Cholada Thai Cuisine opened in Newbury Park just a few weeks ago and we decided to try it tonight.  Cholada is located at 1282 Newbury Road in the same location that Les Rendezvous used to be located (I hadn't even realized it was gone...a Newbury Park French classic).  This location is a bit off the beaten path, between a mobile home park and Aamco Transmission.  Frankly I don't know why any restaurant would choose this location other than perhaps the rent is cheap.  But in any case, based on tonight's experience Cholada is worth driving out of your way for!

We didn't get too extravagant with spicy dishes tonight as we had our young clan with us.  But everything we tried was excellent, including the appetizers (our waiter recommended "Golden Bags" - crispy wontons filled with ground chicken and shrimp).  Delicious!

My wife thoroughly enjoyed another unique dish recommended by our waiter called Nam Sod Kaw Tod (name of the dish, not our waiter, ha ha ha), a crispy rice salad mixed with chicken, ginger, onion and peanuts.  It had a nice "kick" to it and was quite addictive!  So much so that my wife wouldn't share it with me after my first token forkful.  I tried the more typical Pad Thai and Cashew Nut Chicken dishes, both of which were excellent and the portions were decent, in particular the Pad Thai (leftovers of which I plan to consume tomorrow morning).  The kids enjoyed everything too, from the chicken satay to the noodles to the appetizers and rice!

The only thing "missing" from the menu was beer that I was kind of craving.  They are in process of obtaining a liquor license.  Please oh please I hope you get it soon!  That Thai Iced Tea wasn't bad but a Singha would have hit the spot!

What I liked most about Cholada is that everything tasted authentic.  We have a lot of chain restaurants in the Conejo Valley so any new restaurants serving authentic ethnic food of any type immediately grabs my attention.

The owners of Cholada also have locations in Malibu on PCH and in Downtown Ventura on Main Street.  For more info visit www.choladathaicuisine.com or call 805.498.7801.