$3.99 Lunch Specials at Thai Patio, and Beef Jerky for Dessert

Thai Patio has replaced the old strip-mall Palms Thai. The $3.99 lunch special is, of course, a deal–pad kra pao, fried tofu with basil, peppers and onions, is nicely spiced and tasty, but the straight-from-the-bag salad and fried wonton wrappers on the side are forgettable, and it comes with anemic white rice–not jasmine.

Lad nah chicken ($6) has a good gravy-noodle ratio, and the noodles carry the elusive char flavor of wok hay. The chicken is sliced white meat, and the gravy is nice and garlicky and rich with soy sauce.

Chowpatty checked out Thai Patio for dinner and enjoyed some of the more expensive dishes, like red curry with shrimp (about $18). It’s great, with a strong but pleasant flavor of kaffir lime. Steamed trout comes in a pungent sour broth that’s light and flavorful. The only caveat, she notes, is that you need to explain carefully if you want your food spicy–they seem to be catering to a clientele, shall we say, not that familiar with Thai spicing. But once that was accomplished, she had an excellent, assertively flavored meal.

Oh, and there are Thai dance performances on weekend evenings (at about 9 p.m.).

After dinner, the natural place to go for dessert is just a couple of doors down, Ban Khanom Thai. pandapenny describes some favorites:

Sakoo sai moo–tapioca balls filled with ground pork/peanut/radish eaten with bird chili, cilantro, and lettuce

Khanom sai sai–toasted coconut ball surrounded by salty coconut cream

Khao tung–Thai rice cracker flavored with dried shrimp, green onion, cilantro

Khanom tien–garlicky, white pepper center surrounded by a chewy glutinous rice flour goo

Klong kang–fried dough of rice flour/coconut milk tossed in a sweet syrup flavored with white pepper and green onion

Galamah–coconut/rice flour candy (sometimes flavored with Pandan)

Cotton Cake–colorful steamed cupcakes that smell of flowers

Thai beef jerky–dried and fried with coriander seeds

Thai Patio [Thai Town]
formerly Palms Thai
5273 Hollywood Blvd., at Hobart, Los Angeles
Locater

Bhan Kanom Thai [East San Fernando Valley]
12714 Sherman Way, North Hollywood
818-255-3355
Map

Board Links
Thai Patio in Thai Town