Cousins, Katy Noochlaor and Annie Daniel, literally grew up in the kitchen of a Thai restaurant. And it’s no surprise. Their families opened Chao Krung—the second ever Thai restaurant in Los Angeles.
Once they were old enough to stir up a fiery jungle curry, they both took to the tradition with rigor. Katy went on to open Tuk Tuk Thai, Chadaka Thai and Soi 56 (later District 13). Annie spread her wings in San Francisco, opening a friend’s restaurant, then returning to LA to manage the Pico/Bundy favorite, Chan Dara, for over a decade. But their next project seemed like destiny—the girls united to open Silver Lake favorite Rambutan, offering up Thai dishes based on old family recipes.
Annie Daniel and Katy Noochlaor. Image courtesy of Same Same Thai.
This past April, Rambutan was transformed into Same Same Thai, featuring authentic street-food-style Thai dishes and unique wines and beer curated by Last Word Hospitality (Holly Zack, Adam Weisblatt, and Angus McShane). Expect shared plates like Coconut Curry Noodles, Sidewalk Pad Thai and vegetarian fried tofu alongside Riesling Spatlese, a lighter red Dolcetto or a Spanish Txakolina (poured from 4-feet for extra effervescence).
A play on the very Thai expression, “same-same, but different” (the ‘but different’ is displayed as a cute neon pink sign by the front door), the new moniker is historically befitting. Yet, never fear Rambutan fans— you can still order online and pick-up through the to-go window.
After years of being actively involved in the Thai cuisine landscape of the city, where do they go to eat Thai food in Los Angeles? Katy serves up her delish recommends here:
Same Same Thai
Silver Lake, Kuaytiaw Reua (Boat Noodle) $10 & Kapow (chili & holy basil) $11
Katy Noochlaor: At Same Same, we offer a variety of Thai styles and mainly focus on what is easy to eat, so a lot of Thai street food. The boat noodles are one of my favorite dishes we have. What makes ours different than most other Thai places in LA is that we use morning glory because that’s how they do it in Thailand. It’s very traditional Thai style, so very spicy. Our Kapow dish is also one of my favorites; we use Thai holy basil rather than just regular Thai basil. Regular Thai basil is much easier to find, but Thai holy basil is the key ingredient.
Hollywood, Ped Pa-Loi (Noodle with Duck) $6.25
KN: I grew up eating this duck noodle and went to Rodded all the time after class in high school. It’s remained the same after all these years and they’ve had the same owners forever. I definitely think it’s the best duck noodle in LA – maybe even better than any I’ve had in Thailand.
Los Feliz, Papaya Salad with Blue Crab $8.95
KN: Ruen Pair is open until 4 am and located in the Hollywood Plaza. It’s the perfect place to go after the clubs and attracts both Thai people and Americans. My favorite dish is the papaya salad with blue crab. It’s very traditional and spicy, which I love.
Hollywood, Kaeng Pah with Catfish (Jungle Curry) $7.75
KN: Pailin has really good curry; one of my favorites is the jungle curry with catfish. It’s my go-to when I’m craving something spicy and with curry. You can tell that that they make their own curry paste because it just tastes so good and fresh. It’s family owned by a Central-Thai family that has been here forever.
Curry at Pailin Thai. Image courtesy of @wheeleyum
Pa-Ord Noodle
East Hollywood, Boat Noodle $5.50
KN: I absolutely love their boat noodles because they use all of my favorite ingredients. Everyone has their own style of this dish and Ord makes it exactly the way I like it.
East Hollywood, Pork leg over rice $5.95
KN: They open very early in the morning and you can get Thai donuts! The pork leg over rice is my favorite dish; I think they make it better than most places here. They make it with fermented cabbage and a hardboiled egg so it’s kind of like a Thai-Chinese dish.
Hollywood, Beef Tendon Soup $6.95
KN: Yai has been there forever. I always go there for their Beef Tendon Soup. You can tell they cook the beef tendon for a while because it’s so soft.
Yai Restaurant. Image courtesy of @luzluz984
Belinda Gosbee is an Aussie writer, actress and coffee snob based in Los Angeles. She implores you to stay for Same Same’s incredible mango sticky rice with warm coconut cream. Follow her jaunts on twitter @belindagosbee or instagram @gos22.
Header image courtesy of Same Same Thai