Writing about some of the best takeout fried chicken, pizza, barbecue, sushi, fish and chips and chicken soup in the area — as I have over the past several weeks — narrows my choices down to a finite number of joints, and a limited number of options.
But when I try to come up with the defining obsession at our many Thai restaurants, it’s not easy because there are so many dishes that I, and my fellow heavy forks, can’t live without. Pad Thai noodles? Green papaya salad? Chicken satay with lots of tasty peanut sauce? My daughter can’t live without her pad see ew. My wife can’t resist a proper order of chicken larb. Thai cooking is a happy bestiary of wonderful flavors. And far as I can tell, they all travel brilliantly well.
It’s worth mentioning that, at Thai restaurants all over the Los Angeles area, dishes like mee krob are what you might casually refer to as wildly ubiquitous. At Thai restaurants in Thailand, however, dishes like mee krob aren’t ubiquitous at all. In fact, during several days I spent in Bangkok not long ago, mee krob was something I hardly came upon at all.
Good journalist that I am, I would ask people who knew about food — tuk-tuk (jitney) drivers, exotic dancers, fellows selling ersatz Lacoste shirts on street corners — exactly why I couldn’t find a dish as common in LA as mee krob. The answer usually had something to do with the dish being too complicated for anyone but a master Thai chef to even begin to attempt. By extension, it’s certainly amazing to consider how many master Thai chefs we evidently have here in Los Angeles.
Instead of mee krob, what I found in Bangkok is a cuisine of surprising delicacy, with a good deal of subtlety, and not as a rule the incipient spiciness so common here in Los Angeles. A good example of the current state of Thai cooking over there could be found at a small gem of a Bangkok restaurant called Lemongrass (located at 5/1 Sukhumvit 24, tel. 258-8637, in case you’re in the neighborhood), where diners sit either inside a small, pleasantly decorated wooden house, or in a tiny patio next to a burbling fountain.
What one eats there is a salad of grilled spiced beef with grilled spiced eggplant; ground pork and shrimp wrapped in vermicelli noodles and fried till crispy; a fine salad of green mango and crispy shrimp; roast duck in a green coconut curry sauce; shredded chicken fried with the most scrumptious of pickled vegetables; and very mild chilies stuffed with minced shrimp and pork, also in a curry sauce. The curries are far lighter than our perception of them.
The menu was devoid of either satay, mee krob or any sort of eggroll. The food was great. And even though I’m not at all sure of what the mee krob I had for dinner last night was, I finished every last bite. This is food no one can resist. And it sure does soothe in these hard times. Here are some of my favorites:
The Green Leaf Thai Cuisine
7756 Greenleaf Ave., Whittier; 562-698-8570, www.ordergreenleafthai.com
Is Green Leaf Thai on Greenleaf Avenue in Whittier? Well, of course it is. It would be very odd were it not. And it’s also a terrific neighborhood Siamese eatery where I rarely get past the appetizers; they are many, and they are very good. If, perhaps, a tad eccentric.
I am honestly hard-pressed to say whether the appetizer called “Rangoon” can actually be found anywhere in Rangoon (which for the record, isn’t in Thailand; it’s in Burma, which is now Myanmar, and Rangoon is now known as Yangon, just in case you weren’t confused enough!). It consists of cream cheese and surimi in a deep-fried wrapper, served with a sweet & sour dipping sauce. Traditionalists will be horrified. I enjoyed every bite.
Ditto the shrimp wrapped in black pepper bacon and baby spinach leaves, deep-fried once again, and this time with a garlic aioli. Things settle down after that, moving into curry flavored chicken satay, chicken dumplings and vegan dumplings, and good ole Golden Pouches (well-flavored shrimp, wrapped and deep-fried. But then, the apps shift into a crispy pork belly salad, a slider made with cucumber inside a “bread” of tofu…and “Twisted Thai Cheese Balls.” It’s made with spicy ghost pepper cheese. It’s out of an alternative Thai universe.
At the end of the menu, you’ll find Thai Tea Crème Brulee, and Pandan Leaf Crème Brulee. Is this authentic? Does it matter? As long as it’s good.
Hong Kong Market Plaza, 935 S. Glendora Ave., West Covina; 626-480-0116, http://kruathaica.com
There are some 150 dishes on the menu at Krua Thai. But though I always try to order something I haven’t tried before, there are certain benchmarks I can’t live without — it’s about the only fair way in which to figure out what a restaurant is all about.
For starters, there’s the satay, which varies, depending on my mood, from sticks of pork to beef to chicken. I suspect I order the satay in part because the meats served on sticks are so tender, so juicy, so good. But also because Krua Thai makes one of the best spicy peanut sauces in town. It’s a sauce so sweet and savory at the same time, with a nice overlay of spice, that I could probably eat it as a dish all by itself.
The chopped cucumber is pretty good too, a serious palate cleanser of a dish. On the other hand, I’ve never quite figured out what to do with the slices of white toast — should I spread the peanut sauce on it, making a sandwich? Like the celery served with Buffalo chicken wings, it’s a mystery. Then, of course, there’s the Thai barbecue chicken, a dish that I never tire of, with meat so sweet and intensely spiced at the same time, it makes me wonder if I’m going to turn into a poultry-atarian.
The Thai barbecue beef and pork are pretty good too, though a lot chewier — a bit closer to jerky, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Pad Thai always fits into the mix, simply because just about every Siamese restaurant in town makes it just a bit differently from every other; it’s a joyous table game, trying to figure out the points of variation.
Krua Thai has long been the destination of choice for exotica like shrimp kai jiew, papaya salad with blue crab, and yen ta fo rice noodles with jelly fish and fish balls. And for an exotic treat, try the a rad naa noodles with Chinese broccoli, baby corn, chicken, pork, barbecue pork, squid, pork stomach, shrimp and a fried egg — a dish the menu also calls “Super Rad Naa.” A dish with an alias — how cool is that?
Nine & Nine Thai Kitchen
738 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; 626-844-1899, www.nineninethaikitchens.menufy.com
There’s an explanation of the restaurant’s name on its web page — and of the culinary philosophy as well: “After years of tasting Americanized Thai food in Southern California, our owner Sid had decided to share his passion of authentic delicious Thai cuisine. Sid loves to serve for his customers the special green chicken curry, pad Thai, pineapple fried-rice, and other traditional Thai dishes. Lots of our customers ask us about our name; and the simple answer is that 9 is a lucky number for Thai people…and if you need any suggestion ask for SID!”
Good ole Sid has created a menu with 114 dishes on it — though actually there are far more than that. (You have a choice of chicken satay or beef satay; of fried rice with pork, chicken, beef, shrimp or vegetables, and so forth.)
He’s hit all the major Thai food favorites — and added on a bunch of his own. He has, for instance, an entire menu section dedicated to the aforementioned fried rice. There’s Thai fried rice with onions and tomatoes, green curry fried rice (bamboo shoots and mint leaves), Panang fried rice (peppers and chiles), yellow curry fried rice, pineapple fried rice (shrimp, chicken, Chinese sausage, shredded pork and cashew nuts), spicy shrimp fried rice, crab fried rice, seafood fried rice, spicy seafood fried rice, and the wonderfully named Choo Choo Fried Rice — pork, beef or chicken with Chinese broccoli.
It can take awhile just to work your way through the fried rice. And there are twice as many steamed rice dishes that follow. The pad Thai noodles are as good as any in town — an oversized, steaming heap of soft rice noodles flavored with chicken and shrimp, egg and scallions and crushed peanuts. There’s a battle in my family between those with a yearning for thicker pad Thai noodles, or thinner pad see ew glass noodles.
The restaurant is called Nine. But really…it’s a 10.
498 S. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena; 626-578-9814, www.president-thai.com
As with many of our best Thai restaurants, ordering here can take some study, unless you have already set your mouth for a particular dish. There are 115 dishes listed on the menu. But that number is actually far higher, since in numerous cases, you’ve got an option of pork, beef or chicken, and in others of tofu, veggies, shrimp and seafood as well.
The menu is a greatest hits selection of Thai dishes, with plenty of house specialties tossed in for good measure. The satays are a thing of beauty — large, moist, perfectly cooked strips of chicken, beef or pork, with a first-rate peanut sauce.
The mee krob, which in too many Thai restaurants is so sweet it’s more a dessert than a savory dish, is actually subtle and under-sweetened, with lots of chicken and shrimp. And what’s not to like about the President’s Shrimp — shrimp on a stick, wrapped in bacon and egg noodles and deep-fried; the stick makes it that much better, like a protein lollipop.
You want something a little different? Try the crab rolls made with crab meat and water chestnuts — a fine exercise in contrasting textures and flavors. There’s a spicy seafood soup called poa-tak, that’s a Thai bouillabaisse of shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, lemongrass, kaffir limes, chiles, ginger and basil — so many tastes in one pot.
There are 11 soups and 11 salads on the menu — plenty for those who want to eat a somewhat lighter meal. There are seven curries, with a choice of proteins, for those who want to up the ante. There’s also an exceptional number of seafood dishes; President Thai could well be viewed as a Siamese seafood house. There’s spicy soft shell crab, pompano chu-chi (with red curry and coconut milk) and pompano kra pow (in a chili sauce). There’s panfried fish, shrimp, mussels, scallops and calamari in a ginger and lime sauce.
I thought it would be hard to find a dish that equaled the barbecue chicken. But the cooking at President goes for a very high (and tasty) bar. If this President were running in 2020, it would have my vote.
363 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena; 626-793-8123, www.saladang-pasadena.com
The name, deeply poetic in its rhythm, sounds more as if it should be sung than said. It refers to a shelter from the heat of the day, or from a storm — the gazebo like structures (the menu tells us) that exist along paths in Thailand. They’re called “sala.” “Dang” makes the “sala” red. Thus, a sala-dang is a sanctuary, brightly colored, a place where you can find a moment’s respite from the day. And thus we have Saladang the Restaurant, which is loved by its many fans beyond all scope and reason — for it’s a sanctuary from…everything.
Let us consider, as we often do, the satay. Yes, I do have rather a thing for satay. I love its simplicity, I love its flavor — and I love the fact that some restaurants get it so insanely…wrong. (Especially the peanut sauce.) Saladang gets it right. The satay is available in three proteins — chicken, beef and pork, choices that are less common than you might think. They’re beautifully cooked — tender but well grilled, easy to slide off the little wooden sticks. And the peanut sauce is just perfect — sweet and spicy, without a pool of oil sitting on the top.
The appetizers are many — there are steamed dumplings filled with chicken and peanuts called pun klib. The mee krob, made with chicken and shrimp, is sweet but not too sweet, and crispier and crispier still. There’s fried calamari and deep-fried shrimp. And an appetizer combo of fried shrimp, tofu, wontons, rolls and the deep-fried joy called a “gold pouch,” which is filled with flavor rather than nuggets.
Another essential at any Thai restaurant — and especially at Saladang — is a hot, steaming bowl of tom yum soup (sour and spicy soup, made with mushrooms, chicken or shrimp). It’s a soup that’s a bit like going on a fishing expedition in your bowl, pushing aside the lemongrass and other herbs to pick out the good stuff. You think you’ll only have a little. But like the Chinese hot & sour soup, you’ll wind up having a lot. It’s hard to stop.
And if you want to move it up a notch, try the tom kha, made with coconut cream. Much of the menu is taken up with rice and noodle dishes, most of which make you wonder what you’ve been eating all these years in lesser restaurants.
The fried rice, the spicy fried rice, and the Saladang curry fried rice (a yellow curry with egg) all come with a choice of eight amendments; the crab is very good, and generously offered. The pad Thai, like the satay, feels like a necessity, eaten with no complaints; it’s made with shrimp, chicken and tofu. That’s “and” not “or.”
Tantawan Thai Kitchen
Woodside Village Shopping Center, 1557 E. Amar Road, West Covina, 626-977-1022; 9000 E. Garvey Ave., Rosemead, 626-288-1527
With dozens of dishes, this dynamic Thai twosome hits all the bases for noodles, curries, salads, appetizers — all our favorites. But even better, it offers a wonderful world of choices within. Thus, when you order a noodle dish, you have the option of flat noodles, small noodles, vermicelli/angel hair noodles, glass noodles or egg noodles. And in terms of spice, there’s No Spice, Little Spice, Mild Spice, Medium Spice, Spicy Spice and Super Spicy Spice. Points of difference that can be somewhat like arguing about the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin. Mild Spice versus Medium Spice? I’m befuddled. But intrigued. And very well fed.
Thai Paradise
909 W. Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel; 626-570-8887, www.thethaiparadise.com
Let me praise their spicy fried rice, flavored with fresh green chilies (they have a nice crunch to them), served with a choice of chicken, pork, beef or shrimp; proof that fried rice isn’t just something that fills out the empty spots on your plate. They make a fine pad Thai as well, which is probably the single most popular of the many Siamese noodle dishes, a terrific toss of soft, slightly sweet rice noodles, jumbled with ground peanuts, bean sprouts, scrambled egg, and a choice (as ever) of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, tofu or just mixed vegetables. There’s a terrific Thai dim sum as well, very crunch, jammed with pork and water chestnuts, a deep-fried dish that’s worth every calorie.
Thai Purple
27 N. Garfield Ave., Alhambra; 626-300-9083, www.thaipurplerestaurants.com
Thai Purple (where do these names come from?) is notable partly because its food is quite good, and partly because it has a menu that’s not quite like any other Thai menu in town. Perhaps because of its location in the midst of a legion of cutting edge Chinese restaurants, the folks at Thai Purple have pretty much turned themselves purple coming up with a menu that has something for everyone and anyone – a point they make on the front of the menu, where they describe themselves not just as a Thai restaurant or a Thai-Chinese restaurant (the term Thai restaurants used to use), but as a “Thai, Asian Finest Noodles and Exotic Cuisine” restaurant.
The punctuation may be eccentric, but the message is clear — we’re different. Under Appetizers, for instance, along with the satay and angel wings, there’s a choice of deep-fried or steamed leek cakes, and a plum sauce flavored handroll filled with tofu, sausage and krab.
Under Salad, there’s a dish called Spicy Angel’s Feet Salad, made with boneless chicken feet, an ingredient that I’ve always perceived as more Chinese than Thai. The Noodle section includes both noodles in sauce and noodles in soup (the way they’re usually found on Vietnamese and Chinese menus), with a choice of rice stick noodles, flat rice noodles, rice vermicelli, egg noodles and flat egg noodles.
The first soup, called Thai Boat Noodle, is made with rare beef, beef balls, liver tendon and tripe — a pho combination if ever there were one. I suspect the preparation of the spicy fried frog is Thai — it’s flavored with mint and peppers — as is the mint leaf curry crab (though it might have roots as well in Singapore).
And then, there are dishes with names like Fish Smash in Chili (described as “whole fish deep-fried then over with fresh chili garlic hot sauce” — something obviously got lost in the translation) and the equally mysterious hor-moke e-san (“catfish chunk smog grilled with lemongrass and eggs”).
The menu may be filled with conundrums. But the cooking is good — the Red Curry Jungle Pork vibrated with flavors familiar (pork, baby corn, mushrooms, string beans) and exotic (galanga root, aka galangal, a root that tastes like the illegitimate child of chilies and ginger). And a vegetable dish called Ong Choy on the Red Fire was fabulous — Chinese ong choy fried with garlic and soy beans, as the menu says, “on high heat.” Like Thai Purple, the dish is hot — and more than a little exotic.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
