Fast-Casual Asian Street Food Arrives in Pacific Beach

A new restaurant revolving around an eclectic mix of Asian street food recently opened on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach. Yum Zab! is a fast-casual establishment launched by Klin Sritong and his wife, Ai. Some of its top-selling dishes include a spicy Korean fried chicken rice bowl, steamed Hainanese chicken with ginger rice, a Korean fried chicken sandwich, Japanese wagyu sando, and kaya toast, a popular snack in Singapore and Malaysia that features a rich and sweet jam made with pandan, coconut milk, and eggs.

The counter-service space features a takeout counter where customers order on a computer screen and a few sidewalk tables for dining in. Open daily at 11:30 a.m., the restaurant stays open until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. most days except Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Yum Zab!

Yum Zab!

It replaces Rhythm’s Chicken & Waffles, the fried chicken outfit that amassed quite a following on social media and reopened as Mom’s Chicken and Waffles in the U-31 nightclub in North Park.

Yum Zab!’s owner Klin Sritong has worked in area Thai restaurants and hails from a family of restauranteurs; his brother Krit and his mother operate Charm Thai Kitchen in Rancho Bernardo. Yum Zab! derives from a Thai expression meaning a “delicious mixture of things,” explains Sritong.

Yum Zab!

Sritong tells Eater that they plan on expanding and are eyeing the South Park neighborhood as their next location.