Yupha's Thai Kitchen

A couple of weeks ago, I made plans to go out to dinner with "My Biggest Fan" (aka Kelly) and her family, as usual, she wanted me to pick the place, and preferably make it someplace new. When we get together, we tend to always go for Mexican food, and while neither of us have ever been known to turn our nose up at a good enchilada, I thought we should shake things up a bit. I had remembered reading about Yupha's awhile ago, and I always had wanted to try it, and with it conveniently being located in Tempe between my house in Scottsdale and her house in Chandler, it just made since. Plus, she and her husband Jimmy love them some spicy food, so if we weren't going for Mexican, at least they could still get their spice fix! Never wanting to miss out on some Thai food, or getting to play with a cute baby, my sister came along with us as well.

Yupha's is located in the same plaza as Vincitorio's Restaurant on the Southeast corner of McClintock and Elliot. They used to be located on Rural and Elliot, but have moved to this new location in the past year. The space is big, open and modern; with high ceilings, minimal furniture and modern art, it makes for a very relaxing vibe. We arrived at 6:30 on a Thursday night, and while the place wasn't completely full, most of the tables were occupied. Our waitress came by and took our beverage order, and then gave us some time to look over the menu. And time she gave us, because it seemed like it was 10 minutes before she finally returned; they must have been understaffed that night, because it was just her and one other waitress covering the whole restaurant, so we decided not to get to upset by this.

When she finally did return to take our order, she couldn't have been more pleasant; answering our random questions and suggesting items on the menu. Kelly and Jimmy ordered the Thai Rolls to start and I got some Tom Kha Gai soup to begin with. The spring rolls came with four in an order, and plum sauce on the side for dipping. Everyone's first reaction to them was how skinny they were, and not in a good way. The menu described them as being filled with bean threads and vegetables; well, upon their first tastes, Kelly and Jimmy saw a bean thread or two inside of them, but other than that, it just seemed to be all wrapper. They were cooked to a nice, golden, crunchy brown, but they were seriously lacking in the veggie department. The plum sauce was good, but they are probably not something that I would recommend for anyone to order.


I absolutely love Tom Kha Gai soup, but almost every Thai restaurant that I go to doesn't offer just a single serving bowl of it, they get all fancy and serve it in these giant silver urns, so I rarely end up ordering it. When I saw that I was able to order just a bowl of the soup, I knew that I had to give this version a try. Well, I have to say, this was the best version I have ever had; it had a touch of heat, mixed with the cool coconut and lime leaves, it was heavenly. My sister had never tried this kind of soup, so I scooped some into a bowl for her and she too thought that it was really good. The flavors were so well balanced, that I really could have eaten a giant urn full of this version!


I like all different kinds of Thai dishes, curries, noodles, etc., but on this particular night I wasn't feeling that adventurous, so I decided to go with the old Pad Thai standby. Kelly decided she was going to have the Pad Thai as well (but I won't bore you all with two pictures of the same dish). I ordered mine mild with the chicken and shrimp, while Kelly ordered hers at a hot heat level and with just tofu. When the dishes came out they were giant plates, just heaping with noodles. The ever present crushed peanuts and bean sprouts were strewn across the top just waiting to be mixed in to the delicious sauce and noodles below. Both Kelly and I dug in and were immediately happy with our dish; the noodles were perfectly cooked, and the sauce had just enough sweet and heat to give it a savory flavor. We both really enjoyed this classic, and I even felt that this is quite possibly the best version that I have ever had. My only complaint would be that I got a whopping two shrimp in my dish, and one of them was so hidden I didn't even find it until I was boxing up my leftovers!


Laura, whom I usually refer to as the Pad Thai Queen, because she never varies from her order, actually surprised me and ordered the Roasted Duck. Well, I shouldn't say this totally surprised me, because while she loves a good Pad Thai, if there is duck on the menu, it is no contest. She was quite surprised by how many different duck dishes Yupha's had on their menu, typically, if there is duck, there is one option, but they had at least four options plus a duck special! Not being one for spicy food, she opted for the Roasted Duck that was served over a bed a steamed spinach and with a brown sauce on the side. When her plate arrived, she was amazed to see the entire duck on her plate...bonus! The duck's skin was nice and crispy, and when dipped into the brown sauce, the flavor was really accentuated. Laura was really happy with this dish, and while it didn't scream Thai food, she was happy to pass up her usual Pad Thai in favor of the duck (though that didn't stop her from stealing a few bites off of my plate)!

Jimmy was in the mood for curry, and finally decided on the Green Curry with Beef, at a hot heat level! When the bowl came out, I could smell the heat wafting off of it and the scent of the lemongrass; it looked really good. After piling his plate with rice, he scooped beef and green curry sauce over the rice to begin his feast. He really like it, the meat was tender and the heat of the curry was tempered by the rice. At one point, he ran out of rice, and due to the shaky service, we waited a long time before Laura told him to just eat the rest of her rice; which was a good thing, because we might still be waiting for rice and water today! Once he got more rice, Jimmy was able to polish of the curry and declared it to be a success!

When we first got to the restaurant, Logan was still asleep, and of course he decided to wake up just before we got our food....but he is such a good baby that it didn't cause any problems. Laura hadn't seen him since he was a few days old, and she was excited to see how big he had gotten at five months old! We tried to take some pictures with him at the end of dinner, but he wasn't in the mood for photographs, but that didn't stop us from trying!

Myself, Laura, Logan & Kelly

(Not Pictured - Jimmy the Camera Man!)

Dinner was excellent, I am so glad that I finally made it to Yupha's, and I think the consensus of the group was that this was some above average Thai food. As always, we went for the company, but enjoyed the food, not a bad Thursday night at all!

Yupha's Thai Kitchen
1805 E. Elliot Rd., Suite 115
Tempe, AZ 85284
www.yuphasthaikitchen.com