Lum-Ka-Naad Thai

For those deep in the San Fernando Valley, this restaurant in Northridge and Encino has you covered with an expansive menu that includes many of the greatest hits from Northern-style and Southern-style Thai cuisine. Order the fragrant salmon hor mok—an incredible Laotian curried fish custard—and the kanom jean tai pla, a Southern rice noodle soup that’s full of smoky, fermented fish and a bevy of hearty vegetables. If you’re willing to stray from your usual stir-fry and curry order, you can’t go wrong here.