Despite extensive menu, restaurant fails to impress


Trio House is the Wal-Mart of Asian cuisine — cheap, diverse, customer-friendly and offering decent bang for your buck.

Photo by Sophia Lee | Daily Trojan

Don’t think of Panda Express or Hong Kong Express as your only half-satisfying Asian fix near campus. As it turns out, there is a decent place for some sit-down grub. Nothing here is ostentatiously pricey or something out of haute cuisine, but it hits the various cravings for Asian food — be they late-night pad thai cravings, dim sum dates or bulgogi hangover cures.

Sophia: From the outside, the place looks dingy. It’s tucked into the busy construction on Figueroa Street, indicated only by a tacky red sign that says “Trio House” in white letters.

But step inside, and the place is surprisingly elegant — a mix of Thai cultural relics and sleek modern touches.

This cultural mix is reflected on the menu as well: the bulk of the offerings are Thai dishes, but other Asian dishes are incorporated, too, just in case a confused customer comes in demanding kung pao chicken.

Mimi: Growing up, my idea of great Chinese food came slathered in sweet and sour sauce, or deep-fried and stuffed with crab and cream cheese.

Since then, my palate, courtesy of Asian friends, has seen the light with authentic cuisine, but I make no yuppie claims to being a connoisseur of Asian cuisine.

Sophia: But that doesn’t matter at Trio House. It isn’t looking for customers snobby about authenticity. Its purpose is to satisfy all tastes with big portions, affordable prices and an extensive menu.

We started out with an appetizer that plays to the fusion theme: the Buddha Dumplings, which are steamed chicken dumplings swimming in a pool of green curry sauce, dressed up with fresh basil leaves and diced red bell peppers.

Mimi: The dumplings are a good preview of what Trio House has to offer — its food won’t knock your socks off, but it is a nice start to a meal with friends.

The green curry only has a mild kick, perfect for my spice-fearing palate. Those who did not grow up eating Mexican, Indian or super spicy Asian food should feel comfortable knowing Trio House won’t burn your mouth off unless you ask it to.

Sophia: That’s sad for me, because as a person who downs kimchi and chili oil with spaghetti, I was waiting for a kick that never came.

I also didn’t appreciate the chicken in the dumplings. To me, because the dumpling wrapper is relatively flavorless, you need a meatier, bolder filling. Otherwise, the dumplings ought to be fried like Japanese gyoza for some more oomph.

Though I found the appearance of the dish pleasing and the concept interesting, the execution was bland and disappointing.

Mimi: A better appetizer would be the chicken satay, slabs of grilled chicken served with a peanut sauce that tops any other dressing in the restaurant. Tangy and sweet, consider ordering this to go if you have a football game to watch and Wingstop’s line is out the door.

Sophia: Noodles are clearly the centerpiece of the house. They dominate about three-quarters of the menu and range from the familiar Thai classic pad thai, to blues-chasing tempura udon soup bowls and fusion drunken spaghetti.

Mimi: For a Thai-restaurant standard, the pad thai was satisfyingly sweet and punchy to my American taste buds, even if a real Thai diner might scoff. But it’s definitely a meal to share — the noodles threatened to spill over the banks of my plate, and finding chicken bits was an adventure not unlike the Yukon gold rush.

For something different, get the shrimp lad-nah, which is similar to pad see ew, another safe bet for those just now knocking on the door of Thai cuisine. The thick, pappardelle-like rice noodles will slide off your chopsticks from the rich, sweet soy sauce-based gravy.

You might want to ask for extra veggies if you like the crunchy stems, but the flavors are perfect for a wet fall day. Trio House has a heavy hand with the oil, so grab a napkin or two.

Sophia: The dish isn’t supposed to be diet-conscious with noodles cooked in PAM spray and low-fat vegetable broth. It’s a Thai dish influenced by the Chinese, and the Chinese love their oil.

Lard-na is a Laotian-Chinese dish that features fried noodles that form crispy charred edges before being doused in rich gravy. It might not sit well with Hollywood stars, but that’s the way it is served in the streets in Asia, and it’s wonderful.

In fact, I would say the dish wasn’t oily or charred enough compared to the ones I had in Southeast Asia. But as far as flavor goes, it was satisfying and delicious.

As for the noodle soups, skip them, especially if you’re a slow eater. The Wonton & BBQ Pork Noodle soup we got came with soggy noodles that seemed to have drowned in the broth, and the wontons were limp and mushy.

The broth was flavorful but was missing the intensity of the slow-cooked meaty broth that you might find in the mom-and-pop street food stalls in Asia.

If you must, request that your noodle soup be served immediately, as ingredients like noodles and wontons just lose their firm, bouncy texture when they stay in hot broth for too long.

Mimi: My take on the Wonton & BBQ Pork Noodle is similar. The broth brings to mind sick days with obligatory bowls of comforting chicken noodle soup, but the actual noodles were overcooked and the wontons were oversoaked and gummy. Also, there was romaine lettuce floating around. Greens can be tasty in soups, but romaine always tastes strange when hot.

Sophia: As far as Asian restaurants go, Trio House is decent enough for an Asian to enter with dignity. It won’t be a feast fit for Buddha, but for a quick Asian fix, Trio House will bring you some good eats, as long as you don’t come expecting true authenticity.

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