Pok Pok arrives in Chinatown, joining its nearby sister restaurant Pok Pok Phat Thai in bringing Thai street food to LA. Unlike Pok Pok Phat Thai, there is liquor—a full list of cocktails (all $12), plus beer, wine and plenty of bourbon, whiskey and scotch. The cocktails get a Thai twist, like the Vietnamese Coffee, Grown Up Style (Vietnamese coffee spiked with brandy) or the Heat Ray (tequila, Som celery drinking vinegar, fresh lime and Thai chili). There's also a "Drinking Food" category on the menu at this location, with dishes like Laap Thawt Isaan (deep-fried spicy pork laap with lime leaf, $8) and Plaa Mauk King (char grilled dried Thai cuttlefish, $7).
The Da Chom's Laap Meuang ($17), a plate of spicy hand-minced pork "salad," comes piled high with aromatics, spices, herbs, cracklings and crispy fried shallots. Some of the spicier dishes, such as this one, are served with phak sot (fresh herbs and raw vegetables), so that you can take a bit of cucumber to cool down after an especially hot forkful. An order of sticky rice is encouraged with most of the shared dishes, including the Kai Yaang—a half ($14) or whole ($24) grilled chicken stuffed with lemongrass, garlic, pepper and cilantro that is one of Pok Pok's signature items. Also fantastic: Phak Buung Fai Daeng ($10), red fire water spinach with a hefty serving of Thai chilies. For dessert, the Pok Pok Affogato ($8) is a fun alternative to the usual version, made with condensed milk ice cream drowned in a shot of Vietnamese coffee, with fluffy house made Thai-style crullers on the side.