Where: Los Angeles
What: Thai Food PlaceList
Who: Chef Jet Tila grew up in LA amid the bustle of his family’s Thai restaurants—some of the first of their kind in LA. As a boy, he worked in Thai Town’s storied Bangkok Market, which for many is the key source for the famed flavors of the neighborhood itself, but now you can catch him on Cutthroat Kitchen or breaking records for the world’s biggest stir fry. Jet swears that LA’s Thai Town has the best Thai cuisine in the US but does want to settle a common misconception: “Thai is not all about being spicy and there aren't peanuts in everything. Thai food is about balancing hot, sour, salty, sweet, and savory. Thai’s call this the ‘yum’.” Jet’s gearing up to open several outposts of his new fast-casual, Modern Asian Kitchen, and will appear at the All-Star Chef Classic in Downtown LA (March 8-11). So before he got too frenzied, we asked for his personal list of LA’s best Thai food.
Image of @jettila by Ken Goodman
Jitlada Restaurant
East Hollywood, $$
Jet Tila: Best southern Thai restaurant in the US. Food can be super spicy!
Yai Restaurant
Hollywood, $
JT: Best crispy pork belly, pan fried noodles, and braised pork leg with spicy basil.
Ruen Pair
Los Feliz, $
JT: Best papaya salad around and the pork jerky is insane.
Spicy B.B.Q.
East Hollywood, $$
JT: One of the very few legit Northern Thai restaurants.
Sapp Coffee Shop
Los Feliz, $
JT: Only place to get Jade Noodles and best Thai tea and coffee around.
Hollywood Thai Restaurant
Los Feliz, $$
JT: Killer late night spot with spicy food and fun karaoke.
Palms Thai Restaurant
Hollywood, $$
JT: An LA classic that really started the Thai Town food rage.
Night + Market
WeHo, $$
JT: Next Gen Thai food that’s back to the future good.
Isaan Station
Koreatown, $$
JT: Amazing northeastern dishes.
Pa-Ord Noodle
East Hollywood, $
JT: Tom Yum Noodles like you’ve never had and killer shrimp paste fried rice.
Yai. Image courtesy of @yuyulyulchen
Sapp. Image courtesy of @shanoodles_
Hollywood Thai. Image courtesy of @yod_chaiyod
Palms Thai. Image courtesy of @palmsthai
Night + Market. Image courtesy of @ntmrkt
Isaan Station Image courtesy of @tuckpinyada
Pa-Ord Noodle. Image courtesy of @nidaeatsworld
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Header Image courtesy of Night + Market
Header Image courtesy of Night + Market
