We were intrigued by Mariacarmens recent review of Imm in Berkeley and decided to try Yimm, their more upscale location in Oakland. We really liked it. We’ve been two times. Both were on weekend nights. The first time we were concerned by the lack of business but the second time the place was much more busy. One criticism I have of this place is that like Americanized Thai restaurants, which it seems to strive to not be, chicken here means chicken breast. In Thailand chicken usually means bone in dark meat which we like much more. Here is what we ate:
Papaya salad with grilled shrimp. Overall a solid version. The grilled shrimp were delicious. Perhaps the only criticism is that the papaya was grated a bit thick and I thought it could have used more of a fish sauce kick. But my husband said it was well balanced as is.
Fried oyster mushroom and avocado. This was our least favorite thing we have tried here. I would put it into the “just ok” category. The pieces of mushroom seemed small and it lacked the satisfying contrast of crunchy outside and meaty inside of similar dishes I have had elsewhere. The dipping sauce was cloying.
Avocado Green curry. We got it with pork. The Avocado did not seem to contribute much to the dish. But it was an excellent green curry. The curry had a velvety coconut milk mouthfeel and excellent flavor and spice. Would get this again.
Tom Yum Omelette rice. This was very unique with satisfying kaffir leaf flavor.
Pad Kee Mao. We tried it with shrimp the first time and beef the second. Both were excellent but I preferred the shrimp version because the unctuousness of the rice noodles shone through more and was not overshadowed by the beef.
Custard Bread. Kind of like fondue with pandan custard and marshmallowy bread cubes. We really liked it.
