JAJA Thai mat: from food truck to fixed address
- Gard Karlsen
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Consider this a mini review as we've only been once so far, but a first impression this good deserved a write-up. JAJA Thai mat has quietly landed in Østervåg and this restaurant is previously known for running a food truck out in Mariero. They've now taken over the old Happy Corner Burger premises, keeping much of the original setup: a handful of seats inside, and a few outdoor tables that catch some welcome late-afternoon sun.
We visited on a weekday, and with the weather on our side, grabbed one of the wooden outdoor tables. The menu splits into a snack/grill section and a proper dinner menu with the classics you'd hope for such as phad thai, red curry, green curry, tom yum soup. You order at the counter inside, and we went for phad thai with scampi, plus a green curry with chicken. A small but genuinely nice touch: both Chang and Singha beer are on offer, and at under 100 kroner a bottle, nobody's complaining.
My Pad Thai was served in just over 10 minutes. For anyone unfamiliar, this is wok-fried noodles with sauce, scampi and bean sprouts, and JAJA’s version passed with flying colors. Thoroughly enjoyable, no notes.
Nikki's green curry with chicken looked a little thin on arrival but looks were deceiving, because the flavor was anything but. Nobody asked whether we wanted it mild or spicy, and it turned out to have real heat behind it. Delicious all the same, and it sent us straight back to a lazy afternoon at a tiny beach restaurant on Koh Yao Noi in Thailand a few years back. That's the kind of curry that earns a callback.
JAJA Thai Mat has the feel of an easygoing neighborhood spot. It is not really date-night material, but ideal for a quick, satisfying dinner on a weekday. The menu could stand to include a few more Thai classics (Pad Kra Pao, som tam, larb would all be welcome additions), but there's still plenty here to work through. Next time: the tom yum soup is calling.
Highlights
Choice of protein on most dishes
Chang & Singha beer at a fair price
Quick, casual, no fuss
Sunny outdoor seating in the afternoon
Watch out for
A little tucked away in Østervåg
Menu could use more Thai classics
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