Kin-D: eat well, cheap, and spicy
Kin-D Thai has a small menu and executes it well
by Richard Foss
During the heart of the cold war, American sailors in Hong Kong frequented a harborside cafe where the food was good and cheap, and the servers greeted everyone with a smile. Those patrons were unaware of an inside joke — the Chinese characters on the sign read “Long life and good health to Chairman Mao Restaurant.” After someone told the swabbies the meaning, the café was placed off limits and they took their business elsewhere.
It’s a reminder that we often skim over exotic sounding names we don’t understand. A fine San Fernando Valley French restaurant of days gone by called Mon Grenier sounds less glamorous when you find out it means my attic, and the famed Restaurant Row on La Cienega sounds less appetizing to Spanish speakers who know that the street name translates as the swamp.
Kin-D Thai Kitchen, which replaced Thai Express a year ago on Artesia, has been a linguistic puzzle to passers-by who try to figure out how to pronounce it. It’s not “Kind,” it’s“Kin-dee,” which sounds approximately like the Thai phrase for Eat Well. That’s a good name for this hole in the wall in a strip mall, because that’s the experience they deliver. Deliver is an apt word here, as the restaurant has only four small tables, and the majority of their business is take-out. Their menu is smaller than many other places around town, but still has an ample variety of dishes from across Thailand.

Kin-D pad thai with tofu, cooked over an open flame.
Among the starters we tried eggrolls, a “fresh roll,” and E-san sausages. Those sausages originated in the northeast of Thailand, and are made with pork, rice, garlic, coriander root, and other herbs. The sausages are fermented before cooking so they have a noticeable sour flavor, pleasing and slightly fruity. While many specialties from this region are very spicy, the sausages served here are gently peppery.
If you prefer milder flavors, the eggrolls and fresh rolls are both excellent choices, though both are best consumed very soon after they’re prepared. The fresh rolls are rice crepe skins filled with shrimp and salad, served with a side of peanut sauce. Since only the shrimp is cooked, it might not seem to be a problem to have them sit for a while, but when they are sitting in a takeout container for a while the rolls stick to each other and are difficult to separate without tearing them open. The eggrolls are less of a problem because they reheat well in a toaster oven at low heat, so you enjoy a crisp exterior and juicy mix of noodles and vegetables inside.
My family has a wide range of spice tolerances, and to placate the heat-averse we often order wonton soup. This is a common item in northwest Thailand even though it doesn’t have a border with China, because there has been a trade relationship for centuries. The version here is very good and uses fresh wontons along with chicken, shrimp, and vegetables in a mild but richly flavored chicken broth.
Those who like to bring on the heat should consider the po-tack spicy seafood soup, which packs a punch. This soup has many variations, some of which have coconut milk, some condensed milk, and some without any creaminess. They use condensed milk here, and if that sounds like an odd ingredient for Thai food, consider that it’s also integral to Thai iced tea. The creamy sweetness balances a bracing dose of ginger and chillies in a citrusy lime broth with fish, squid, and shrimp along with button mushrooms and chunks of eggplant. The eggplant was in large chunks and should have been cut smaller, but otherwise we had no complaints.
We tried only one salad, the grilled beef with tomatoes, onion, and lettuce in a spicy lime dressing. Like all green salads served in Thai restaurants, this was invented by Thais in Los Angeles – the native species of lettuce in Southeast Asia are very bitter unless cooked. Grilled beef salad is a popular dish worldwide, but this one was the only item we were dissatisfied with – the beef had been overcooked and was tough.
We were happier with the main course items we ordered, crispy pork with spicy basil, green curry beef, pad see ew noodles, crab fried rice, and an item I hadn’t tried before called tom yum fried rice. Tom yum is probably the most popular Thai soup, hot, tart, and spicy, and whoever decided to make a fried rice version was having a genius moment. If there’s a must-try item on the menu, this is it. The crispy pork with spicy basil and green beans is a close second, but be aware that they’re telling the truth when they say it’s spicy. Thai basil has a much more intense flavor than the European varieties, with hints of pepper, clove, and mint. An exuberant dose of chili and garlic adds to the fun. Those who enjoy spicy and complex flavors have a thrill ride in store.
The pad see ew, flat noodles stir-fried with Chinese broccoli, were conventional and very well made, but the crab fried rice was slightly odd. There was plenty of crab flavor, but none of the chopped green onion that is usually part of the flavor balance. The version served here wasn’t bad, but I did miss the green onion. We also tried the green curry beef “American hot,” which a Thai would think of as about medium, and it had an enjoyable slow burn of garlic, ginger, and lemongrass moderated by coconut milk.
We were very pleased with the portions and price – you get a lot of good food for a modest outlay. For those looking for very good Thai food to go, or to be enjoyed in their tiny space if you’re lucky enough to snag a table, the aptly named Kin-D Kitchen is worth your consideration.
Kin-D Thai Kitchen is at 2110 Artesia Blvd. Ste. A in Redondo. Open 11 a.m – 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Mo-Sa, 4:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. Su., parking lot, no alcohol. Some vegetarian/vegan dishes, but ask about fish sauce. (310) 372-9503. Kindthairbmenu.blogspot.com. ER