Thoughts Style Cuisine Showroom

Good interior design as a Thai food restaurant, so bright and so simple. The food is ok, not really special, just OK

Although I was amazed with bright/​clean/​modern décor of this restaurant, I couldn’t say the same about the food.
The food was pretty disappointing. I came here with my department for lunch and we weren’t quite satisfied with the food here. Portions were extremely small, it’s pretty pricy, and the food lacked so much in quality…
We started with the Brussel sprouts ($ 8) and the truffle enoki ($ 10) appetizers. I think these were the best out of all the entrees we ordered… the Brussel sprouts were good! — nice and crispy. The truffle enoki was pretty good as well! Although they should’ve divided the enoki bunches in smaller portions.
As for the entrees, they were a hit or a huge miss…
I ordered the Kra Praw Mussels Spaghetti ($ 12) — the portion was small, the mussels were NOT fresh because they were frozen mussels and the noodles didn’t have any seafood taste — it pretty much just tasted like simple stir fried noodles that were spicy.
I also got to try some of my co-worker’s dishes. The Seafood Khee Mao Penne ($ 12) — pretty good! Enough seafood flavor because it was cooked with prawns and calamari. I liked this one!
Another one of my co-​workers ordered the Sweet Basil Calamari dish ($ 13), which was recommended by the waitress but it was nothing special — It was basically, frozen calamari stir fried with jalapeño, onion and basil. –_​–
All in all, I wouldn’t come back to this place and I don’t think it’s worth venturing out to try. 2 stars instead of 1 because I really did like the décor — everything was white and I liked the hipster lightbulbs.

I love how clean and trendy this place is:)
Must haves:
1. Mechanical Noodles (garlic lime sauce– to die for!!!)
2. Spicy Chicken Ginger Ale
3. Plenty of Herbs Lamb Sausage Spaghetti
Ps. Service is fab !

Definitely thought provoking.
Thoughts like:
What is this place?
Why the all white décor? Not complaining — kind of serene actually.
Do I want to stay or do I want to go?
Italian AND Thai eh?
I’ve only been once but it was enough to know that this place has lots of potential. The food is down right good. They stand behind this ominous ‘comfort food’ shadow but even though none of it seems approachable, every flavor has a sense of warmth. The kind of warmth that brings you back to the country your originally from, or the home cooked meals from mom. Alright, I’m not Italian or from Thailand but I do know what it feels like to be home.
Don’t let the «too cool for school» façade fool you. Check it out for yourself and grab your own creature comfort.

This restaurant was ok. It clearly has some kinks to work out, but is relatively new so it has a way to go. Particularly, timing of the dishes was sort of off. If we hadn’t shared everything, one of us would have been done eating before the other ever got their entrée.
The tom yum risotto was the highlight– flavorful and the rice was clearly well cooked without getting too sticky. The penne khe mao felt gimicky– not sure how penne adds to this dish in any way.

Thai Italian fusion? I mean come on, this should totally be a carb lover’s heaven. I started daydreaming about all sorts of fabulous combos when I heard about this place, but unfortunately the food just did not meet my expectations. Most of the dishes were way too spicy and all of them were tiny. Order two entrees per person if you want to get full, and this is coming from a 5’2 106lb girl.
BEST
1. Seafood khee Mao Penne — we all agreed that this was the best dish of the night.
2. Pad see ew — very good but you can get this at any regular Thai joint
AVERAGE
1. Camou Curry with Roti — pretty delicious but too spicy and too little beef
2. Uncaged eggs — good but I could totally have made this at home after going grocery shopping at Ranch 99. Literally just scrambled eggs with sliced Chinese sausage.
BAD
1. Mechanical Noodles — my boyfriend’s Vietnamese mother would give us hell if she knew we paid $ 10 for half a fist full of rice noodles, 2 tablespoons of minced pork, and a few pieces of raw lettuce. I feel like this was an attempt to make Hu Tieu seem fancier by putting each ingredient in separate vestibules.
2. Plum soda — Blegh.
Restaurant itself was clean and modern but almost a little too sterile and bright. Felt like I was sitting in an Apple Store.
Reservations not needed on a Thursday night. Business seems slow here.

Thoughts Style Cuisine is supposed to be a like a «fashion showroom for food» so lower your expectations. The space is stark white and well-​lit but has minimal décor. It was more sterile than cozy — not a great place for dates, but good for groups.
FOOD:
The food was a blend of Thai and Italian cuisine, which was interesting at first but not what I expected. Portions were on the smaller size, but the dishes are good for sharing.
* Uncaged Eggs — the best dish of the meal IMO. The eggs and Chinese sausage were very simple but flavorful.
* Mechanical Noodles — Plain rice noodles and components for making your own lettuce wrap. I wasn’t a fan of this dish.
* Pad See Ew — Good, but nothing extraordinary.
* Seafood khee mao penne — Thai flavors, with Italian influence. I thought it was strange at first, but the flavors were bold and tasty.
* Penne with bell peppers and sausage — This dish was just too spicy to taste much of anything.
Service was friendly, but it seemed like they had never served at a real restaurant before. Even though we were sharing each dish, they kept forgetting the serving spoons. Maybe people don’t share in the fashion food industry?
Overall, nice concept but I prefer my Thai and Italian food as separate cuisines.

Great food and nice new spot in soma.
Love the interior and every singe dish we ordered was delicious. Staff was great and I will be coming back.
We ordered:
Caged eggs– pork, Chinese pork sausage, eggs (poached and scrambled) arugula, carrots. So good!
Mechanical noodles– deconstructed and just delicious. You can add the spice to make it spicier.
Original Hong Kong style noodles with beef, ginger, cilantro and Chinese twinsie doughnut.
Burger with Sriracha chips. We were too full to even eat this but will be trying later today.

Welcome the new items of this place!!!
Just tried «CoZy ToFu» for my lunch break. Looks easy peacy but sooooooo good. Like the sour soy sauce and cheese.

We were planning to watch Jersey Boys at the Orpheum Theatre and got there early enough to catch a quick dinner. Found parking and did a quick Unilocal search, Thoughts Style Cuisine Showroom caught our attention. Walked over and it felt like were walking into the light literally… (ha la lu ya~). You’ll know what I mean when you get there. It was pretty dark out and sitting in this place woke my ass up and I was ready to eat. They offered us some complimentary peanut salad. I expected more greens, but it was literally a bowl of peanuts with a pieces of cilantro, but hey it was free, and it was good!
We ordered the Camou Curry with Roti, both sweated profusely while eating all this spice, but we didn’t stop because it was that good! I’ve never had green eggplants, but I can’t imagine my first experience to be any better than what I had at TSCS. We cleaned the bowl. Not a drop left. The Tom Yum Kung Risotto was spicy too and nothing like I’ve ever had. It was so good! The prawns in the Risotto were really fresh. I’m picky with prawns and shrimp, but these ones that they offered were mouth watering good.
I’m not going to lie. The bright lights and empty showroom made me nervous, but once the first dish came out it only got better and better.
If you can handle spicy, you must come. Muchooo deliciousooo ;)

You’re likely going to just walk right past this place since there’s virtually no indication that there’s a restaurant sitting right there. As others said, it’s pretty sterile inside and almost trying too hard with the pinterest-​y décor. It might be better suited for a coffee shop or bakery but eh.
Portions are small, but I got 3 to share with a friend, I was full, he was not. The prices are a tad high, especially given the quantity. But my overall impression was that the food was crafted with care and the flavors were full and colorful. Unfortunately, I can’t speak to the risotto or penne, which should highlight more of that thai/​italian fusion. You have to be ready to wait ~20 min for the risotto though.
Original Hong Kong Porridge with Twinsie Donuts (chinese youtiao): YES. Solid choice. Nothing particular fusion about this, but the porridge was flavorful with tender meat and maybe too many strips of ginger. The youtiao, which are strips of fried dough, were fresh and while more dense than your typical youtiao, very tasty. The two together would have made a great weekend breakfast.
Sukhothai Noodles: Pretty good. Rice noodles with a spicey sauce, crunchy fried peanut clusters, green beans, and fried tortilla chip things. The noodles were tender and I really enjoyed the different textures within the dish. Just wish they would give more…
Pad Thai: Didn’t actually try this, but looked well made and had this unique ground chili that you could mix in. It wasn’t familiar to me and gave your tongue a slight numbing sensation.

1÷31÷16: This place tries really really really hard. Probably much too hard. Everything here is ultra-​trendified for better or worse (for instance our «Mechanical Noodles» were served in a pot labeled «overeducated” – is this some deep meaning to ponder while you fatten yourself with another’s overeducation?)
And then you got that bathroom – they didn’t stop with «Men» and «Women»… nope, they also include «Lesbian» and «Gay Pride» as in gays are not men or women.
But I do love the overall design and effort. Very white. Very modern. Very strong lines. I don’t think it’s to many people’s tastes, but the rising sun did cast a nice light into the aseptic room which I found beautiful.
Alas, the food’s very polarizing too, and unfortunately also of extremes in itself – both wonderful and horrific. This is a tough one… some amazingly bad food, but also a few «best-​evers” – how should I score this…
1. Fresh Plum Soda $ 4: Like the ubiquitous drink at Vietnamese phở houses, but somewhat stronger and tastier. But otherwise not particularly special. ⁷⁄₁₀.
2. Crimson Soda $ 3: I think this is their version of an Italian Soda. Similar but they add milk or cream to it. If I remember correctly there might have been too much milk. I dunno. I just remember it was alright but not great. ⁵⁄₁₀
3. Camou Milk $ 3: Don’t remember.
4. Camou Curry with Roti $ 12 «Naturally green curry with Kobe Beef served with homemade Roti»: This is an appetizer despite the very hefty price. Normally I’d say it’s way overpriced, but OMG, I think this is seriously the very best Thai-​style curry I have EVER had. So creamy and flavorful. The meat’s great, though I dunno if you could really tell it’s «Kobe Beef” – but whatever they used was great. But that sauce! – wow. Know how good this was? – we ORDERED TWO!!! After the first it was so amazing we ordered another, despite the ridiculous price. It was that good. I’ve never tried roti before – kinda a Indiany tortilla it looks like. It was okay. But that curry… amazing. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
5. Mechanical Noodles $ 9 «DIY Noodles»: Yeah, so as previously mentioned, served in a pot labeled «overeducated.» I am not sure what it means to eat out of the overeducated pot, though I suppose it would feel good. But in this case, quite a let-​down. The service was interesting though – besides the pot, the rest was served on the side in glass cups. The lettuce, arugula?, garlic, and one other mixture. Then you mix it up. Didn’t taste that great to be honest. Nice piece of art I suppose. Not nice food. ²⁄₁₀
6. Original Hong Kong Porridge with Twinsie Donuts $ 10 «Porridge cooked with free-​range white eggs and sliced kobe beef. Served with chinese donuts.»: Okay, 1) BEST YOUTIAO (aka Chinese Crullers, or Chinese donuts, or Chinese fried dough.) Fried so perfectly. The shape is awesome – easier to eat than the standard huge and long pieces. And inside is soft and moist. Amazing. As for the porridge, it was kinda plain. Texture was very unique though – very thick, velvety, and maybe a bit starchy tasting. I’m not sure it’s better than standard, but it certainly is a good attempt to be different. I like the effort and the creativity, even with such a standard and normally boring dish. ⁸⁄₁₀
7. Pad Thai $ 13 «Homemade Supreme Sauce Stirred with Tiger Prawns»: So despite the «supreme sauce» and fancy shrimp, it really wasn’t that impressive. My gf complained over and over the ratio of egg to noodles is way overpowering. In fact, there was so much egg and so little noodles, it should probably have been called «Thai Scrambled Eggs» instead. Well, tasted okay to me, but she hated it. ⁴⁄₁₀
8. Tom Yum Kung/​Goong? Risotto $ 12 «Thai Spicy Shrimp Soup, cooked with italian short grain rice and combination seafood broth»: Straight up disgusting. Tasted nothing like the description. The risotto was extremely sour – I dunno what they used as sauce, but it was almost inedible. ¹⁄₁₀
9. Mellow Pudding $ 5: I forgot exactly how this was, but I remember liking it.
10. Twinsie Donuts $ 4: Basically the same Chinese Donuts used with the porridge above, but served with condensed milk as a dipping sauce. Again, best stuff ever. Must try (though if you got it with the porridge already, you can probably skip this.) ¹⁰⁄₁₀
I feel that there was enough ultra-​good stuff to entice me to come back for a 2^nd try, but that menu is full of landmines. Step carefully else you might kill tastebuds. …but the treasures… oh the treasures…
³⁄₅
#thai #thaifusion #chinesefusion #youtiao

–EXTREMELY Tiny Portions!
–Over-​priced!
–BLAND & CANNED FLAVORING (Penne had too much canned sweet chilli sauce)
+Might as well just order from Spoon Rocket or Sprig! or walk to Tu lan or Basil.
–This is the last thing we need in the area.
–Totally generic af.
p. s. the interior is atrocious. all white with blinding lights @ night time is the worse thing ever. How about some ART! this place will fail like the previous place that was here before.
***Totally missed the mark.***
Nice people tho.

4 ½ star! This hidden gem was great! But, it is hidden! Very bright and clean! This very small restaurant is located on 8^th st, corner of mission. All the dishes we ordered was quite flavorful. I loved the tom yum risotto. I would have licked the plate if I could! We thought the presentation for the botanical noodle was kinda cool, besides the dirty lettuce, it tasted great, too! (Lettuce was replaced and they apologized profusely!) Service was fast and the waiters were very nice.
Portions are small, prices are decent. $ 10-​$ 12p/​plate. The 2 of us shared everything, (see photos), and we left with our tummies full!
I discovered this little gem on Unilocal’s «new hot spots», and so glad I did. I would have never found it otherwise. We walked over from lower Hays Valley. No street parking around that I saw, plus it’s on a one way street. Not the best location.
We really liked this place. Unique Thai/​Italian concept, great flavors. We’ll be back!

Very charming, humble spot :) Gives you the home kitchen vibes, other than being very very starkly white on the interior. («Feels like I’m inside a Macintosh!»)
Interesting Thai-​Italian fusion options like penne. I would definitely recommend the brussel sprouts (more like chips) and the lettuce wraps. I ordered the Hong-​Kong style porridge, which came with a basket of freshly fried Chinese donuts, which you can also order as an appetizer (dip them in the offered condensed milk, it’s delicious!) The porridge was SO savory and tasted rich. I think it had a chicken broth base, perhaps. Anyways, another little gem in the Civic area.
Wait time might be a little longer if you come with a big party, it’s a very small restaurant!

Now this was a rather bizarre place, but the food was good in a strangely obtuse way. You may recall this space on 8^th Street as Bossa Nova, a dimly lit Brazilian spot, and before that, a bustling bar named Buzz 9, also on the dark side. However, the new owner, chef Mu Chanma went in the completely opposite direction by painting the ceiling, walls and tabletops stark white; making the floors pale blonde; and providing clear plastic dining chairs. The approach has a faintly retro-60’s feel like I walked onto the set of «Our Man Flint» and buxom blonde models were going to shoot me with bullets from their pointy upright breasts (photo:
).
But nothing that pointy came my way as I sat myself down in the glow of the empty white décor. As I perused the somewhat vague descriptions on the menu, I threw caution in the wind and ordered the $ 9 Mechanical Noodles, a so-​called DIY noodle dish since it did require manual labor (photo:
). You are handed a serving of rice noodles in what looked like a dog dish accompanied by a carrier of mini-​tumblers filled with different ingredients: red lettuce leaves, mint leaves, seasoned ground pork, and a spicy garlic condiment (photo:
). It was somewhat like the Hanoi street food called bun cha, but it was tasty and fresh if a bit sloppy upon first take (photo:
).
My main dish was a variation on late night jook, the $ 10 Original Hong Kong Porridge with Twinsie Donuts (photo:
). Served in a campfire cooking pot, the porridge was mixed with free-​range eggs and sliced Kobe beef with slices of ginger and daikon topped with cliantro. This wa frankly good enough on its own, but the donuts were a rather idiosyncratic touch as there were quite a few of them, fried oblongs of savory dough that I couldn’t finish on my own (photo:
). Mu cordially came by and asked for my feedback directly, describing the food as a hybrid of Thai and Italian, the latter mostly in his risotto and penne dishes. I think a few refinements in the flavors would help, but I give him props for trying something so unique.
FOOD — 4 stars… inventive approaches on fusion, sometimes confusing but mostly tasty
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… the future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades
SERVICE — 4 stars… constant smiles but never that intrusive
TOTAL — 4 stars… thoughts…thoughtful but be careful about avoiding the bland

Where Thai, Chinese, and Italian food mesh. Cute new restaurant with a simple beautiful setting: ample natural lighting and modern minimal décor. Met up with a friend for lunch on a weekday and there wasn’t a huge wait at all. In fact it was rather empty.
We ordered a total of 3 dishes to share:
— Larb brussel sprouts: an appetizer that’s extra crispy with a sweet and sour tang, similar to traditional larb. There was a layer of shredded cheese on the very bottom, which seemed out of place. Overall, the taste was on point and was a great item to share.
— Oyster Porridge with Twinsie Donut: my least favorite of the 3 items ordered. Rather bland to my tastebuds. They do provide salt, pepper, and soy sauce. The soy sauce overpowered the dish in my opinion. Oyster tasted a tad bit too briney. The Twinisie Donut was delicious though, chewy and slightly airy. Can’t go wrong with freshly deep fried anything.
— Tom Yum Kung Risotto: this was the dish I specifically came in to try, you could say it was rather «thought» provoking. Heads up, this dish does take 15 – 20 minutes to prepare due to the nature of risotto, in case you’re on a time crunch for lunch. The wait was worth it. The spicy and sour flavors of tom yum soup work really well with the creaminess of risotto. Dish was rather small, and there was only 2 shrimp total. Perfectly fine since we were sharing other dishes, but I feel I would still be hungry if I had only ordered this dish.
Price point was decent for lunch, however portions for all dishes are on the smaller side. Service was friendly, but can be slow. Did I mention how empty the place was?
A few kinks they need to smooth out, but so far seems like a promising place for some interesting fusion.

OMG!!! I LOVE THIS RESTAURANT!!!
This restaurant is so freaking gorgeous and the food was so gooood!!!
I thought it was gonna be hella expensive because it looks so fancy!!! Everyone is so so friendly and the service is so fast!!!
I recommend the twinsie donut!!! It is so romantic and
I would come back here for my date night!!! For sure!!!

Recently, I got called out at work for my «RBF», Resting Bitch Face.
Moi – a b*tch? Hey, that’s just my confused look!
Besides, «RBF» should only apply to one person in this world and it’s Kanye. He wears his stank face loud and proud… everyday!
Yesterday, I was reading an Eater SF article about a new «fashion showroom for food» that opened near my work:
. Apparently, my «RBF» made an appearance. A «fashion showroom for food» called «Thoughts Style Cuisine Showroom». Huh? Talk about confusing.
There was a sigh of relief when I saw the sample menu at the end of the article. OK, this place is an actual restaurant! It would be a total tease to just stare at food in glass cases and not be able to take a taste it – am I right?
Thoughts Style Cuisine Showroom opened last week in the defunct Bossa Nova (Brazilian restaurant) and Sofa Lounge space (RIP, I liked Sofa Lounge). Their ambitious menu is mélange of Thai, Chinese, and Italian cuisine. Some of the dishes on the menu are unheard of: Thai Fish Cake Burger, DIY Mechanical Noodles, Tom Yum Risotto, and Khee Mao Penne. I’m not a fan of Asian Fusion but I won’t knock a place until I’ve tried it. I like that everything was reasonably priced at $ 8-​$ 13 and they don’t use msg. However, their portions are rather small and I was hungry 90 minutes later.
Feedback to the owner: the menu could use better descriptions. «DIY Mechanical Noodles» is very vague… do I crank out my own noodles? What are the noodles made of? Does it come with meat and/​or veggies? With dietary restrictions and/​or food allergies on the rise, it’s important to list every ingredient on the menu.
With the chilly weather we’ve been having, I was immediately drawn to their Hong Kong Porridge w/​twinsie donuts. I know some people, particularly my mom would raise hell for a $ 10 bowl of jook with youtiao but this isn’t 1999 and it’s not Hing Lung. Thoughts uses cage-​free eggs and kobe beef so there! At least, that’s what I tell myself. Plus, it’s impossible to find a bowl of msg-​free jook in SF (unless I make it myself).
Served in a small metal pail, the jook was silky smooth and bland but I think that was intentional:
. Accoutrements are served on the side (salt, black pepper, and soy sauce) so you can doctor it to your liking. It would be nice if they did the same with the julienned ginger and cilantro because I love my jook with a generous amount of zesty ginger. The kobe beef slices were relatively tender (albeit a tad chewy) with bits of fat around the edges. I would love to see thousand year-​old egg as add-​in option, along with white pepper instead of black pepper.
But lets’ talk about those twinsie (youtiao) donuts though. BOMB. The Chinese donuts are served piping hot, fresh out of the fryer:
. They’re delicately crisp with a fluffy soft center. The donuts are a little denser and don’t have the cobweb-​like center like traditional youtiao but they’re still very light and not greasy. These would be so good with condensed milk as a dessert. *hint hint*
My friend ordered the Tom Yum Kung Risotto ($ 11):
. I took a bite and whoa! The hot and sour flavors were bold and made my taste buds twerk. I don’t like Tom Yum Soup and I don’t like risotto so it’s not something I would order but my friend likes both, and he enjoyed the risotto here.
Service was really welcoming and cordial but it would have been nice if they served our orders at the same time. It’s always awkward eating before others.
The space is very bare and W-​H-​I-​T-​E; it’s like dining in an empty Apple store. I think this was the idea – to allow the food to be front and center? There’s a handful of two-​tops, four-​tops, and one large communal table.
Street parking is easy but this is more of a lunch option for those who work in the area.
Per the Eater SF article, Thoughts plans to have a «Brunch and Shades» style brunch. Sporting shades inside a restaurant while you nosh?!
Thought provoking.

I came here the other day on my way home to grab a late lunch, and I’m really glad I did. Walking in, I was certain I was going into a hipster coffee shop since everything inside was super clean and modern looking. The décor definitely gives off that vibe. To my surprise, Thoughts offers Asian comfort food. New to the SOMA neighborhood, it’s nice to have Asian comfort food that’s outside of Chinatown for a change.
I’ve only tried the Hong Kong porridge in the two times I’ve been here and I cannot recommend it enough. It’s the perfect dish for cold weather, or if you’re feeling a bit sick. If you’re a fan of ginger, you’ll especially enjoy the porridge as it’s packed full of ginger in each bite. The portions are very generous here, and you will not leave hungry. The Chinese donuts that come with the porridge are not the youtiao that you would have if you’ve ever had a Taiwanese breakfast; it is definitely more like a donut in that it’s not super crispy, but it’s texture goes surprisingly well with the porridge.
The restaurant itself is not in the best area of town, but really that’s no different than some place like Dottie’s True Blue on 6^th street. Staff here is super nice, and I am definitely coming back to try some of the other dishes that Thoughts has to offer.