Jitlada

In between flying around the county, I had the chance to try out a local LA restaurant that has long been on my infamous "To Eat At " list- Jitlada.

A small hole in the wall restaurant, Jitlada has been listed as one of the best Thai restaurants in LA by many sources including Jonathan Gold. As a lover of Thai food, I had to find out for myself.

Meeting up with an old swimming friend from Singapore and her boyfriend, we ordered a bunch of dishes and shared it up family style.

First up, the ever popular and most quintessential Thai dish (at least in the minds of non-Thais)- Pad Thai. The Pad Thai at Jitlada was a little wetter than what I am used to, with more of a thick gravy sauce than a light coating of seasoning.

However, I must note that I do have a vague memory of eating Pad Thai in Thailand itself and thinking that the noodles there were too wet... So maybe the wet style is the traditional style?

Either way, there was nothing too spectacular about this dish. But I also kept in mind that Jitlada is more known for their Southern Thai food, as opposed to the traditional style that we know.

On recommendation of our server, we ordered the Prawn Flambe. With" Flambe" in the dish's name, I was expecting drama and excitement, and maybe a little explosion of flavor in my mouth. Instead, the prawns came drenched in a thick overly-sweet peanut sauce that taste something like mole, and not only were they not fresh, they were also overcooked and powdery.

Additionally, the dish cost a whooping $23 for just 2 jumbo prawns. What a rip off!

By this time, I was starting to feel a little let down. Did we just happen to order all the wrong dishes? Or did all those critics get it wrong?

Then the Morning glory salad- fresh watercress that is lightly battered and fried (think tempura), topped with red onions, fried shallots, cilantro and shrimp, and dressed with a spicy house dressing- arrived at our table and my faith was instantly restored.

The textures of this salad were marvelous, with the light tempura crips of the watercress educing joy with every bite I took. The vinaigrette dressing added a perfect sweet and salty combo that made all the flavors of the salad pop. Even the red onions played a part in this gastronomic symphony, adding just the right amount of bite. Now this is what I was waiting for! 

We also ordered some Tom Yum soup,  a dish that I always feel the need to order when I dine at a Thai establishment. Their Tom Yum soup had some nice intensity in terms of heat and sourness, but again, like their Pad Thai, it wasn't anything that you couldn't get at your neighborhood take out Thai restaurant.

And lastly, we ordered the Crying Tiger beef aka why do they insist on naming this dish so weirdly aka my favorite dish of the night. Tenderly cooked pieces of beef were served along side a spicy Asian-esk salsa sauce that was sweet and sour and spicy all at the same time. Mmmm I salivate just thinking of this dish.

So, do I agree with all the critics that Jitlada offers up some of the best Thai food in LA? Would I make the track back there again to get my Thai fix?

Well, yes and no. I don't think I sampled enough of their specialty of Southern Thai Food. So yes, I would go back to give it another try. Do I think they serve the best traditional Thai food? No- I've had better Pad Thai and Tom Yum at any other Thai eatery. So, yes and no.

Details:
Jitlada
5233 W Sunset Blvd. 
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 663-3104