Amarin
3843 Richmond Ave. (Hillcrest)
619-296-6056
Prices: Appetizers, soups and salads, $4.99 to $14.99; entrees, $8.99 to $19
Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review
Behind the front-window poster promoting various spaghetti dishes is a formidable wine collection that could easily fill a large cellar. At first approach, newbies to Amarin could mistake it for an Italian restaurant or wine bar. But when peering inside further, the sight of flaming hot pots, choo-chi duck and other Thai specialties come into focus.
Amarin is a 20-year-old culinary landmark serving up treasured recipes passed down to chef-owner Nok Suree Sucksudecha by her mother, who taught her how to make entire family meals by the age of 7. It’s where San Diegans flock until the wee hours of the night to wash down both common and atypical Thai cuisine with prized wines collected from every leading wine region on the globe.
With more than 200 labels shelved throughout the two-tiered dining room, we’ve learned through trial and error that the bright apricot notes of French viognier wholly compliments spicy shrimp noodles while herby California merlot potentially jangles the silky sweetness of coconut milk used in Tom Kah soup and yellow curry. In the occasional absence of a server who is knowledgeable in food and wine pairings, the spirit of discovery rests on you.
The spaghetti offerings on the summer menu are titillating and unexpected. Listed on a separate card are nearly a dozen choices such as “pasta di Bangkok” tossed with chicken, egg and Thai tomato sauce. For “high line” spaghetti, the chef incorporates mixed seafood, Thai chilies and roasted chili paste into the scheme while the “KKW” leaves you figuring out the dish’s name as your fork twirls through the addition of curry chicken, bamboo shoots and Thai basil leaves.
Because of rave recommendations bestowed to other dishes by fellow foodies, we skipped the spaghetti options for entrees that are less inventive though not as pedestrian as drunken noodles, Massaman beef and the like. That’s the beauty of Amarin. The menu runs the gamut from newfangled to traditional.
“I’m glad I broke out of my mold,” said a friend in our trio as he reveled over “three-flavored fish” encased in sturdy batter and served in a pond of chutney-like sauce sweetened likely with tropical fruits or palm sugar. His usual go-to dish at Thai restaurants is “chicken anything” with peanut sauce.
The same freshwater species called swai was used in the “mad fish” that I ordered. The batter, which tasted like that on golden-fried chicken, was the same too. Native to Vietnam, the fish sports a moist, rich flavor similar to sole, though yielding thinner fillets such as these. The “mad” preparation features a mantle of refreshing julienne-cut green apples pumped up with Thai chilies, red cabbage and cilantro.
On a scale of one to 10, I ordered the fish at level four. Our other tablemate requested level two for his spicy shrimp noodles. Yet based on his heavy breathing and my cool forehead, it’s likely that the server mistakenly transposed our heat specifications. But we didn’t fret since neither of us left a trace of food on our plates.
Other dishes we found stellar included Tom Kah soup. With or without meat, the milky broth was loaded with mushrooms, lime leaves and galangal and served in a circular hot pot with a Sterno flame shooting from its center. In pork or chicken larb, the finely minced proteins trigger salivation as they merge with fresh mint, onions, cilantro and lime juice. And fans of fowl, I’ve been told, will easily embrace the gentle roasting of choo-chi duck served with crispy skin over fresh vegetables.
Amarin serves lunch daily and caters to insomniacs and bar crawlers by staying open until 3 a.m. on weekends; 2 a.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; and 10 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. In the dead of night, sometimes a pile of spicy noodles beats the heck out of omelets and tacos.
