Wat Mongkolratanaram

Happy Sunday everyone!! This is a blast-to-the-near past entry on a Thai Temple serving up damn-good Thai food. Wat Mong (for short) serves food only on Sundays. I got there around 9:45, I was told it's good to get early so you can beat the crowd. It's cash only and what you do with your cash is the most interesting thing. When you come to the back of the temple there is a booth where you exchange your money for tokens, and the tokens you receive are then used to buy the food. The Thai temple members cannot money for their services (I.E. the food) but since you "donate" you receive those tokens for those donations, a loop-hole into their religion. There was so much to choose from but I kept it simple.

I ordered Pad Thai (6 tokens),  sticky rice with mango (5 tokens), and a Thai tea (1 tokens). My co-worker and Anthony joined me and my co-worker ordered spring rolls (4 for 4 tokens). There was so much more there: fried chicken, coconut coins, chicken curry, beef curry,  a variation of pho, and a few vegetarian dishes. There were two and three-item combinations where it costs around 7/8 tokens. The weight of my box when one of the members gave it to me was fairly heavy. 

It was time to open the box! Music started playing in my mind because it was so pleasantly appeasing. As I took my first bite I started dancing in my chair. It was goooooood, it hit the pad Thai spot. However it wasn't as flavorful as what I had in Thai Basil. It was almost there in flavor. Not the spring rolls, it was how spring rolls should taste like and even though there were other vegetables I was not expecting it was a wonderful combination of taste and texture. My sticky rice and mango brought the meal all together. The rice complemented the sweet mango and after finishing it I didn't feel heavy at all. 
Anthony enjoyed his beefy curry a ton and for my co-worker, who has been there multiple times, was still satisfied as ever. Forgot! The Thai tea, for a token, it was more than worth it! I should have bought two.

I brought a $20 with me thinking it was barely going to cover enough and many I had enough tokens at the end to get another meal if I wanted. 

With a belly full and a great time spending time with one another I can say I have experienced another great wonder of Berkeley, and I'm glad we went early because when we sat down there were probably 10 other people there but as we left it was packed!!! That is how I like to spend my Sundays. Early to rise, have some Thai food, and go home to take a morning nap. ;)

Leaving the premises. there was more people beyond the blue and white tent.

There are lines to wait for certain foods! How nicely organized!! ^^

 
Wat Mongkolratanaram
Value- 5/5
Food- 4/5
Service- 5/5
Atmosphere- 4/5
Total- 4.5/5