You know, I’ve always wanted to travel somewhere exotic… Somewhere beachy, where I don’t speak the language and little old ladies cook things more delicious than you could ever imagine right on the street. But as I found out last night, there’s no need to travel halfway across the globe for this. An exotic oasis of Asian food lies right on 12th street. It holds the smells and taste of the pacific without the threat of getting pick pocketed or traveler’s diarrhea. And they have air conditioning! It’s Kin Shop, people. Put away your passport and go there or be square.

Propmaster to the stars Maggie was kind enough to join me for this adventure, and when it comes to restaurant-ing, we mean business. We went for the prix fixe and each chose different things to maximize our tasting options. A crappy iPhone photographic tour of our meal is below and mad props to our waiter who gave us an extra scoop of ice cream. That was super “SWEET” of him… Nailed it!

Highlights included the green curry that the mussels were soaked in, the fresh/sweet/sesame explosion of the kale salad, and the pork belly in the noodles. Growing up, maybe one Sunday every couple months, I’d take a 10am trip with my dad to Costco to buy ribs. They’d be on the stove boiling by 11am, and stay there until dinner time, when he would quickly marinate and grill them on our deck.  Kin Shop’s pork belly brought this memory back after a bagillion years as they tasted just like my dad’s low and slow creation.

Good food, good memories, and good service… Kin Shop will definitely see me again.

Maggie with the Kale and Jackfruit Salad and Steamed Bouchot Mussels

Braised Skate and Calimari and Stir Fried Pork Belly Pad See Ew Noodles and Crispy Roti

Thai Iced Tea, Chocolate Thai Chocolate, and (FREEEEEE) Galangal Ice Cream

What I’m Eating for the Rest of the Week