Emporium Thai: Southern Thai Cuisine in Westwood
by guest blogger @iam_robot
I remembered a few years ago Thai food was considered an exotic cuisine prevalent only in big cities. These days, getting a Thai food fix is becoming an easier process than locating the next Starbucks. And they’re often mediocre – heat is often tempered while sweetness accentuated to adjust to American palates. Therefore, I’m always looking for a good Thai Food - something a little better and different from the conventional.
I remembered a few years ago Thai food was considered an exotic cuisine prevalent only in big cities. These days, getting a Thai food fix is becoming an easier process than locating the next Starbucks. And they’re often mediocre – heat is often tempered while sweetness accentuated to adjust to American palates. Therefore, I’m always looking for a good Thai Food - something a little better and different from the conventional.
Last week, I was very excited to attend a tasting at
Emporium Thai Cuisine in Westwood. This place has been open since 2000 and
it’s owned/ operated by the same family as the super famous Jitlada on Sunset
Blvd. Rumor has it, this is the place where Jazz and Tui of Jitlada started out
before venturing out on their own.
Nevertheless, Emporium Thai Cuisine is a cut above the
usual. Focusing on authentic Southern Thai recipes, Emporium is swank but the
price is right. It offers an extensive selection - beyond the usual suspects
like green papaya salad, chicken pad thai, pork satay, fish cakes and various
curries, they have other lesser-known but even more intriguing dishes to try–
Crying Tiger Beef, Khao Yam (fragrant rice salad with dry shrimp and coconut), Mussel
Soup, and Crispy Pork Pad Prik King. If you're like me, you'll want to try them
all at the highest heat level. I love how all the dishes can be customized to
our preferred spicy scale of 1 – 10, with 3 being moderate and 10 being
devilishly spicy.
Below are the dishes I tasted that night:
Coco Mango Salad with Fried Tofu
Coco Mango Salad with Fried Tofu
This is a very common Southern Thai appetizer. What struck
me with this dish were the variety and vegetables, herbs, spices and accents in
the salad. Shredded raw mango, dried coconut, Thai chilies, lime juice, and
deep fried tofu were all present in perfect proportion. I thought this dish was
a great way to start – light, refreshing, sweet and a tad spicy. In terms of texture,
I really like the tofu crispiness and the red onion crunch.
Crying Tiger Beef
This is the same Crying Tiger Beef I always ordered at
Jitlada. 5 years ago, I remembered I had to go to Jitlada the next day after
watching Curtis Stone cried his eyes out proclaiming “hot, hot, hot” at The
Best Thing You Ever Ate (Food Network). Essentially, this dish is char-grilled, marinated beef served with their homemade chili sauce. If I have to guess the
chili sauce is made with shallots, onions, mints, fresh Thai chilies and lime
juice. I love this dish so much! Meat is sliced thinly but very tender to the
bite. The sweetness from the beef marinade complements perfectly with the heat
and tanginess of the chili sauce. This is my definition of fun-eating!
Southern Curry with Chicken and Fish Balls
John Sungkamee, the
owner, hailed that this curry is his family’s 30 year old recipe and I really
like the balance of savory and creaminess here. I suspect creaminess came from
the inclusion of coconut milk while the jicama, basil & bell pepper brought
up a distinct natural sweetness. I also liked the homemade fish balls, very
crunchy and didn’t feel gelatinous while chewing. My two-cents here is that I wish the
dish packed a little more heat.
Seafood Hor Mok
To be honest, I don’t normally go gaga when I had a really
good Thai food but after sinking my teeth into this dish, I wished I could keep
eating this. This dish is a melting pot of shrimp, crab meat, and scallop baked
with chili, coconut and Thai basil. It’s a blissful symphony – just the perfect
balance of sweet, sour, salty, and hot. I mean, this is what Thai food is
supposed to be – bold flavors with distinct tastes and textures. Hands down the
best dish of the night!
Khao Yam
Khao Yam
This is another Southern Thai dish I never had in my life.
Khao Yam is basically a Thai Rice Salad. It’s an amalgamation of fragrant rice
with grated coconut, dry shrimp, micro-sliced kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass,
pennywort and turmeric leaves. Then all these ingredients are mixed together
with a sweet fish sauce. While I appreciate the craft and the brazen approach,
gotta admit, this was my least favorite dish. Thought the sweetness of the fish
sauce overwhelmed all the herbs, spices and accents presented in this dish. I
wished there’s a perfect counterpoint to the sweetness but I couldn’t find it
here.
Pad Prik King with Crispy Pork
So here’s the omnipresent Thai street food. You’ve probably
encountered it in your life more than once. If you’re not familiar, Pad Prik
King is string beans and crispy pork stir fried in red curry sauce. I loved the
texture of the pork. When you bite into it, the skin has salty bits of crackling
while the flesh oozed out red curry. Party in your mouth! It’s hard to only eat
a few; I had to get two or three spoonfuls. Eat this dish with rice and you’ll have
yourself a hearty comfort food.
Mango with Sweet Sticky Rice
No matter how full I am, there’s always room for Khao Niao
Mamuang. This is probably the best Khao Niao Mamuang I’ve ever had. The sticky
rice was sweet and creamy (from coconut milk), thought I was eating a pudding.
Love the natural sweetness and hint of tang on the ripe mangoes. Second serving, please!
Overall, I think my experience at Emporium is quite delightful.
Emporium has been established for a long time, and I’m glad to see John
Sungkamee’s daring approach and constant dedication to excellence. Even if you
decided to order Pad Thai or Pork Satay, you can rest assured the dish will be
carefully executed and it will taste different (in a good way) from the typical
Thai fare. I can’t wait to come back and I will request my dishes very spicy.
Emporium Thai Cuisine
1275 Westwood BlvdEmporium Thai Cuisine
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 478-2838
http://www.ethaicuisine.com/
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