384026 Thu Mar 22 18:26:43 -0700 2007 7 3 California 0 2412663 Noticed some construction going on in a building in the little complex that houses the Scotts Valley Market and Taqueria Los Gallos and walked over to see what it was. There was a liquor license notice on the window for "Jia Tellas Cambodian Cuisine." The building was not previously a restaurant, so everything is being built in from scratch. Only framing at the moment, so no idea when it might be ready to open. I don't think we've ever had a Cambodian place around here (and the two previous attempts at Vietnamese I'm aware of have been pretty awful), but I will nevertheless remain cautiously optimistic. Anyone else know anything about it? Thu Mar 22 18:26:44 -0700 2007 14674 ahclem 1 2413928 Sorry, haven't heard anything about it but I find the news of interest. Putting in a restaurant from scratch is a big time and capital investment. I never go to Scotts Valley, so keep us posted on the progress... Fri Mar 23 09:06:59 -0700 2007 2412663 10371 Carb Lover 1 2451997 Finally a good family restaurant in SV. I saw on the window they have a web site. www.jiatellas.com. Check it out, it has the menu and it looks like it's going to be awesome. Not sure though when there going to be open. I stopped by there today and they still have a ways to go. Spread the word though..... it's looking good. Wed Apr 04 19:15:53 -0700 2007 2412663 88691 BC04 1 2665449 It's OPEN! It opened last Sunday. The food is amazing and when we went tonight, there was a good crowd. The Stir Fried Green Beans (I've now tried the Tofo and the Chicken) has a most wonderful taste. I didn't leave a speck on the plate. We also ordered the Cambodian Stew and it was as tasty as it could be. It has potatoes and carrots along with whatever meat you try. Six or seven beers on tap, including my favorite Blue Moon! We were quite content! Full from the meal, but with just enough room for something from the Gelato bar. :-) If there is a fault with Jia Tellas then it's with the service, but even then you can tell it's just teething pains. Everyone is very helpful and I think it should iron itself out in days. The good news is that this does not distract from the food! The final plus... we live less than mile from it and that's going to make us regulars. PS: As a note to "Carb Lover" ... now you have a reason to go to Scotts Valley! Fri Jun 15 22:39:09 -0700 2007 2412663 105706 mahtin 1 2691656 This has been on my radar for a while and we finally tried it yesterday for lunch. It was almost empty and kind of dark inside, so we chose to sit outside on the sandy patio, in the mottled sunshine next to a redwood. I had the papaya salad for $9.95, wanting to compare this with Thai & Viet versions, and hubby had the (what else) salmon with green mango, $11.95. Photo of papaya salad: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1367/622797827_9b0403bbb9_o.jpg Photo of green mango salmon: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1145/622797895_b7ca6d5d17_o.jpg The papaya salad was overdressed (I had to keep the plate tilted while eating, to pool the dressing away) but the flavor was a great blend of salty, sweet, citrusy & fishy. I'd say it was less sweet than most versions I've had, a plus in my book. The wedge of cabbage on the side was nice to have a bland-ish crunchy bite every now & then to balance the overly flavorful salad. I'm glad they weren't afraid to include the little dried shrimp, it's kind of an acquired taste (& texture) for non-Asians and I didn't expect a place like this to use it. I also liked the whole leaves of basil rather than seeing it julienned, it made for a more assertive herbal flavor. Hubby detected some capsaicin-based spiciness but I couldn't detect any, so if I get this again I'll be sure to ask for it extra spicy. Hubby's salmon seemed more poached than grilled, but it was pleasantly non overcooked. The green mango (actually less green and more yellow) was only a little tart (I would've liked it more unripe), and the dressing, though also fish sauce based, was different than the dressing the papaya salad: bit more sweet, more puckery and less fishy. Scattered in the dressing were tiny little fluffs of light brown bits that I couldn't identify as being animal or vegetable, very intriguing. Texture of very fine ground bacon bits or maybe the shrimp powder you see on top of banh beo, but not meaty or shrimpy tasting at all. I noticed several beers on tap, and a small display of their available wine. Plus a pretty long list of fountain sodas & bottled drinks. Seating inside looks quite nice, in a upscale casual sort of way, kind of like you'd expect a chain to look (but that's not a bad thing). The family members seemed super nice, with the teens refreshingly like they actually enjoy being there & helping out. I can't speak to the authenticity of the cambodian cuisine, but we really enjoyed our dishes esp. considering there's nothing even remotely similar in Scotts Valley. I noticed an older SEAsian man and a younger asian woman in the kitchen, but didn't get a chance to ask if the cooks were indeed Cambodian.We'd probably return for dinner, but it's too spendy for us for lunch (we're more likely to prefer a burrito or tacos from Los Gallos a few doors down). By the way, the menu & prices on their website are pretty much exactly like the menu board the day we went. Mon Jun 25 10:32:14 -0700 2007 2412663 10961 Alice Patis 1 2703995 I went in today for lunch. I had the Cambodian Salad with chicken. It was good, but at $8.95, I thought it was expensive for what I got. There was very little chicken, just a few small chunks. All the entrées are in the $8.95 to $11.95 range. I don't really see this place as a regular weekday lunch stop for me. Thu Jun 28 13:42:53 -0700 2007 2412663 13830 Matt of Aptos 1 3497684 Husband and I finally had a chance to try Jia Tella's last weekend w/ Alice Patis and her husband. They have eaten there a number of times and, although I trust Alice's taste, I still entered w/ skepticism that good Asian food could be found in SC County. After our pleasurable meal, Jia Tella's can be added to my short list of good Asian restaurants in the area! We shared: Fresh papaya salad 9.95 Cambodian curry w/ chicken 8.95 small Amok w/ catfish 8.95 Stir fried lemongrass w/ tofu 8.95 small Stir fried ginger w/ beef 8.95 small steamed brown and white rice 2.00 small Everything tasted fresh, vibrant, and well-seasoned. They do not hold back on the seasonings (eg, lots of ginger in the beef dish, dried shrimp in papaya salad), but I could use more heat in the menu items denoted w/ a chile pepper. My favorites were the chicken curry and catfish amok. I half-expected the curry to resemble a Thai curry w/ its list of ingredients, but it was quite different in flavor profile--more tomatoey and less creamy w/ big chunks (not strips) of fork-tender chicken. Opening up the banana leaf wrapping on the amok, I was surprised by its appearance. It was a solid flat loaf form w/ chunks of catfish and collard greens bound by eggs lending a fluffy mousse-like texture. It was different than anything I've ever had and reminded me a little of my mom's Viet egg and pork "souffle." I will definitely return for both dishes and would like to explore more of the menu. The menu is relatively small, but I prefer the focus since I'm not very familiar w/ Cambodian food and don't appreciate it when restaurants attempt to do too much. See website in above post to view full menu. Bonus points for some good beers on tap and a small wine list, although nothing on the wine list sounded good to me. The biggest detractor here for me is the counter service set up. The food quality, prices, and experience after one orders at the counter feel more like a sit-down, full-service restaurant to me so ordering at the counter seems out of place. They also carry gelato from The Latest Scoop in Berkeley, although we decided to skip it in favor of checking out Yogizmo, a fairly new frozen yogurt shop, a few doors down. I liked the tanginess of the low-fat plain yogurt but was not impressed w/ the "gizmo" machine used to make Alice's soy milk and blueberry "infruzion." The low-fat plain has a few additives that prevent it from being "all natural", but all ingredients are displayed in plain sight. Scotts Valley Market is also in the same shopping center and has lots of gourmet products w/ a nice butcher/fish counter, cheese case, and wine selection. Fun to quickly browse before dinner, but I'll have to return to scope out specific items. How is the taqueria (I forget the name) in that center? Thanks for suggesting this outing, Alice!! Sun Mar 16 08:09:38 -0700 2008 2412663 10371 Carb Lover 2 3513325 Thanks for posting the report so I didn't have too! (hee hee) I'm glad my tastebuds were verified by your esteemed tastebuds. Actually, we were at Jia Tella's again this past weekend for lunch with Steve's mom. She's never had cambodian food before and she loved it. We had the chicken curry (yes again), and the stir fry ginger (atleast this time it was with pork). I really paid attention to the curry this time and liked it even more. That curry joined the amok at the top of my favorites there. Thu Mar 20 21:14:29 -0700 2008 3497684 10961 Alice Patis