Pasadena Thai Food: Daisy Mint VS Cafe Linda

Daisy Mint is one of my favorite restaurants. It’s unusual since I am not overly fond of Thai food. But there’s something about Daisy Mint that I love. So much so that I had my birthday party there two years ago. I drop in periodically and usually order something different every time. I find I tend to love the fusion-y things but am not into the “real” Thai food they offer.

When I heard Cafe Linda was “better than Daisy Mint,” I decided to do a taste test.

When I’m at an actual Thai restaurant, I tend to order green papaya salad, angel wings, pad thai or penang curry. Yes, I know. It’s boring and surely isn’t adventurous enough for a foodie. But damnit, that’s what I like. So, I got the papaya salad at Cafe Linda. It was okay. It was missing the dried shrimp and overall wasn’t anything special.

My friend loved her shrimp panang which was very stunning in display. Several large shrimp were arranged on a plate with the barest amount of curry on the plate. It was more decorative than edible. It was also super spicy and she couldn’t finish it.

I was then fearful of my firecracker dish served with rice. Would it be too spicy for me? Nope, it was fine but again, not special. I would probably only return if I was in the area but not when Daisy Mint is only 5 minutes away.

Cafe Linda

34 E Holly Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
(626) 584-0712

This painting at Daisy Mint has always fascinated me. Two sumos battling to the death? But who shot them with the arrows?

They were out of my favorite pollack wraps last Friday night so the server recommended the duck rolls. These were a nice way to begin our glutinous meal.

Whole cashews. Perfectly fried catfish. Shaved apple. Perfect! The dressing is light and it’s another great appetizer or a simple meal.

When dining with another foodie, I think my eyes just expanded and we ordered quite a few dishes including this pad see eu. I normally don’t order this dish as I find the noodles never have enough sauce but this was perfect. And the beef was tender.

I’ve never had green jungle curry before but I loved this! I loved the green beans and the eggplant in it. I try to sneak in as many veggies as I can and this is a perfect way to do it.

I was really surprised by this dessert. I just imagined a regular bowl of pumpkin flavored pudding. Not this spongy cake inside a quarter of a kabocha squash. It is my new favorite dessert at Daisy Mint.

My other faves at Daisy Mint are the kimchi fried rice, spicy chicken wings, ribs, beef noodle soup, ribeye, grilled veggie salad and sizzling seafood.

Daisy Mint

1218 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 792-2999