Myleen Hollero

Jet Tila

Use the phrase gin jay (eat vegetarian or vegan in Thai) the next time you're at a Thai restaurant if you want to make certain your dish is free of animal product, chef Jet Tila of The Charleston advises.

"We're so conditioned to using fish sauce. The idea of seafood is almost ingrained in Thai cooking. Thai people will say 'Oh yeah, I'll cook vegetarian for you' and they might use fish sauce. It's such a natural part of our diet, so we'd adjust that," says the recently appointed Culinary Ambassador of Thai Cuisine. "Fish sauce is swapped out with thin soy or soybean sauce."

According to Tila, vegetarianism or veganism is often tied to religion. "For a lot of Thais, it's based on Buddhism. For Catholics, some will eat vegetarian during Lent. If someone just passed away, you might eat vegetarian for 30 to 90 days as an offering."

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Myleen Hollero

Jet Tila

Jet Tila has been appointed the first Culinary Ambassador of Thai Cuisine by the Royal Thai Consul General in Los Angeles, tasked with spreading awareness nationwide and making official his unofficial -- and long-standing -- role as a guide to the cuisine.

Tila was tapped for the position after a meeting with the consul general, who sought Tila's feedback on promoting the cuisine last month. The chef's duties will include touring the United States on behalf of the Thai government, giving food demonstrations, making media appearances and coordinating events.

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Hope Lee

faux shrimp at Soho Thai

Lomita is known for two things -- a railroad museum and as the place where Olympian Jim Thorpe died -- and veganism isn't one of them. But thanks to Soho Thai Fusion Bar & Grill, that might change.

Soho's menu features a "Vegan Zone," which includes soy chicken, soy shrimp fish, soy crab, soy salmon and tofu steak. These items can be substituted into any of the eatery's "regular" meals, with a handy reassurance that you aren't getting animal flesh because the menu states that these dishes contain "No Meat, No Fish, No Poultry, No Eggs, No Milk, No MSG, No Fish Sauce, No Animal Products."

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Clarissa Wei

Sticky Rice

The Grand Central Market has been getting a major makeover: a fresh coat of paint, polished floors, WiFi, power outlets and new vendors. "We have empty stalls and we are trying to fill them with new flavors, new cuisines and new tastes," Christophe Farber, director of business development for the market, told Squid Ink.

The first vendor to make its debut: Sticky Rice. The stall is an homage to authentic Thai street food and is the brainchild of David Tewasart, the owner of Soi 7 and Spirit House. The chef is Johnny Lee, who is also at the helm at Spirit House.

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Anne Fishbein

Jitlada

Our 99 Essential L.A. Restaurants issue came out recently, and we're highlighting a few categories drawing from the list. Today: Thai restaurants.

This is not a definitive list of the best Thai restaurants in L.A., but it is a sampling of five that we think are each essential in their own way.

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Barbara Hansen

Jet Tila at Ruen Pair

Want to fantasize that you're Anthony Bourdain, slurping up the same boat noodles that he did when No Reservations explored Hollywood's Thai Town?

Now you can, because the same guide who took Bourdain around will take you, too. L.A. chef Jet Tila, long the go-to person for visiting chefs wanting to do Thai, has just started Thai Town excursions for everybody, in conjunction with Melting Pot Food Tours.

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G. Snyder

Nam Kao Tod at Night + Market

On Sunday night, Kris Yenbamroong held a wine dinner with Lou Amdur (of the much-missed LOU wine bar) at Night + Market, and it was at a level of food and wine geekdom that is both rare and thrilling to those of us who like a little cerebral stimulation while we stuff ourselves and drink too much.

The theme of the dinner was "Lost," and it focused on pieces of food and drink culture that are disappearing, for one reason or another. And so, there were dishes like koa kan chin, a steamed banana leaf pouch that holds jasmine rice fortified with pig blood and served with raw onion, cucumber, dried chile, cilantro and lime. The dish is something Yenbamroong's mother grew up eating in Northern Thailand, but it has since almost disappeared. Yenbamroong explained that the one vendor who sells it has turned to selling iced lattes instead.

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Hope Lee

breakfast at The Vegan Joint

The Vegan Joint can't be smoked, but that's OK because all three locations (West Los Angeles, Hollywood and Woodland Hills) serve breakfast all day. Some might say that's even better than a vegan joint. They'd be wrong, but they'd say it.

Owner Rattana P. (who'd prefer her last name not be used) opened her first Vegan Joint in Culver City in 2006 and a second location in Woodland Hills in 2011. A third restaurant (in Hollywood) opened Nov. 8, so the idea of a 100 percent vegan eatery serving breakfast all day is obviously something that gets people excited.

And how could it not? It's hard to beat chicken pancakes (pancakes and crispy soy chicken) for lunch, or tofu scramble pancakes (pancakes, tofu scramble, faux cheese and soy bacon bits) for dinner -- or tropical pancakes (served with bananas and blueberries).

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G. Snyder

Som Tam at Krua Siri

Some call it East Hollywood, but many more know it as Thai Town, a glowing, neon causeway of great late-night restaurants, karaoke bars and slingers of Chang beer towers. It's an area of town that not only welcomes after-hours consumption but glorifies it --- filled with brimming bowls of pungent noodle soup, plump fried shrimp balls and spicy salads made with a laundry list of exotic ingredients. Here's a rundown of our favorite places to eat in Thai Town.

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Night + Market

Kris Yenbamroon and his grandmother Vilai Yenbamroong

In Bangkok and barely over jetlag, Night + Market chef Kris Yenbamroong of helped his diminutive 81-year-old paternal grandmother, Vilai Yenbamroong, into the back of a white van for what he calls "an epic trip."

Their game plan was to head out of the city up the Friendship Highway through Isaan (northeastern Thailand) tasting along the way in the towns and villages where Vilai had done business decades ago. They'd stay in Udon Thani, a city close to the Thai-Lao border, make day trips around the region and then fly to Thailand's northernmost corner for more discoveries to bring home.

From all accounts the trip was a smashing success for the culinary powerhouse team known for changing Angeleno's perception of Thai cuisine. She, by taking Thai food mainstream 30 years ago, luring the uninitiated with brilliantly prepared dishes in a stylish setting at Talesai, opened with her son Prakas Yenbamroong. And he for upending L.A.'s notion of the cuisine, speaking to his own generation with regional upcountry specialties that had the fooderatti rhapsodizing over fried pig's tails and stunningly aromatic fermented fish-laced nam prik sauces.

Kris Yenbamroong says that his current menu, is "only the beginning." He'll be rolling out his latest obsession, Koi, the powerfully- seasoned finely minced raw dishes of meat, fish, or shrimp (and occasionally river snails) at the upcoming To travel along and sample the booty from this culinary treasure hunt, turn the page.

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