A spicy papaya salad: Photo by Spencer Shroyer / Anchorage Daily NewsJulia O’Malley put me on to the quick and tasty flavors of the International Kitchen (read her review here) and it wasn’t long before I started making regular stops for their lunch combos.

But, just when my addiction to their papaya salads (a spicy side dish made with grated papaya and tomato slices) was reaching one-a-week status, they were taken off the menu.

An employee said the woman who concocted the salads had moved on, and handed me a business card for Yummy Foods in the strip mall on the corner of Arctic and International. I drove over, but interior was vacant and dusty. The transition was obviously still far from complete.

I tried papaya salads from other locations, but was left feeling unsatisfied. Every so often, I would slowly roll through the parking lot – peeking through the dark windows and looking for signs of life. Nothing.

Finally, after lying dormant for around eight months, I spotted grand opening signs hanging outside the doors in late October.

Back in business, the kitchen offers combination plates hot from the steam tray (adobo, spare ribs, teriyaki and Hawaiian chicken), made-to-order Vietnamese sandwiches, pho soup and those delicious papaya salads.

Yummy indeed.

Yummy International Foods
5011 Arctic Blvd. Suite I
310-3180 / 770-1727
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday – Saturday, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays

-- Spencer Shroyer