Kua Kling Crispy Pork: dry curry stir fried with asparagus and crispy pork
Pad Woon Sen made with glass noodles, eggs, and mixed vegetables
While visiting Los Angeles in June, I tried Jitlada with my pal Jing, who had been wanting to visit this popular Thai restaurant for a while. Located on Sunset between Western and Normandie in Hollywood, Jitlada is known for its extensive menu and rave reviews by critics like Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times.
When we stopped by, Jitlada was filled with hipster-types, so naturally I thought it would be a good fit. I ordered the Pad Woon Sen, a typically greasy Thai dish of glass noodles, eggs, and mixed vegetables. It was pretty good. The portion was large and it was ideal as leftovers. Jing ordered the Kua Kling Crispy Pork, one of the more adventurous dishes in which they're known. Although she ordered the mildest version of the entrée, it was rather spicy and incidentally too overpowering for her to enjoy. (After sharing my experience with a friend who has also visited, I've learned that a traditional 10 in spiciness is a 14 at this Thai Town hot spot.) While they had solid Thai food, what I ordered wasn't especially spectacular for the price. The dishes were in the teens, or roughly double what I'm used to paying for Thai food elsewhere.
There was a bit of a wait, although it wasn't too bad when we visited on a weekend night around 6 or so. I'd suggest visiting at an off-time or during the week. However, the service was not ideal. While the waiters were good at refilling our waters and taking our orders, our entrées were brought out twenty minutes apart from each other, which seemed odd. Although the food was good, I won't be returning any time soon because of this.
If you've been to Jitlada, how was your visit? What did you end up trying?
When we stopped by, Jitlada was filled with hipster-types, so naturally I thought it would be a good fit. I ordered the Pad Woon Sen, a typically greasy Thai dish of glass noodles, eggs, and mixed vegetables. It was pretty good. The portion was large and it was ideal as leftovers. Jing ordered the Kua Kling Crispy Pork, one of the more adventurous dishes in which they're known. Although she ordered the mildest version of the entrée, it was rather spicy and incidentally too overpowering for her to enjoy. (After sharing my experience with a friend who has also visited, I've learned that a traditional 10 in spiciness is a 14 at this Thai Town hot spot.) While they had solid Thai food, what I ordered wasn't especially spectacular for the price. The dishes were in the teens, or roughly double what I'm used to paying for Thai food elsewhere.
There was a bit of a wait, although it wasn't too bad when we visited on a weekend night around 6 or so. I'd suggest visiting at an off-time or during the week. However, the service was not ideal. While the waiters were good at refilling our waters and taking our orders, our entrées were brought out twenty minutes apart from each other, which seemed odd. Although the food was good, I won't be returning any time soon because of this.
If you've been to Jitlada, how was your visit? What did you end up trying?
5233 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Open: Tuesday - Sunday 11 - 3 and 5 - 10:30
Open: Tuesday - Sunday 11 - 3 and 5 - 10:30
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