The 5 Things You Need To Know About In-Chan

By Garrett Snyder Thu., Nov. 1 2012 at 8:00 AM

Categories: Cheat sheet, Thai Cuisine

Anne Fishbein

nam prik ong at In-Chan

In-Chan Thai Cuisine is the subject of this week's restaurant review. Here's a taste of what you can find in the review, as well as a few extra tidbits:

Food: Make sure to ask for the special Northern Thai menu, which isn't given out to most patrons unless specifically asked for. Order of it and you can't go wrong -- fragrant curries, herb-flecked pork sausage, and mortar-pounded chile dips known as nam prik. From the review: "If you frequented Spicy BBQ, you probably would find many familiar things here: the khao soi, the distinctive spicy chicken soup with yellow egg noodles, smoothed out with coconut milk until it has the texture of velvet, garnished with crispy fried egg noodles and served with diced red onion, crunchy pickled greens and a fat slice of fresh lime. You might also be pointed to the gaeng hung lay, a deep red curry sweetened with palm sugar and stocked with chunks of fat-streaked pork belly, or the spicy jackfruit, a sauteed heap of the starchy tropical delicacy, shot through with funky shrimp paste and bombastic amounts of garlic. "

Vibe: A small strip mall space decorated with bright colors and Thai tourism posters, In-Chan would be ideal for a lazy lunch or early evening supper.

History: Owner Sanan Intasen and his family opened In-Chan less than a year ago, but before that had run Sweet Lemongrass in North Hollywood, a Thai spot best known for it's fermented pork sausage. Before that, Intasen was one of the founding partners at Spicy BBQ, another very popular Northern Thai restaurant in Hollywood whose menu is near identical to In-Chan.

Vital Statistics: in-Chan is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. There's no alcohol served, but make sure to try their house-made lemongrass tea, steeped from long stalks of the tropical plant. Servers are young, friendly and speak English. Parking is available in any one of the adjacent strip malls.

Take Away: In-Chan's exciting take of the distinctive style of Northern Thai cooking is well worth a trip to Van Nuys. For the full story on why we like this place, read the full review.

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