ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW THAI FOOD EXPERIENCE?
Black-Owned Giti Thai In View Park, Windsor Hills Offers A Food Experience That Will Have You Coming Back For More
Reviewed by Joy Parris-I love food and Thai is one of my favorites. So I immediately said yes when approached to do a tasting and review of Giti Thai. Opened during the pandemic, Giti Thai is the only Black-owned restaurant in Los Angeles. Located in the southeast portion of West Los Angeles Windsor Hills which is listed as one of LA’s hidden gems seems a perfect fit for Giti Thai. Windsor Hills situated on the hills offers spectacular views of downtown Los Angeles and is an affluent primarily African-American community. There are beautiful Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean-style homes and tall palm trees line the streets offering invigorating cool breezes on morning walks. The homes down the hill still have the same tone with wide streets and well-kept front gardens. It’s a safe and quiet neighborhood. But I digress I am here to talk about food, Thai food.
Owner /GITI THAI/JeRome Tarver
Photo Rich Girl Productions
Chef Som Boon and JeRome Tarver
Courtesy /Giti Thai 
Courtesy/Giti Thai
Giti Thai is located in a long arcade hallway that feels more European than California. The restaurant is spacious and yet has a home-style ambiance. I was excited to meet JeRome and his Chef Som Boon. Upon arrival, I was informed there would be 6 dishes for my tasting and dessert. The menu included Crab Lagoon, Coconut Fried Shrimp, Pad See You, Pad Thai Shrimp, Panang Curry(Thai curry) with Lamb Chops, and Fried Bananas.
I started with the Appetizers Crab Lagoon, small pastry shells filled with fresh crab meat. On the first bite, I fell in love. It was the perfect combination of flavor and crunch. And it could have all gone wrong if the pastry dough was under fried or over-fried. But I didn’t want to get too optimistic since it was the first dish I tried. Next was the Coconut Shrimp, large fresh shrimps breaded with the chef’s special batter rolled in coconut flakes, and deep-fried. The flavors exploded in my mouth, and if you love coconut this a must-have appetizer. So if I thought I fell in love well with the Crab Lagoon now I wanted to get engaged.
Coconut Shrimp/Photo Rich Girl Productions 
Pad See You/Photo Rich Girl Productions
At this point, I felt pretty confident that all the dishes in front of me were not going to disappoint. And boy, was I right. The Pad See You stir-fried flat rice noodles with black bean sauce, broccoli, egg with your choice of beef, chicken, shrimp, tofu, or vegetables was a pleasant surprise for me. I am not a lover of beef because I always feel like I have to chew it hundreds of times, not with this beef, it was moist and tender, cooked just right, and absolutely delicious. Giti Thai’s Chef Som Boon uses only fresh ingredients but most importantly he uses the just-right combination of seasonings that allows every bite to be savored which makes this food so special.
Then it everyone’s my go-to dish when orderding Thai food. Pad Thai rice noodles stir-fried with bean sprouts, green onion, egg with your choice of chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu, or vegetables. In most restaurants, you will find fairly small shrimp but not at Giti Thai. The large shrimp were cooked to perfection and the noodles had the perfect amount of sweetness. By now my taste buds were in food heaven and I didn’t want it to stop.
And it didn’t because, at the first tase of the Panang Thai Curry(Chef Boon uses authentic Thai Curry paste) with lime leaf, green peas, carrots, and the most sublime grilled lamb chops I had ever tasted I was never leaving my Giti Thai heaven. With my eyes closed, I savored every bite and my taste buds danced in rapturous delight. Now I understood why JeRome Tarver only uses Halal meats on the menu.
But Chef Som Boon may have read my mind because lo behold he appeared from the kitchen carrying a bowl of steaming Tom Yum Soup like a Food God offering my mortal self one more taste of paradise. The bowl was filled with large shrimp, mushrooms, green onions, and vegetables. For me, his broth had just enough heat to enjoy but of course, for those more daring it could be as hot as you want. I have tasted this soup at several restaurants and they were not bad but I can unequivocally say at this time the Tom Yum Soup at Giti Thai is the best I have ever tasted in Los Angeles.
My food extravaganza at Giti Thai came to a sweet end with dessert, with the most delicious fried bananas this side of the Atlantic I have ever tasted. It will take massive willpower to prevent me from taking a large order home on my next visit.
Thank you to JeRome, Chef Som Boon, and the entire team for a truly, tasteful out-of-this-world dining experience. So stealing a line from Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator ‘I’ll be back.’
- Giti Thai is located at 4423 West Slauson, Windsor, CA 90043
- Phone number (32)792-4552
- https://giti-thai.com/
- Mon-Wed 11:00 am-9:30 pm
- Thur- Sat 11:00 am-11:00 pm
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