This is a medium sized place in the Hilton Parc 55 hotel in the Union Square area of San Francisco serving delicious Thai food. The name Kin Khao means eat rice but it is much more than that. Pim Techamuanvivit who used to write a food blog is the owner and brains behind the place that was elevated from Bib Gourmand status to a one star Michelin in 2016.

We were there for lunch which is a smaller menu than dinner but still has plenty of great options. Our waiter was most helpful in planning our menu and all the staff from very friendly. In fact one let me snap a picture of the ‘hot wings’ we ordered and devoured before I had time to get a picture. This is the kind of place that the food smells and looks so good, it’s easy to dive right in and forget about pictures.

 

We started with the mushroom mousse that was hands down the best thing I had there. It was great on the rice cakes it is served with or on the sticky rice or just in a spoon directly sent to your mouth.

 

The beans with chili were served with lettuce to make rolls with or could be eaten with the sticky rice (that our waiter generously brought to us as an extra accompaniment). They were very tasty and a nice contrast to the mushrooms.

 

The chicken wings were excellent – spicy, juicy – with a terrific marinade. There are tons of better pictures if you google them but don’t miss them if you go but be prepared to make a mess of yourself eating them.

 

Our main dish was the chicken curry which was harder to share but also very good with a melding of strong wonderful flavors.

 

We finished with their only dessert, black sticky rice pudding. It came delicious mix-ins of crunchies, caramel and cream. It was terrific with each one or a mix of them all. The dish was not just good it was fun to play with different combinations. This place is priced nicely and gets my strongest recommendation!