*** Update 01/01/09 – Wat Thai food court had reopened, on Sundays only.
*** Due to neighborhood complaints about parking the Wat Thai Temple food court has closed.
Fairly stuffed on my Sausages and Papaya Salad, I sat watched the various vendors at work while waiting to see what the Missus would "find". It was also fun to watch what others were eating.
Soon the Missus returned with Her "bounty" including a large Sticky Rice with Mango($5.00):
A huge, perfectly ripe mango with sticky rice flavored with coconut. I hadn't had mango so good since I lived in Hawaii! The Missus told me that she had intended to purchase a small plate, but the Lady working the stall in the ultimate display of up selling, waved a huge mango in front of the Missus telling her; "Biiig one, moah betta, biiig one moah betta!" So how could she resist? I'm not quite sure how these vendors managed to get such perfectly ripe mangoes in the middle of Winter, but I'm sure not complaining! This is a "must eat" item if ever visiting Wat Thai.
Among other items; sticky rice with taro and sweet beans ($1.00):
I didn't get to taste this, but it met with the approval of the Missus.
More sausages, two sour sausages, another grilled sausage, and another "sausage patty":
The sour sausages had grains of rice in them and were sour enough to make me "pucker up", and were somewhat addicting. The other sausages were not as good as the versions I purchase earlier.
A fabulous Fish Curry in banana leaf($3.00):
Tasting like a really good panang curry, this little cup had a layer of shredded cabbage on the bottom, followed by a thin layer of thai basil with coconut milk, followed by the wonderfully moist and tender flaked fish in a red curry sauce. This was all topped off with a chiffonade of kaffir lime leaf. An amazing little dish! This same stall was selling meat from roasted pork shank. When you placed an order the pork meat was removed from the bone; chopped and placed over rice, it looked soooo good! But my arteries sent "no mas" signals to my brain which prevented me from ordering that dish. In what was a slightly humorous moment, the Missus asked the Lady manning the stall if she could purchase the pork bones, which the Lady responded "You have dog, huh?", and proceeded to trim off two shank bones, and placed them in a sack. When the Missus offered to pay; the Gal simply laughed and said "No, no, I give you free, for dog!" So even Sammy and Frankie made out!
On the side directly opposite the food stalls, we could see this Woman, busily moving back and forth. She looked like the busiest Woman in the whole food court; but had no customers! So we walked up as she was packaging two containers of white "disks", that a Young Lady came and "swooped up".
Totally intrigued, and having exactly $3 in tokens left, we decided to order the Kanom Krok. The Lady proceeded to oil the cast iron "pan".
And poured a rice and coconut "batter" into the molds.
And green onions are added if you wish. After cooking for a few minutes, and when the batter is starting to "bubble", a sweeter lighter batter is added to top off the Kanom Krok:
The Lady asked us if we wanted to go and take a "walk" around the Temple, and come back in 10 minutes. But we decided to just wait and had a nice chat with Her.
When the sides of the confection has developed a crust and the middle of the batter is starting to solidify, the Kanom Krok is loosened.
Until it's ready:
And it's packed up and ready to eat:
The way to eat Kanom Krok is to place two half disks together to form a sphere and eat them right away – they're Delici-yoso!!! One quick note, the interior of the Kanom Krok is positively molten. So unless you want to become a candidate for a lip and tongue graft, proceed with caution! (Thanks for the reminder MEalcentric)
When you visit Wat Thai please make sure to take a walk around the Temple grounds, you'll truly feel transported to a whole "different world".
There are so many different things available; you can' t possibly try everything in one trip. We're saving the Fried Banana/Taro/Sweet Potato, and the Soup/Noodle stalls for the next time. Yes, there will be a next time!
Visiting the Wat Thai Temple was such a fun and delici-yoso experience; even the lousy traffic on the 101 and 5 freeways, and the almost 3 hour trip back to San Diego didn't dampen my spirits.
Wat Thai of Los Angeles
8225 Coldwater Canyon Ave
North Hollywood, CA 91605
Weekend Food Court – 8am-6pm Every Weekend!
Hi Kirk,
Gosh, everything looks wonderful. I’m dying for some of that khao neow ma-muang (sticky rice with mango). It’s one of my favorite Thai desserts. That fish curry looks almost like haw mok pla and it looks good and spicy!
onreaal grinds li dat are to da max.
I need some or all of the above right now!
“Eat them right away – they’re Delici-yoso!!!” –not too quickly otherwise the molten interior sticks to the roof of your mouth and burns your skin off. How do I know you ask? Really really painful experience.
Man, those pictures bring back great memories of thailand. I need to start planning another vacation over there.
Oh my! These two posts are really tantalizing! Especially so because it’s hard to find really good Thai food down here.
I haven’t had a good papaya salad since I visited Thailand a couple of years ago. I couldn’t believe the difference in the mango they use in Thailand also. It’s much sweeter and softer than the Latin American mangoes that are more typical here. But the one in your photo looks pretty darn good. Maybe they import from Asia?
Kirk,
Everything looks so yummy! Oh the sticky rice and mango…*swoon* I need Thai food!
reviewing outdoor food stalls could spin-off a blog of its own….don’t you think? Weather permitting.
One of my closest friends (who is in LA) has told me about this place numerous times. Now that I’ve read your posts and seen pics I’m dying to go. That papaya salad and chicken satay looks good. I wonder if they have my favorite: tom yum koong?
This all looks so delicious. Sounds like there is something worth going to LA for!
Hi Reid – The mango was perfectly ripe and rice so evenly flavored. The fish curry was just plain amazing!
Hi Clare – So Ono, broke da’ mouth la’ dat!
Hi Jack – I could really get used to eating here.
Hi MEalcentric – Thanks for the reminder, I made sure to mention it in the post!
Hi Howie – I was pretty surprised at how good the mango was as well. I really don’t know where they got it from, but it was very good.
Hi Mills – The food here is quite good!
Hi RONW – Yes, it could. Between the food stalls here, and the food stalls in the San Diego Farmers Market there are at least 20+ posts. But I’d be pretty fat at the end!
Hi Kady – There are two stalls serving Soup and Noodles, most were having either noodle soup or porridge, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one, or both of them have Tom Yum Koong. I’d been waiting to visit here for a few years, and it really lived up to expectations.
Hi norodiam – There are more then a few items worth driving to LA for. Though maybe not too often!
May I say seething with sheer jealously? lol. I’m glad the long ride paid off in dividends!
Hi Kathy – Wat Thai is closer to you, then to me! You may want to visit there one weekend!
Really great photos and descriptions kirk. Love the step by step photos on how the lady made the kanom krok π Mmm why am I reading your posts around dinner time again?
BTW fried banana is really yummy but beware the iside as banana seems to retain heat pretty well.
Y’know in dentistry they actually have a name for burning the roof of the mouth with hot food??? Its known as pizza burn π
Well, that just about does it…no one should ever need to post about Wat Thai Temple again…this was the definitive post.
Oh what am I saying?! I could never hear enough about the Wat Thai Temple…just one of those things that’s awesome about L.A.
Hi Rachel – It’s really great to have you as a “resource” ragarding all things “dental”. LOL!
Hi Elmo – What are you saying is right! 100 food bloggers could post about Wat Thai, and they would all be different and interesting. :o)
Looks awesome. Next time I’m in LA I’m hitting that up.
Kirk, I’m drooling over here, and I just finished lunch! Your photos are so great, and I love the step by step descriptions you provide- it’s almost like being there! Your post has made me add Wat Thai to my “must visit” list- thanks!
Hi JS – Wat Thai is definitely worth a visit. I just don’t know what took me so long…..
Hi Joan – Thank you very much. Taking photos at Wat Thai was so easy, really just aim and shoot. I guess if I really took my time, my photos would’ve been better; but I was soooo hungry!
Oh for the love of God! Kirk, I’m green with envy just looking at these images! That Khao Neeo Mamuang/ Sticky Rice with Mango makes me salivate the most *excuse me* π , if I show this to my husband, he’l go nuts as well
and that Kanom Krok is also a favorite!
oh man! oh man! where to find them here? π
Hi Thess – This was the first time I’ve ever had Kanom Krok, and I know it won’t be the last. LOL!
Having lived in the LA/Orange County area (Irvine), my Thai mother used to take us to the Thai Temple every other weekend back in the day. It’s good to see that they still have a decent selection of food on the weekends.
As a result of a job transfer with my company, I am going to be returning to Sunny So Cal (Irvine) from the cold dreary environs of Minneapolis/St Paul. The Thai food in MSP is OK, however thye seem to tailor it to suit the not so adventerous palates of the region. The first thing I plan on doing on my return is heading up to Wat Thai North Hollywood on the weekend and getting my Thai food eat on. Plus getting some decent Kanom Krok which they don’t offer in any MSP Thai restaurant. For that matter, I have yet to see Mee Krob on their menus as well. Seems like every LA and OC Thai joint has it on their menu.
BTW, any good plate lunch places to recommend in the OC besides L&L. My wife thinks their mac salad is nasty!
Hi Matt – Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Wat Thai is a great food destination. I’m not really sure about plate lunches in the OC. But you might want to check out April’s Site.
http://alohaworld.com/platelunch/
It used to be my plate lunch bible when I first moved to LA.
Also Elmo’s OC Food Blog is excellent as well.
http://elmomonster.blogspot.com/
thank you so much for your info on Wat Thai los angeles.as a Brit that lived in Thailand for 3 years now trying the life in L.A im desperate for thai culture and feeling a little lost in this topsy turvy life style of California!! p.s the som tum looks amazing..thanks again
Hi Andrew – Welcome and thanks for commenting. I’m glad our little blog could be of some use. LA is a very large and sprawling city, I know I was a bit out of sorts when I first moved there. You may want to explore Thai Town, the SGV, and other areas…..
Thank you for posting the Wat Thai!
Are there any more ethnic fairs like Wat Thai around La or OC?
Love the site!
Hi Lin – There are many “fairs and festivals” during the year, I don’t have a calendar handy, but I’m sure that you’ll find them online. If your looking for something like what’s at the Wat Thai Temple; according to Elmo, on his site Monster Munching, there is a weekly Indonesian Food Fair(Pondok Kaki Lima) located in the parking lot of the Duarte Inn. Here’s a link to the post:
http://elmomonster.blogspot.com/2006/03/pondok-kaki-lima-at-duarte-inn-duarte.html
Hello,
The little leaf-cup curry thing is called ‘Hor Mok’. Cambodians make a similar dish called ‘Amok’.