Asian Food/Pure Water

This stuff is no joke!!!
Came with a big group and got mild, medium, and spicy bags to try.
Mild has one chili I believe and it already has a goooood kick. My tongue is still pretty warm lol. Medium has 2 – 3 and spicy is 4 – 5 chilis I think. My friend who ate the spicy is still dying right now hahah.
It has a very strong flavor. I was expecting it to be like a Thai papaya salad with the jerky bits but it’s very different. The flavor is very pungent and overpowering. Barely made a dent into my bad but I sill liked it, just not too much of it lol.

Loveeeeee the raw larb! Wish it came with sticky rice for the price we pay for it $ 10. The papaya, sausage, and kapoon were
okay. I prefer other places for those. Mostly just come here for the larb. I love mine extremely spicy and bitter. Yes! They can make it even bitter. Real old school and OG food! Their papaya is more of a thai style. Needed more sauce. I guess I prefer mine more Lao dark sauces but theirs was more light with long beans. To each their own papaya taste.

Love the food!!! Very flavorful & tasty! Always fresh & yummy! My only request is a bigger comfortable table to eat on. Cheers to kapoom & larb!!! Can’t turn away delicious home cooked food!

I’m so glad this place started selling food and not just water since I live around the area. I can actually say I love their papaya salad! The taste is always consistent and they give a decent amount for the price. I did notice they bumped up the prices recently but it’s reasonable because their items were already cheap to begin with and it’s becoming a more and more popular spot for quick to go food. I even notice there are older Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. people there buying bags of papaya and it amazes me because I remember my own family wouldn’t dare to try it because they couldn’t stand the smell of the sauce used for the papaya! I also get the Hmong sausage with the purple sticky rice too, which is very spicy but delicious with the little container of hot chili pepper sauce it comes with. They also sell kapoon too, it’s a pretty large order and is good enough for 2 people. The broth is really creamy and a little on the spicy side and good for the price. They sell laab, smoothies, boba, meatballs, and sometimes they have specials throughout the week or so. It closes daily at 7pm so check this place out if you have that mouthwatering tangy craving for papaya! Also be careful if you’re coming later in the day because that area tends to be sketchy and there are a few bums that hang around there and the convenient store quite often.

Still going strong. It’s nice to see that not much has changed at this place. I always get the raw beef laab whenever I come. The portion is huge, great for sharing if you don’t want to scarf it all down yourself. I love that it is a family run business and they treat you like family when you go. They are friendly and service is relatively quick but you can always call in your order ahead of time.
Opens at 10:30am & cash only.

It used to be amazing and then just like every other place they start to down size their portions and up the price. I wish they had regular sticky rice instead of the purple rice. It’s not the same and I wouldn’t be making a special trip out there anymore.

Love the food here. Except the meatball. Nothing special, just regular beefball you would find in phở. My go to spot for papaya salad. However, price for papaya salad went up tp $ 6 :(

Hole in the wall place that you wouldnt know about. The food is cheap too. U can get lap with sticky rice for $ 8 and a hmong sausage for $ 4 i heard their papaya is good so im going to have to try that out one day

i have never came here before til my friend invited me here for lunch.
when i walked in i was like this is a station where you refill the water jugs for home or office. then i spot a kitchen with a large menu for hmong or laos food such as kapoon which is a noodle soup, papaya salad, and meat balls, and sticky rice, and etc. in the next room they have a long table that fits about 6 people. and a video rental as well.
when i walked in i didn’t see anyone on the counter so i went to the video rental and asked for help in the kitchen. i ordered the kapoon soup for 7 or 8 bucks and meat balls which were beef meat balls served with thai chili sauce and there were about 5 pcs for 2 bucks. i also got the sticky rice which was purple color. i also tried the papaya salad as well.
the kapoon was in a large bowl with really light soup in it. the noodles were a big portion. there were also some chicken inside but mostly bones to give the soup some flavor. not too much meat on the chicken bones. the soup was more on the bland side but it was ok not bad. they had plenty of bamboo shoots in your soup if you like bamboo. they also put the onions and cilantro on the side of the soup as well. the soup really remind me thailand traditional kapoon. they also have msg and salt and sugar on the table which is great to add more tasting on your food.
the papaya salad was a huge portion and was packed togo in a flat plate box when we requested to order togo. the papaya wasn’t too fresh and it look like it was over night papaya because of the color and the texture as well. but it was still good but i did prefer it was fresh since i am paying the same amount. there were a bunch of ingredients inside such as crabs and some aromatic fresh fruits inside forgot what it is called to make the salad more sour. we requested extra spicy and it was sooooo spicy we were sweating bullets. i do like how they are not stingy with the portion for the price we paid which was about 7 bucks.
the sticky rice was purple color which i believe was a color dye. the sticky rice was moist and fluffy and was fresh for only 2 bucks i believe. the portion size was big as well.
the meatballs which i ordered had 5 pcs and thought it was pork but it was beef meatballs. the meatballs didn’t have beef tendon inside. the sweet thai chili sauce was mainly the flavor for it and it was about 2 bucks.
there are no complimentary water here. but they do have bottle water and other drinks for sale and they have fresh made thai tea as well.
the food was about 10 minute wait wasn’t too long. the broth was not steaming hot so thats a complaint i had. i did like the flavors and for the price they do give big portions.
overall there is no service here they just drop the food off the table and then after your done eating you just go up and pay them. they are usually not hanging around in the food counter so it might be hard to find someone. but there is always someone on the video rental side and you can also pay there as well. i did observe a lady standing there for about 5 mins where no one was by the counter and she had to shout hello loudly til someone comes out. so i learn that don’t be afraid to shout inside to get them out to the counter.
also they are cash only so make sure you have cash with you.

I’m a big fan of traditional Asian food. I haven’t been to this place for awhile. I love their papaya salad ($ 5-​$ 10 or party tray $ 25) and I get their sauce ($ 13).
It’s named Pure Water so it may be a bit misleading. They do sell food inside – khapoon, papaya salad, Hmong sausage, meatballs, snacks and fruit drinks – and they also rent Asian movies!
On the particular day that I went with my friend, there was no one tending the counter. We had to call for service and it seemed the lady wasn’t ready. It took a bit for her to come to the counter to take our order. We ordered khapoon ($ 6), spicy papaya salad ($ 7), sticky rice ($ 3) and beef balls (5 for $ 2). One good thing is the portion size; you do get more for your bucks. However, I did not like the khapoon. It was my first time having that dish their. It’s missing some essential ingredients that I’m used to – bean sprouts, kafir leaf and pork blood jello. The vermicelli noodles were too soft; they used the thin variety. The soup was not hot and the chicken was all bones. On top of that, it just didn’t have the coconut aroma which is essential in khapoon.
The papaya salad had excellent flavor; just what it should taste like but the texture was off. It looked like it was leftover papaya. It wasn’t fresh; I’ve made enough papaya salad myself to know the difference. There were soft shell crab and makok in the papaya salad. Points for having those.
The purple sticky rice was great! It was a lot so I took it home.
The beef balls weren’t good according to my friend. It’s just something I’m not in to so I don’t order it.
There is no table service. You eat, you pay at the cashier and you get out. It’s a small place with one long table that fits about (8) people.
I’ve had better khapoon and papaya salad elsewhere. I might go back if I’m super hungry and have a craving. It’s close by to where I live, so it’s convenient.

Purely based on the restaurant portion of the business. Overall, a very clean and spotless business with tasty food.
Papaya salad, 1 pepper: Laos style, which is hard to find at Thai restaurants, just the right amount of funk, and only $ 5!
Hmong sausage: Comes with A LOT of sticky rice (which was made well). The sausage was juicy and had a little kick, but they give you a pepper sauce in case you like it real spicy. Large portion for $ 7.
I took everything to-​go because the shop is in a very scary part of town. I stopped by with my boyfriend on the way to Elk Grove around 6 PM on a Wednesday. I think it if weren’t for the liquor store right next door, it wouldn’t be as scary. Besides the location, the food is good and the price is right.

Best papaya salad in California!!! I’m from Richmond, but will travel the distance for good food. Don’t ask for spicy unless you want to burn for days. I’m of south east asian descent and medium is still hella spicy…

Good customer service.
Price is right. Papaya salad is the best I’ve ever tasted! Can’t go wrong! Only $ 5 each order

My sister-​in-​law and her friends were raving about this place so I decided to give it a try. The place is very tiny, so it does get packed with people coming in and getting water as well.
There were about five people ahead of me buying hot food and papaya. There were two ladies and a mid age man. By the time they got to me, the man made my papaya salad. It looked decent but when I got home to try it, goodness it was not tasty at all… bland and bitter!
I had my sis-​in-​law try it since she was the one that recommended the place and she was surprised herself. She said that the lady has to make it to be good. If he did not know how to make it, I don’t understand why they had him make it even if they’re busy. I’m debating whether I want to go back to this place again. Most likely, no.

Good fast food place. It gets busy so call if you don’t wanna wait.
Laab: best in town!! so fresh. $ 6.99 3.5 stars alone!
Sausage with rice: good better than the ones they sell at the Hmong/​Asian stores. $ 6.00
Papaya salad: it’s ok here, I like the dark colored ones with a lot of shrimp/​crab paste and this one is a lighter colored so sometimes it comes out with less flavor for me. $ 6.00+
Kho poon: not the best in town, because I like mines with a lot of coconut juice so I prefer this dish from The Spot off Stockton blvd.
Not a lot of space to sit and eat here and this place is cash only.

This place definitely hits the spot when I’m craving for some spicy papaya! It can get busy here, so i recommend calling in advance to order and they will have your food ready within 10 minutes. Food is cheap, ranging from $ 5-​$ 8 a dish. Don’t let the low prices fool you. The food is delicious!
A order of Kapoon for $ 5 and it feeds two people. Does not get better than that! I have tired the papaya, larb, kapoon and hmong sausage. A++++.

This place has amazing papaya salad. I love eating spicy foods, so 3 – 4 peppers usually suffices. It’s freshly made to order and it’s as tasty as ever! I’m not too big of a fan of their Hmong sausages because it’s a little too fatty for me. When you bite into it, all you taste is blubber, not enough meat.
My boyfriend normally goes here to pump water. The water is very pure as the store is named after. Never had a problem with their water:)
The lady and gentlemen who owns this place are very friendly and sweet. One time I went to pump 15 Gallons of water by myself and they were nice enough to offer to help carry it out. ***Gladly declined because I figured I could do it! Hahah
Anyway, A+ on the papaya salad. My favorite place to go to for some deliciousness!

There’s never a time they disappointed me with their papaya here. They even take special requests when you want long green beans in your papaya salad. That’s exactly what I got!
The location isn’t in a great place, but it’s worth it for their papaya! I suggest you to come and try this place! DELISH!

This location is located on Power Inn Road between Florin and Gerber. The parking lot is really odd. This place is a hidden gem. They are a video store/​take out/​pure water store. I’m glad I stumbled upon this place via Unilocal by typing in papaya salad from my house.
Their papaya is probably second best in the city. You can call ahead and order or come in. They are very quick. I only come here to get the papaya and haven’t tried anything else.

Yes, yes, yes I am on a mission looking for the Best papaya salad in Sacramento.
After speaking to a few of my girlfriends, I settled on going to Asian Food/​Pure Water. Simple name for a simple place. Located on the corner of Scottsdale and Power Inn Road, this little place is a video store slash Hmong small food deli slash water jug place. Interesting combination! But from what I gather, the food is now being sold legally.. .which great! We don’t want to be raided by SACPD while buying laab right?
On a Sunday afternoon I walked in and grabbed my place in line. I’m sure someone may thought I looked out of place but this time no shares or funny tilts of of the heads (which I appreciate! a customer is a customer!). The menu is very simple: chicken or beef laab, sticky rice, papaya salad, sausage or kapoon. All ranging from $ 6.99-$ 1. I ordered papaya salad, 5 peppers, which cost only $ 5 CASH. The lady went in the back and pounded away on her mortar and pestle, within a few minutes she produced a bag of papaya salad.
The papaya salad did hit the spot! Five peppers had my mouth thirsting for water but also thirsting for more. I loved all the flavors both salty and sweet. I did wish it had the salty crabs or shrimp and the side of rice noodles. But for $ 5 and no funny stares, I will be back.