Mekong Village & Restaurant

Yes this is a really late update but I returned because my lao craving got real.
I love that this place is never busy because the cook takes their time to whip up something delicious. BTW this is a real deal Lao restaurant.
I enjoyed:
Goi dancing shrimp (lao shrimp ceviche style salad).
fried chicken wings
Goi fish salad (sooo good and was fresh)
lao sausage
pork rines
papaya salad!

this place is a hit and mess and after frequenting this tiny joint several times over the last 12 years (and numerous change of ownership) today was a hit! I was kindly help by Cindy — owner. young and speaks english since my Laos a little rusty. Got my papaya and nam khao. (happy girl right here)
Btw– they catered my daughters’ birthday. we had 7 dishes! all made on time and delicious
tip– dont go there when its dark out.
****cash only

Great place for ka piek sen (lao chicken noodle soup). The papaya is ok.

OMG THEY ARE CLOSED?! It says something about call for more info posted on the door but that’s it. I’m really sad. Does anybody know what happened to this place? AND if they did relocate, could someone, anyone, message me? Thanks.

Don’t know what I liked most about this place: The food, the owner, or the «Holy Shit! What the hell is a Thai restaurant doing there!» location.
After jogging and exploring past this place a few times, I decided it was time to drop in for lunch. I was immediately consumed by that distinct feeling you get when you walk into a lunch place at 12:30, only to find that you’re not only the only person to eat lunch there today, but quite possibly the only person to eat lunch there this week. It’s a feeling that tells you: «This place is either gonna’ be really good, or I’m gonna’ need my stomach pumped.» As of now, 3 hours after eating there, the contents of my stomach are still very much where they should be. This is a very good sign.
The woman who owns the place and greeted me is pretty much exactly the person you’d expect to meet in such an unexpected location — as friendly as her English is broken, as young as the overdone décor. She’ll recommend things when all you want to do is read the menu; she’ll talk to you when all you want to do is listen. She won’t offer you dessert. Not even a ‘happy ending’. But she’ll unwittingly demonstrate what is right about City Heights, right about San Diego, and right about America.
The Green Chicken Curry was good. The rice was Uncle Ben’s. In a Thai place, this should be a crime. In City Heights, this should be expected.
But my 5-​star enthusiasm for Mekong Village says more about the restaurant’s aspirations than for its curry, its character or its décor. With condo conversions sprouting up around it like poop from a diuretic anus, a place like this actually stands a chance — especially if it dresses itself up a bit for the people who live IN those houses, rather than those who live under them. You never know what will happen with the right marketing.
And it’s in this vein that the owner really made her impression. She doesn’t like the name, she wants to change it, and she asked me for my suggestions. I gave her one. It is fantastic. So crazy it just might work. And she really sounded like she’ll take it .
So don’t be surprised if, on this nondescript corner of 47^th and Imperial, you see the name emblazoned in lights:
«Imperial Thai Cuisine»
You heard it here first.