Dine and Dish: Thai Me Up in central Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Thai Me Up is located on First near Olive in central Fresno.

The catchy name came from Pat Sribour's daughter.

"Yes, we do have people just stopping by just for the name," she said.

"It's comfort food -- that's what I grew up eating, and this is what I remember," says customer Jonathan Sivilay. "It brings a comfort feeling of the past."

We came to try the house specialty -Pad Kee Mow - or drunken noodles.

"Pad Kee Mow is made for the people who got drunk, and then they came up with this dish to get sober," Sribour said. "They throw some peppers, chili in there and mix it with all kinds of stuff."

Wide rice noodles are mixed with pork, bell pepper, Chinese broccoli and basil.

"It's very delicious," Sivilay said. "It's like the flavor explodes in your mouth."

This small mom-and-pop stop is run by Pat and her husband, Sak. There are just five tables.

"It's so wonderful that we connect with so many people through food, and that's what keeps us going," she said.

Pat serves both Thai and Lao favorites.

We also had Kow Mun Kai, which is the rice cooked with chicken broth. The sauce has ginger, black bean, fish sauce and sugar.

Pat's Pad Thai hits all the right flavor notes.

"We got the recipe from Thailand," she said.

Some come for a grab-and-go plate of chicken and sticky rice. Others come to connect.

"I love this place mainly because it gives me a sense of re-touching with my community," Sivilay said.

Pat also showed us Larp, which is a good luck dish.

Larp includes beef, mint, ground pepper, ground rice, fish sauce and ginger.

The dishes are so tasty, I had to learn the Thai word for "delicious."

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