Do monkeys like bananas or coconuts better?

Anyone from Rowland Heights and the surrounding area knows about Banana Bay and Coconut Bay. Why these two restaurants have pretty much the same menu, I can only guess, hearing rumors raspily whispered by the alcoholic bum who sleeps next to the noraebang on Nogales after I gave him a dollar and a butterscotch candy or the gussied up goose church womenfolk gossipers who have nothing better to do than gab about other people's lives. Whatever it is, I really don't care. All I know is that while they may not be the best or authentic Thai joints in town, prices are cheap, the food is plentiful, and the live music brings a mixed crowd of thugs, lovers, haters, and kids who love to jerk. So without further ado, here is my take on the two behemoths of R.H.

Lodi dodi.

First up was Coconut Bay:

I shared a Thai Jerky with some friends ($7.95).

Deep fried marinated beef served with a spicy dipping sauce. I thought it was a little too dry, but otherwise okay.

For the main course, I went for the Sukiyaki, thai style ($7.95).

Bean thread noodles, egg, squid (lots of it as you can see), shrimp, chicken, and assorted vegetables in a spicy red tofu paste flavored soup. The soup was actually mild and was served with a side of some sweet spicy sauce, which tasted a lot like Korean gochoojang and vinegar. I added this into my soup, and it helped to give it a little kick.

Secret menu: spicy bbq chicken? A friend tried ordering it here, saying that they would make it spicy if she asked them, but the server had no idea what she was talking about.

Overall, the food was ok. Service was quick, and it wasn't hard to flag down the help. They gave us a 15% coupon for our next visit as we left. It seems that they often have happy hour here for football games or when the Lakers play. There is a bar section with some pool tables (could you add a ping pong table please?) along with big flat screen tvs put up everywhere to stare at when the table conversation takes an awkward turn.

A few weeks later, the Tritons crew met up at Coconut's older sister's joint, Banana Bay.

I hadn't been here in a few years, but what I did remember was that the service had been horrible. And surprise surprise....

Service was wonderful this time.

*A short blurb on service and the dining experience. While the Bolsheviks love to sing about how service is on the same level as food, other radicals embrace the philosophy that the dining experience is solely about the food, and service and the extras are things that matter little. If the food's good, it doesn't matter that I'm treated like doo doo because it's worth the abuse baby(see soup nazi)! Personally, I'm on the fence about this issue. Damn me and the rest of us wishy washers that are bringing down this country. I just thought in this particular case, the service was worth writing about because I found myself saying this shit is BANANAS! (fast forward to 3:15) at the 180 they did*

We were treated to a basket of shrimp chips with some kind of (hoisin?) sauce as we sat down. Never had these before, but they were nice to munch on while we waited for the rest of the party to arrive and get rowdy.

While the Banana Bay Pad Thai special looked tempting (my friend who ordered it was very disappointed), I went for the BBQ Pork Noodle Soup. It had egg noodles, and I asked if they could add vegetables to it, which they gave me me a generous helping of without an additional charge.

I was a little offset by the pink broth color, which was attributed by the bbq pork, but I got over it. The broth had some sweetness to it, so I added a bunch of jalapenos and chilis to give it more of a kick. Overall not bad.

Secret menu try 2: I asked for the bbq chicken spicy for the same friend, and after some haggling, the waiter understood what I wanted and the kitchen complied. (+1 star)

But the main occasion of the evening was that it was the young up and coming Jomo's bday, so we had to celebrate. We ordered him some ice cream atop some banana egg rolls while the live band sang happy birthday to Camp Snoopy's very own Linus.

The rest of the night was celebrated at the noraebang as we sneakily snuck in a box of wine, which caused me to crack up with glee every time someone else or I proceeded to waterfall from the bag. Holla!

Banana Bay: 18230 Colima Road Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Coconut Bay: 18922 Gale Ave Rowland Heights, CA 91748