Thaitown: Late Night Eats at Sanamluang Cafe
egg rolls
Clearly the thing to do after bar hopping in East Hollywood is to hit up one of Thaitown’s mainly late night spots. On this night, we chose Sanamluang Cafe. I’ve only been before during the day so it was quite the scene late night. People are seriously grubbing on noodles and downing copious cups of Thai iced tea.
Something fried always sounds right a this bewitching hour and egg rolls hit the spot. They were hot and not greasy. It gave us something to much on while we waited for our meal.
Thai Iced Tea
Ah, glorious caffeine and sugar; the perfect Thai iced tea.
pad thai
My friend opted for the pad thai which he didn’t exactly enjoy. The thing about not knowing what your food tastes like after a few drinks is not true.
morning glory
On the other hand, our morning glory veggie dish was wholly satisfying in only the way garlic-y veggies can be.
boat noodles
And of course I had noodles. Sanamluang does a decent job with boat noodles. But they were even more amazing the next morning…that’s when I really enjoyed the bits of offal, meatballs and broth.
Overall the food is a bit sweeter than I like but sometimes that might just mean it’s more “authentic.” Thais tend to like food on the sweeter side as well as spicy — that’s what that jar of sugar is for on the table. I’ve seen people sprinkle sugar and then douse their food with heaping spoonfuls of pickled chilis and chili sauce.
We’ll be back again– before or after bar hopping.
Sanamluang Cafe
5176 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027 — (323) 660-8006 © The Minty 2013
Our “go-to’s” at Sanamluang are the steamed( not fried) koochai and the pork padseiw. I’m sure my spelling is totally off on those but you get the idea. 2 of my all time favorite late night snacks in the city!
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Ah, will have to try that next time!
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Love your posts about Thai food, as I’ve been wondering if any restaurants in LA serve the street food that we regularly eat in Northern Thailand. We loved Thai food in LA prior to moving, but what we eat on a regular basis there can’t be found at most of the local LA Thai restaurants. Would love to try khao man gai in LA to see how it compares (although we only pay $1 for everything including the soup!). Would love to find our favorite street dish gai yang and mu yang (grilled/roasted chicken and pork), seasoned with garlic and other spices and served with an amazing spicy dipping sauce.
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Hm, I’m not sure but I would try Night + Market in West Hollywood. It’s on Sunset. The family has a number of regular Thai restaurants but the son opened up this space next door that serves more traditional night market food. I love it. Chef Kris is doing a wonderful job with that spot and is opening a second location soon.
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