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    Kwan Kitchen

    4.5 (237 reviews)
    ModerateThai, Noodles, Soup
    Closed 10:30 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 1 week ago

    Order Kwan Kitchen Takeout or Delivery

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    KWAN KITCHEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Trendy
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed

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    Angie R.

    I've passed by this little restaurant on South Arroyo Parkway countless times while running errands to CVS and Petco. Last night, I finally decided to give Kwan Kitchen a try, and I'm so glad I did because everything was delicious. We started with the Chicken Satay, which was incredibly flavorful, tender, and juicy. If I had one minor critique, I would have loved a little more char on the chicken--but that's purely a personal preference. It was still absolutely delicious. Honestly, just thinking about it now is making my mouth water all over again. We also ordered the Shrimp Sticks, which had a perfectly crispy exterior with a large, juicy shrimp inside. They were cooked really well and made for a great appetizer. The restaurant itself has a cozy atmosphere. The music is kept at a low volume, making it easy to enjoy a conversation with your dining companions. One thing to note is that it stays pretty cool inside, so if you tend to get cold easily, I'd recommend bringing a light jacket. The servers were incredibly friendly and welcoming. The hospitality made it feel like you were a guest in someone's home rather than just another customer in a restaurant. For my entrée, I ordered the Pad See Ew. I didn't realize you could customize the spice level, so I ordered it with no spice to get a feel for the base flavor. Looking back, I think I should have gone with the mild spice level. The dish leaned a little sweeter than I prefer, and I think just a touch of heat would have balanced the flavors and added a bit more depth. Again, that's completely based on my personal preference. The portion size was generous, and the ratio of meat, egg, and noodles was exactly what I'd expect from a good Pad See Ew. The table next to us ordered the Chicken Wing Zaap, and I have to say--it looked exactly like the picture displayed in the front window. It smelled incredible, too, which immediately went onto my list for next time. Will I be coming back? Absolutely. I'm already looking forward to trying the Yellow Curry, the Mama Hot Pot, and those Chicken Wing Zaap that kept catching my attention all night. I wasn't in the mood for dessert this visit, but the Mango Sticky Rice looked just as beautiful as the photos. Hopefully, next time I'll save enough room to give it a try. Overall, Kwan Kitchen was a fantastic first experience. Between the delicious food, warm hospitality, and relaxed atmosphere, it's definitely a restaurant I'll be returning to. Sometimes the best places are the ones you've driven past dozens of times before finally deciding to stop in. This is one of those places.

    Menu
    Cindy S.

    SO AMAZING. I doubted any thai food in Pasadena can blow me away but Kwan Kitchen certainly did. The waitress recommended quite literally everything on the menu but we narrowed it down to yellow chicken curry, chicken wings for apps and crab fried rice. The apps came out last (go figure) and the other items came out first. Kwan's made the crab fried just right. I was concered that the crab would be old but nope, it was fresh and all the flavors were at the right levels. We asked for medium but it was a little on the spicy side. The yellow curry we had medium and that was the perfect level of spiciness. All in all a yummy dining experience and I am dying to go back. a quick warning and a note to management, the restroom could use a bit of work...

    Linda T.

    Friendly staff and great presentation of meal. Choices we had ordered as family style share meal. Very tasty and delicious.

    Combination chicken plate
    Joann V.

    3.4 stars Once again, I'm checking off a bookmarked restaurant that I've had on my list for a couple of years. This is a cute little restaurant located in a strip mall. On the outside looking in, it looks like any other restaurant, but the interior is quite cute and comfortable. These were the items we got: Kwan Pad Thai ($19): This came with shrimp and crispy pork. I hate to say it, but the crispy pork wasn't up to par. It was super tough and the only crispy part was the skin on top. The noodles, shrimp, and veggies were decent. The dish only came w/ 3 pieces of shrimp and 5 pieces of crispy pork. The sauce was alright. 3/5 stars Kao Mun Kai ($16 + $2 half/half): this chicken & rice dish came with boiled chicken and fried chicken and some sauces. The fried chicken was delicious and crunchy! The rice was phenomenal...so garlicky, so savory, and had perfect textures. Unfortunately, the boiled chicken was just that - boiled chicken and it also had dry parts to it. My mom and I were pretty disappointed with the boiled chicken, but loved everything else. 3.5/5 stars There is free parking on site. I don't know if I'd ever choose to come back on my own.

    Mooping (pork skewers) and a side of sticky rice
    Winnie L.

    Hubs really wanted to take me here, having visited many times, since he knows I love Thai food. It's not a very big restaurant so there was a bit of a wait when we arrived. Needed to try their pad Thai, mooping (pork skewers with fresh sticky rice, Thai iced tea and Krapow. Mango sticky rice (blue) Pork skewers 5/5. So much flavor and rice was a good balance Pad Thai was delicious. Spices nicely balanced and overly fish sauced out. It had a bit of a kick to it even though I ordered it with no spice . 4.5/5 Krakow is my go to dish. Unfortunately I couldn't even try it. Hubs ordered it medium and when DD took one bite, she stopped eating it. Way too spicy. Server said it's the nature of the chili's as they keep the same recipe portions. Hubs was literally dripping sweat down his face... though he denied it was spicy Mango sticky rice was delicious. The coconut sauce was a salty sweet combo Thai tea had really strong tea flavor and not overly sweet. Also helped with cooling down the spiciness. Great friendly service. Loved how they sweep the floors after every customer finishes.

    ZAAB FRIED CHICKEN WING SPECIAL - $15
    Tu-Anh N.

    WHEN: Fri @11:45am I met up with a friend here for lunch, which he suggested since their food is reasonably priced and there is parking in the lot it's located in. Here's what I had: GREEN CURRY - $13.95 Very fragrant from all herbs and aromatics in the curry paste comes with rice, chicken, or pork (+$2) or beef (+$2). I wish they list what vegetables this curry dish comes with, because it's what I was hankering--something with vegetables! Good thing I went online to find photos. This curry dish comes with mushroom, bell peppers, and a few other greens I can't remember. The chicken was standard pieces of white meat, and the rice portion is huge. Expect leftovers! However, I appreciate I get to choose the level of spice, which I chose mild. ZAAB FRIED CHICKEN WING SPECIAL - $15 I forgot what this special dish was called but it was quite good! Imagine breaded and fried chicken wings with the flavors or hot flaming Cheetos with Lime. It was so good and you really taste that citrus flavor. It's also not that spicy so I whimp like me was able to enjoy it. I recall it came with 5 pieces. This place was good, even though the seating was a bit awkward where the tables felt too low or the seating was too high.

    Crispy Pork
    Shirley W.

    Visited here on a Friday night and it does get busy! Restaurant was already full when we got there at prime dinner time, but luckily we didn't have to wait too long. We ordered a variety of items to share. We ordered the Pad Thai, Panang Curry, Kra Pow, and this crispy pork dish that I forgot what the exact name of it was. It didn't take too long for our order to came out, so service was quite friendly and efficient. Although, the curry didn't come out the same time as everything else and came a bit later. Starting with the Pad Thai, this is always a solid choice! I wish it was a bit more 'sour', but the overall flavor was still pretty nice. Texture was pretty good. Kra Pow, I actually liked this one the least as it was a bit more bland, but it's pretty standard for a rice dish. I would say it's equivalent to getting a fried rice. Panang Curry was pretty good! I enjoyed this one as it was very flavorful, although I wish the curry was thicker instead of being too runny. They also give a good amount of protein in the curry. Lastly, the crispy pork appetizer, this was very well battered and crispy, also flavorful. Overall, it was still a pretty nice experience. Restaurant is cozy as it is also a small business. Good amount of parking here shared with other stores as well.

    Kwan's Pad Thai (no bean sprouts)
    Tiffany H.

    My favorite Thai restaurant in America. The food is delicious, authentic, with HUGE portions. The Kao Man Kai combo is a family go-to: Hainan-style chicken that is served half fried, half poached (the traditional way) with savory rice flavored with chicken broth. I am also a fan of the Kwan's pad thai which comes with juicy shrimp and crispy pork. Their papaya salad is solid and you're also able to customize the spice level. In terms of drinks, their Thai iced coffee packs a punch and our kids love the longyan drink--they don't skimp on longyan! The restaurant is pretty small, so I wouldn't recommend it for large parties. Other than that, I think it is the perfect place to eat before or after a nice outing at the Huntington library!

    BAMEE JABKANG
    Courtny D.

    Having been featured on Eater LA and other known food blogs, don't let its lesser amount of reviews comparing to other 1k+ review competitors reviews fool you - this place is definitely a delicious and high quality hole-in-the-wall restaurant that has earned its place online! My friends and I were seated promptly on a Tuesday night. The space is small but cozy, and has a modern and cute look inside. Staff were patient while we took a bit to decide, and food came out shortly! FOOD: Kao Man Kai Tod Kwan's Pad Thai Bamee Jabkang Kao Moo Dang DRINKS: Thai Tea Longan Tea EVERYTHING was so yummy!! Notable mentions were how crispy and tasty the Kai Tod was, and how deliciously spicy Kwan's Pad Thai at Thai spicy level was! It's important to mention that not many Thai places have Kai Tod and Mooping, and to have a unique take on their Kwan's Pad Thai (crispy pork and shrimp) - this makes the restaurant stand out even more! We will definitely come back and try our the other menu items. I need to try the Mooping and Mango Sticky Rice next, ASAP!

    Kalai C.

    Excellent service, excellent food. I've been here before eater and other reviews started picking up on this spot. It's usually not very busy in the afternoon or even early dinner. But the service is absolutely impeccable as the staff are really attentive. The food itself is excellent especially the chicken. My group of friends and I got both the regular fried chicken and then the specialty fried chicken that has a little bit of spice and a little bit of sugar and lime to it. My friend described it as a sweeter hot Cheetos taste. Both types of chicken were really good and very juicy. One of my biggest problems with chicken at other places is the breading and how dry the chicken inside is. Not here; their chicken is very juicy, very crunchy, and is cooked all the way. We also got the pad Thai, green curry, and the egg noodle bamee jabkang. I wanted something with soup and noodles and the jabkang hit the spot. Very plentiful ingredients along with pork and noodles. As always, I had to get a Thai ice tea and that was great! Normally, it's pretty spacious and isn't very loud, but there are times where the restaurant can get really busy and the sound can be what you would expect from a full restaurant. We got the mango sticky rice, which included a purpleish rice. It was very delicious and I feel like the biggest compliment you can receive from an Asian crowd is that it's "not too sweet." to us it means it's perfect.

    Thai boat noodle soup
    Jo C.

    Tried their Thai boat noodle soup ($16) today. Man, there was a load of meat in there, not only just beef but tender beef brisket and pork meatballs. Garnished with green onions, white pepper, and chili oil. I love flat rice noodles and honestly there wasn't much in there but I think most ppl would rather have more meat than carbs so it was perfecto IMO. The food took a little while but probably cuz it was lunch time and only one staff is working in the front. She's fast, efficient, and friendly though. Overall, clean restaurant with some music playing in the background. I'd come back to try other dishes.

    MooPing
    Winnie L.

    Kwan Kitchen is such a hidden gem! They have a solid menu with great-tasting food at a fair price point. I've ordered through DoorDash twice now, and they always do an excellent job packing the food neatly so everything stays warm and fresh. I've tried both the Mooping and Pad Thai, and they were delicious. The Pad Thai came with crispy pork belly, which was a unique twist, and the jumbo shrimp had a perfect snappy texture. My coworkers tried the Pad Kra Pow and Pad See Ew, and both were a hit as well. So far, everything we've had from Kwan Kitchen has been consistently great!

    Tom Kha Chicken was good
    Christy C.

    Ordered UberEATS and it got delivered pretty fast and super fresh! Menu had a good variety of Thai dishes and the prices were reasonable. Expect to pay $15+ for most of the dishes Pad Thai Chicken ($16.58) was delicious! It was so fresh and flavorful! However, the chicken was quite dry and overcooked. Really enjoyed that it wasn't too greasy or salty so this was 8/10 Tom Kha Chicken ($12.10) was pretty good! It was slightly too sour but it was packed with mushrooms, chicken, and tomatoes. The chicken was too dry and overcooked. This was 7/10 The Green Curry Chicken ($16.52) was not good. It was too watery and bland. The chicken was too dry and tough. It seemed more like a soup than how curry is supposed to be unfortunately. Overall, I really enjoyed the Pad Thai and Tom Kha but would skip the Green Curry.

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    Photo of Priya P.
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    2 months ago

    Really enjoyed their pad thai, solid quality and good price for the amount of food. Cute place, would come back

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    1 year ago

    This place is solid! Enjoyed the pad see ew and yellow curry, among other items. They have good packaging for door dash orders.

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    3 months ago

    Feel very welcomed. My friend and I enjoyed their specialities and some salad. Highly recommended. We will return soon.

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    9 months ago

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    6 months ago

    Great service and the Pad Kee Mao was the star of our meal, but everything as good. The restaurant is simple, small and enjoyable.

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    Page 2 of 6

    Kwan Kitchen Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Kwan Kitchen

    Will you be adding tofu as a protein option?

    So, when I ordered a Pad See Ew, I asked to get fried tofu and they were able to comply. So, it's do-able if you ask when you order.

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    Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior

    Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior

    4.1
    (484 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    I finally got to try this place after failed attempts to get in line in the past and the food did…read morenot disappoint! My friend and I shared the following dishes: -Carlos Jewel Box: My favorite dish here. I just loved the variety. Sashimi and fried seafood on a bed of fluffy and seasoned rice. Also a nice umami kick from the ikura. The sashimi was tasty and standard, but I really enjoyed the fried seafood bites. The tempura batter was great and the seafood was nice and plump. -Tendon Combo with Cold Udon: Same notes for the tempura here, the batter was great and the tempura here is on another level. I also liked the half boiled egg and breaking the yolk into the rice, so delicious! The cold udon dipping noodles were also tasty and refreshing. Great for hot weather. I enjoyed the texture of the noodles. The value of each set was pretty good for what it was and the food was good quality. This restaurant is located in a cute alleyway with good outdoor ambiance. I enjoyed dining outdoors. The service here was great and the servers were kind. There's usually a wait to eat here. You put your name in on the tablet located at the restaurant and sometimes they have a waitlist available on the Yelp app to enter in. Overall, a great spot and I would definitely come back for good Japanese Food/Tempura.

    We actually stumbled upon this place by accident. We were heading to the Mexican restaurant nearby,…read moreonly to find out it was under construction. This place looked really popular, with a lot of people coming in and out, so we decided to give it a try. The girl seating people when we arrived wasn't particularly friendly, she seemed like she was just going through the motions. Inside looked really busy, so we decided to sit outside. Even with the crazy heat, there was plenty of shade where we were sitting, so it was actually bearable. There was a QR code near the entry way that I had scanned but the young lady ended up bringing us menus, which was helpful. I ordered the shrimp and vegetable tempura bowl with wheat noodles, but actually wanted the Undo noodles but I let it go. My mom ordered the all-vegetable tempura bowl. We also added a piece of chicken breast tempura to each of our meals for some extra protein. The tempura was different from what I'm used to. The batter was very light and flaky, but it was delicious! We both really enjoyed the vegetables. My favorites were definitely the zucchini and pumpkin. Overall, the service ended up being decent as well. Now here's the part I feel bad about mentioning. About 40-60 minutes after we left, my stomach started cramping really badly, and I ended up in the restroom. No need to go into details--it was horrible. I asked my mom how she was feeling, and she was completely fine. We pretty much ate the same meal, with the main difference being that I had the shrimp tempura and she didn't. So naturally, I wondered if maybe I had gotten a bad piece of shrimp. Of course, I can't say for certain that the shrimp was the cause. I'm not going to write this place off as a bad restaurant because of my experience. It could have simply been an unfortunate one-off situation. The place was clearly popular, and by the time we were getting ready to leave, there was actually a line of people waiting to eat. Overall, I think this is probably a good spot and we genuinely enjoyed the food while we were there. Unfortunately, after the way I felt later that day, I just don't know if I'll personally be coming back anytime soon.

    Photos
    Front Entrance
    Front Entrance
    Uni Hand Roll
    Uni Hand Roll
    Mixed tempura

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    Mixed tempura
    Lunasia Dim Sum House

    Lunasia Dim Sum House

    3.8
    (2.5k reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$

    Overview: convenient kiosk ordering, tough parking, delicious dim sum…read more ---- We decided to order some dim sum to-go and got the classic offerings of siu mai, har gow, cheung fun, chicken feet, pan fried turnip cake, ginger beef tripe, black bean pork short ribs, and egg tarts. Everything, and I mean everything, was so delicious. One of the best dim sum places I've been to. The pricing of the items ranged from $8-$10 per item we ordered which is expensive but as a treat every once in a while and for the amount of time and effort that goes into making dim sum, it was worth it. I've tried making dim sum at home and it is so hard! Pricing breakdown: $8 items: - har gow (4 pcs) - siu mai (4 pcs) - black bean spare rib - pan fried turnip cake - egg custard $9 items: - chicken feet $10 items: - shrimp rice noodle roll I think they no longer have the tripe on their menu anymore bc I couldn't find it on their online ordering. Also their chili oil was priced at $0.98, which was kind of small, I would do without it next time. ---- The parking was really tough, luckily I had another person with me drop me off then I ordered and then we double parked waiting for it to be finished. The inside of the restaurant felt like an elevated dim sum place, things were neat and a darker ambiance which felt more intimate if you decided to eat in. We took ours to-go and it was still so good! ---- Overall: if I'm ever back in Pasadena I'll be sure to stop by for dim sum, classic dishes with an elevated taste, pricey but worth it

    Perfect family dim sum experience for us…read more We took out my parents and in-laws for dim sum: my parents' very first time ever. We did wait about an hour, but honestly I didn't mind at all because it gave us a chance to relax, talk, and catch up as a family. Once we were seated, my parents were immediately impressed with the decor: elegant and cultural without feeling overly modern or cold. And can we talk about the tea kettles? They looked like literal pieces of art being poured at the table. Ordering was super easy with the QR code system, so my husband handled the whole spread: shumai dumplings, chicken feet, sesame balls, and more. Everything came out hot, fresh, and beautifully plated. The ENTIRE table agreed on one thing: the chili oil condiment deserves to be sold in bottles to take home. It was that good. Smoky, just the right amount of spicy, and addictive. Now for the real test: my in-laws. They've been to *many* dim sum places and are not easily impressed. They declared this place to have the best chicken feet that they've ever had: meat easily sucked off the bone, melt-in-your-mouth tender, and perfectly seasoned. High praise coming from dim sum veterans. Most importantly, my parents' first dim sum experience couldn't have been better. They loved everything from the ambiance to the food to the overall experience. My husband and I want to come back to explore more of the menu because there's clearly so much more to try

    Photos
    The outside of the restaurant.
    The outside of the restaurant.
    Back of the restaurant with plenty of parking.
    Back of the restaurant with plenty of parking.
    Nice, modern look and feel

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    Nice, modern look and feel

    Kwan Kitchen - thai - Updated August 2026

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