Dining Review -- Jennifer K Mahal

Lunchtime in the newsroom consists of one person saying, “So, who’s

hungry,” five people ordering food and two people picking it up. So when

it came time for me to do a lunchtime dining review -- thanks to a dining

critic taking a week off -- I turned to the hungry editors, reporters and

photographers in the office. We picked a place to which several of us

have been, but no one from here has reviewed -- Diho Siam in Costa Mesa.

Diho Siam can be found in the shopping center across from Triangle

Square. It’s an intimate dining space, filled with colorful artwork

inspired by the life of Buddha. One of the most interesting things about

the restaurant is that it offers both a Chinese food and a Thai food

menu.

For the purposes of this review, the dining choices were limited to

the daily luncheon specials. There are 11 Thai specials and 16 Chinese

specials available between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Variety is not a problem.

The Thai dishes are available with chicken, beef, pork, vegetables or

tofu. Thai lunches come with a side of jasmine rice. The Chinese lunch

specials come with an egg roll and fried rice.

City Editor James Meier ordered the satay chicken off the Thai menu

($5.75). The dish is described on the menu as a marinated skewer of meat,

barbecued and served with a peanut sauce and cucumber dip.

“The peanut sauce used to marinate the satay chicken creates a

delicious taste that sticks around nicely as a faint aftertaste,” he

said. “The portion of four kabobs comes close to filling one up, but its

plate mate -- a couple of portions of white rice decorated with thin

strings of carrot -- guarantees the lunch special will provide a full

stomach for the average person.”

Meier, who has been to Diho Siam a number of times, said the

restaurant is worth “giving a whirl.”

Kerry Flynn, our newsroom manager, decided to try the almond chicken

off the Chinese menu ($5.25) -- stir-fried chicken with diced water

chestnuts, bamboo shoots and carrots. Flynn liked the vegetables in the

dish, calling them “crispy and fresh,” but found the overall taste to be

“a little bland.”

“I’m not sure where the ‘almond’ came from in the name of the dish,”

Flynn said. “I found only one almond half.”

Reporter Deirdre Newman had better things to say about the Thai cashew

nut chicken ($5.95).

“It has a zingy flavor due to the medley of vegetables and the spicy

sauce that accompanies it,” she said. “While the onions and red and green

peppers pack a potent punch, the chicken is a little dry and chewy.”

She loved the jasmine rice, calling it “very soft and more tasty than

some dry globs that have accompanied Thai food in the past.”

Newman also tried the Thai iced tea, which she said is a “luscious

complement to the dish, with a light, smoky flavor that cleanses your

palate after each bite.”

June Casagrande, who covers Newport Beach for the Pilot, said she

thinks Diho Siam’s Thai food is “great,” but some of their Chinese dishes

have fallen below her expectations. For this review, she tried the orange

peel chicken ($5.25).

“I love that place, so I’m disappointed to say the orange chicken is a

little below their standard,” Casagrande said. “The orange sauce is

delicious, but the chicken is a little dry.”

For soup lovers, she recommended the tom kha, hot and sour coconut

soup. It is “excellent.”

Photographer Don Leach thought the pa-nang chicken ($5.50), chicken in

spicy red curry with coconut milk, was “simple, well done and very

tasty.” The coconut milk sauce was “super good” over the jasmine rice,

but the dish could have used a little more chicken. But, he said he would

definitely be going to Diho Siam again.

There was no meat whatsoever in my meal -- green jungle curry made

with tofu ($5.50) -- but there were plenty of fresh veggies. A nice

amount of spice warmed up the coconut-based broth and brought a tingle to

my tongue. The tofu sopped up the sauce well. Chewy mushrooms, crisp

sugar peas, carrot slices, bamboo shoots and broccoli made for a variety

of tasty textures.

I did not like the Thai coffee I got to complement my meal, however. I

like sweet things, but this was a bit too sweet. I wanted the ice to melt

faster, just to lighten the taste.

Overall, the lunch specials at Diho Siam seemed to please. Most of the

staff thought it was a place worth going back to. The lunch prices are

inexpensive and the to-go service is great -- they had the order ready on

time. If you go, try the Thai.

* JENNIFER K MAHAL is features editor of the Daily Pilot. She may be

reached at jennifer.mahal@latimes.com. Stephen Santacroce is on vacation.

His columns appear every other week.

FYI

WHAT: Diho Siam

WHERE: 1835 Newport Blvd., Suite D154

COST: Inexpensive for lunch

CALL: (949) 645-3259