Sanamluang: Best (and cheapest) Thai in L.A.
Written: Sep 30 '99 (Updated Aug 01 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Best Thai in town, and very inexpensive
Cons: Sometimes there's a long wait; cash only
The Bottom Line: Just about the best Thai food in L.A. (and the cheapest)
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| Chuq's Full Review: Los Angeles |
I love Thai food.
There are so many great Thai places in L.A. that I can hardly name them all -- Kruang Tedd, Jitlada, Thailand Plaza, Natalee, Rosalynn, even Chan Dara ... but the one I keep going back to, over and over and over again, is Sanamluang Café (5170 Hollywood Blvd, corner Kingsley, between Western and Normandie).
No-frills, nearly atmosphere-free, and nestled in a little strip mall in eastern Hollywood between a Thai market and a Thai bookstore, Sanamluang has some of the best, most exotic and cheapest Thai food to be had in the city. Almost none of the dishes are over $5, which is an incredible bargain given how GOOD they all are.
Your standard Thai fare is there, if you're unadventurous -- the satay, the Thai salad, the egg rolls and the pad Thai are all very good. But explore further into the voluminous menu, be unafraid to try new things, and you'll often be pleasantly surprised.
My very favorite dish at Sanamluang (and the one I seem to order about 75% of the time) is Pad Kee Mow, which you'll see on the menu of just about every Thai place in town, usually as "Spicy flat rice noodles with Thai basil and chili". Although that menu description fairly accurately tells you what's in the dish, not one of them has made it 1/100th as well as Sanamluang. I usually get it with ground chicken (you can get it with beef, pork, shrimp, or veggies and tofu if you like), and it's loaded with tomatoes, onions and chiles, with a complex flavor going from sweet to savory to spicy hot hot hot, and you can always adjust it with the condiment tray of sugar, chiles, red chile paste and dry ground chiles to suit your own taste. I absolutely love and adore this dish (number 51!)
They also excel at soups, and the large bowls of noodles and broth that are a Thai specialty (the bowls are so big you could practically bathe in them). Sanamluang also make the best Tom Yung Goong (hot and spicy shrimp soup with straw mushrooms, cilantro, lemongrass, lime leaves, Thai basil and a liberal smattering of pepper) that I have had anywhere. I once drove to Sanamluang (35 minutes from where I was living at the time) to get some of this to go, 'cause I knew it would make me feel better (it did). Look through the listings of soups and noodle dishes for things that might seem exotic and interesting, and don't be afraid to gawk at your neighbors' food and ask them what they've got. Folks seem friendly enough in here.
Sanamluang is open late, usually at least until 3 if not 5am. In fact, it only starts to get really busy after 10pm or so, and I must confess that I've rarely been there during daylight hours. But there is one reward for going early -- the som tum salad, with shredded green papaya, dried shrimp, cilantro, lime juice and chiles is fabulous and isn't served after 7:30pm.
You'll be tempted as I always am to quaff a Thai iced tea with your meal (they're big here), as it helps cool the fire of the chiles. But they serve lots of other interesting drinks too, which might catch your eye as they go by on their way to other tables. An exclamation of "Ooh, that's pretty!" might just lead you to try longan juice, or their red or green syrup (tasty, whatever they are) with cream.
Sanamluang's open late late late, they're cheap, and their food is fantastic. They're one of the reasons that I really, really like living in L.A.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Chuq
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Member: Chuck Taggart
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 80 members
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