Lacha Somtum — Restaurant in Los Angeles

If you're looking for a Thai restaurant that does not serve (1) repetitive Central-Thai staples such as noodles, curries, and stir fries or (2) overpriced northern Thai street food, then look no further than LaCha Somtum, one of the newest Thai-Isaan restaurants in Thai Town. Isaan cuisine features much more bold and complex flavors compared to the Chinese-influenced pad see ew, pineapple fried rice, or curries that Angelenos commonly associate Thai food with.

At LaCha Somtum, the first course brought to our table was som tum, a papaya salad that is iconic to the Isaan-Thai diet. LaCha presents 18 variations of papaya salad on the menu. Each type is a slightly different spin created with a hodgepodge of herbs, cold vegetables, or seafood pounded heavily together with a pestle inside a stone mortar. We ordered the traditional "poo dong" variation which includes several pieces of cold salted raw blue crab. Green papaya shreds were accompanied with green beans, cherry tomatoes, and chili peppers before being aggressively doused with a pickled fish sauce (pla ra), which leaves your mouth with an initial pronounced rich, sour, slightly bitter, and tangy taste after each bite into the crunchy papaya strips. The chili taste was delayed as the heat didn't kick in until a minute after consumption. It then produced a lingering burn to my tongue, despite specifying a medium spice level. This papaya salad looks muddied and unappealing as a result of the fish sauce application, but don't judge by appearance, it was the best spicy papaya salad I've eaten in LA.

You can't talk about Northeast-Thai food without mentioning larp. Therefore, we ordered a variation that LaCha calls "Kon Kaen-style larp pet", which is stir-fried shredded duck topped with toasted rice powder. The duck meat was chopped into very fine bits, and the product was moderately dry which complemented the chewy and crunchy texture. It was lightly seasoned with dried spices, soured with lime juice, and of course, ground Thai chili was sprinkled throughout the dish. I had to consume this tart and spicy salad with khao niao (steamed sticky rice served in kratip) which served dual purposes: to mitigate the heat and to provide a firm consistency that balances the crunchy larp.

After tackling two spicy salads, it was time to round out the meal with a taste bud challenge. We went for the tom saep. This soup really encapsulated the complexity and funky nature of Isaan cuisine. It contained a combination of spicy, salty, tart, and sour flavors extracted from a number of Thai herbs and spices. There was a choice between pork ribs, fish eggs, chicken ovaries, or chicken feet as "poor-man" toppings, but I would consider these meats as fillers with less importance than the spices infused in the tasty broth. The soup could easily be mistaken as a tame broth since it is appears thin and clear. However, after a few sips, I realized that there were heavy doses of lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaf injected in the soup and my best description would be "a pleasant explosion of rich flavors". The tom saep was my guilty pleasure in the meal - a bit overpowering in sourness, potently acidic, and unapologetically hot, but somehow it produced an internal delight that made me ask for one more refill.

From the three traditional Isaan dishes I ordered, the recurring theme appears to be "hot". The heat level was staggering. However, it is not the term I would use to define Isaan food. Some dishes from the south may be equally as hot, as seen at Jitlada or Emporium Thai. What makes Isaan cuisine so special is the integration of multidimensional flavors spanning the spectrum of spicy, tart, and salty. It is impressive that a blend of simple ingredients cooked with basic methods can still yield an exotic balance of...

This is my fave Thai food in Hollywood/Thai Town and let's be honest, all of L.A. First, they have their own delivery people! (never trust those 3rd party delivery services). You could miss this place if you're not looking. It's just right on the side of Hollywood Blvd somewhere between Western/Vermont in a small row of shops. I get delivery and eat at their locale. Inside is adorbs with big cushions on the chairs - very homey, but pretty. Bathroom is clean. Incredibly friendly staff! Now to the food. Cold spring rolls have monster sized shrimp, although I love a good fried roll. I've had a few other dishes, but I'm a creature of habit and can't stop ordering the yellow curry fried tofu. Warning: it's spicy! I usually go with mild, so my dog can dive in, too, but the mild sometimes is spicy for her. I once tried medium and didn't finish the leftovers. But, that's me. If you have a tongue that can handle it, go...

Wanted to try something new near our hotel and the dishes were phenomenal. I've never been so sad to find such an amazing restaurant solely because it's not in my city. I would love to come back just to come here again, endless options. We shared our dishes so we could try more of the food and all were just as delicious but with very different flavors, and definitely must try the dessert as well! Only negative, though it did not effect my review as the food was perfect, was the service was a bit slow. Even though restaurant was not too busy the staff was not very attentive to put in our order, bring out some of the food, and to pay the check. Honestly added about an hour to our meal time because we didn't want to be rude/impatient. Spent about 2 hours there total. Though, I was not too bothered as I had good...