Yai Restaurant, Thai Town and Los Feliz

It's always great to hear about another restaurant in Thai Town, and that's especially the case when the recommendation comes from well known local Thai chef Jet Tila. In fact, Yai was number one on the list of restaurants that Jet put together for KCRW's Good Food a few weeks ago, so that was more than enough reason for me to try it. Even better, Jet provided a list of his favorite dishes at each restaurant which made the discovery process even easier.

I'd had deep fried catfish at the old Palms Thai before, a whole fish, flash-fried to a crispy golden crunch while the inside stays moist and tender. Yai fries the whole fish too, but it's been cut cross-wise in half-inch slivers so that you can pick up and eat each little piece which is crispy almost all the way through. It's served with a red chile paste on the side so you can add your own level of kick. Jet recommended the Pad Thai but I couldn't resist trying Pad Kee Mao instead, my favorite Thai noodle dish made with the wider rice noodles which are pan fried with chicken and topped with some fresh basil. Perhaps my favorite dish though was the starter of papaya salad that my friend David suggested we order. The sweetness of the fresh papaya played perfectly with the salty, savory fish sauce and dried shrimp while chile peppers packed some heat. It's that amazing balance of flavors that makes Thai food so satisfying and exciting all at once. I look forward to working my way down the rest of Jet's list of favorites and then making my way back to the top to try Yai Restaurant again.

UPDATE:

A second outpost of Yai's Restaurant opened in February in the strip center at the corner of Hollywood and Vermont. The spanking clean interior and relatively more upscale digs make the whole Yai experience all around more pleasant. Best of all, the food is just as good and the servers couldn't have been nicer.

Yai Restaurant
5757 Hollywood Blvd, just east of Western Ave
Hollywood
323 462-0292

and

1627 N Vermont Ave
Los Feliz
323 644-1076