Sweet Basil - San Jose

We accidentally found out this place when we were going to a pho place at the same shopping mall. I think it used to be another Vietnamese restaurant. There was a big grand opening sign banner outside so we decided to stop by and take a look. There was big sign of menu posted on the wall sort of like fast food place. But this one comes with pictures.

Hubby was craving Thai style stir fry noodle which I thought wasn't available. But as I was checking out what other patrons were eating I saw it on the table. So we decided to stay and gave it a try. I ordered a pad see ew (Thai style stir fry wide rice noodle) and a papaya salad/bbq chicken rice combo for me. The total came to $15 something which was quite a deal.



The place had a feel of newly establish restaurant. Everybody seemed to be running around and the orders didn't seem to be flowing smoothly. We waited for our order for close to 15 minutes. Mean while the kitchen was busy and at one point was smoky. I didn't think anyone mind the smoke at all. The front door was wide open so the smoke cleared quickly. Both me and hubby thought the smoke added to the feel of being in open air market in Asia.

Pad see ew with chicken and gailan (Thai style stir fry wide rice noodle)

When our order finally came out I was surprised by the amount of rice they gave me. Whoa...it's almost twice the amount of rice I normally get at any other restaurant. But I was a bit disappointed because it wasn't coconut rice like it said on the menu. The papaya salad had nice flavor but wasn't spicy enough for our taste buds. The bbq chicken was very nicely marinated and had deep flavor. But it didn't feel like it was freshly grilled.

Hubby's stir fry noodle had a nice amount of chicken. It had nice smoky flavor. He liked it but the portion wasn't big enough. I shared my dish with him.

Papaya salad and bbq chicken combo served with chunk of cabbage

Towards the middle of our meal, the owner came with a glass of Thai ice tea. He apologized for the wait and thank us for being patient. That was a very nice gesture. We appreciated the ice tea as we slurped it down.

It's a good value for our money. I'm curious about other items they have on the menu so we'll be back.

Sweet Basil
3005 Silver Creek Rd Suite 164
San Jose, CA 95121    
(408) 238-2826