Nine & Nine Thai Kitchen

Nine & Nine Thai Kitchen is my FAVORITE Thai Restaurant, EVER!  Huge praise I know, but thoroughly well deserved.  Located at 754 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101, it is one of those places you might just drive by and not even notice. To us locals however, it is a staple lunchtime eatery.  Don't misunderstand me, there are a LOT of good Thai restaurants in Pasadena, but given a choice, I'll eat here every single time.  The entrance is nicely decorated and inviting:

The interior of Nine & Nine is small, but inviting and the open plan kitchen at the back looks clean and the smells emanating from the kitchen are to die for! 

Here's the lunch menu! Check out the prices!!

On this particular occasion I met with Heather. We hadn't seen each other in a few weeks because she was so mentally scarred from the last food review lunch of work commitments. Each dish comes with a simple salad and a light peanut dressing:

 I ordered the Pork Garlic dish (my favorite). Should I ever find myself in the unlikely position of having to order a "last meal" this is what I'll order, hands down, no questions asked:

It is so delicious - garlic pork atop freshly (and I do mean fresh) cabbage with a side of rice. The dish is delicately garnished with green onions and served with a side of sweet and sour dip and a vegetable roll.  At $6.95 you simply cannot beat this kind of value-for-money. 

Heather ordered the Chicken Panang, also $6.95.

I tried a little of Heather's dish. If you like spicy (not overly hot, but spicey nonetheless) this is for you.  We washed everything down with Nine & Nine's deliciously sweet Thai Iced Tea:

As a foodie wanna be chef but no time or money for culinary school what I love about Nine & Nine is that you can really taste that they are using fresh ingredients - and it makes a difference, trust me.

Our bill, for the two of us, came to less than $25, and you just can't beat that.  As to the wait staff, they are always impeccably mannered, attentive, and polite and seem genuinely grateful that you have come in to dine in their kitchen. Nine & Nine is a great lunch place, and if you are into REALLY great Thai food, this would be a wonderful option for a first date (if your potential date likes Thai - actually, this would be a winner frankly).

I give them TWO THUMBS UP and I only wish I had more thumbs, heck I'd give them ten thumbs up. Well done Nine & Nine!

Nine & Nine has a website:  http://www.nineandninethai.com/