn’t strong enough to temper the paste inside. Plus, my taste buds had geared up for bananas so they were bound to be confused by the arrival of the mighty taro.
Rose La Moon Thai Food & Desserts; open Wed-Mon, 11am to 7pm; 2228 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. 510.868.0073. roselamoon.com.
