#23 - Night Market Song

Prior to going down this path of eating my way through Jonathan Gold's 101 list, Night Market Song was a go-to anytime Danny and I found ourselves in Silver Lake, and even as a destination in and of itself. What I'm saying is, to date, I'm 24 restaurants deep, and Night Market Song is still my top. Now I've been to SQIRL and it's right up there. The other, A.O.C. was very impressive. But the nom khao tod (crispy rice salad) first up on our table served with a large, cold Singha or Beerlao gets me every time. Sometimes the heat from a birds eye thai chili literally gets me, as in, I'm in tears, can't really taste anything, gulping down the beer to try to make the pain go away. But it's good pain, the kind that when it finally subsides, makes you come back for more.

Danny and I are so enamored by this crispy rice salad, we attempted one at home. It was fun, but didn't come close to what they give us at Song. So we shall leave it to the experts.

It should be noted that we make this vegetarian - no pork in our nom khao tod.

But....that's not all!

Usually the adventurer, when it comes to thai food, I stick to the old favorites. Night Market Song doesn't have my typical curries, so I usually go with the khao soi jay which are mae sai curried noodles with tofu and mushroom. The entire dish is topped with pickled mustard greens, red onions, cilantro, bean sprouts, and chili jam. I always end up taking about half home and it makes for stellar leftovers.

the crispy rice salad. Beautiful & Tasty

curry noodle bowl!

ummm....no. just no.