Road Trip: Wat Thai Temple - North Hollywood Part I

*** Update 01/01/09 - Wat Thai Food Court has reopened on Sunday's only

*** Due to neighborhood complaints about parking the Wat Thai Temple food court has closed.

The weekend "food court" at the Wat Thai of Los Angeles, the largest Thai Theravada Buddhist Temple in the United States has long been a food destination on my "list" of places to see and eat. After seeing various posts on Chowhound; Monster Munching, and Professor Salt's blog, You gonna eat that?; and several years of coaxing and cajoling, the Missus finally gave in to a "short" road trip up the I-5, from San Diego to North Hollywood for a Saturday eating frenzy.

We left fairly early and made what could on some days be considered an ill-conceived 130 mile trip in a brisk 90 minutes. Once off the freeway, and taking the turn at the corner of Cold Water Canyon and  Roscoe Boulevard, you immediately see Wat Thai Temple looking quite out of place, looming above this land of auto repair shops, service stations, and the adjoining residential neighborhood. We had purposely chosen a fairly early morning during winter, that didn't coincide with any festival, so that we would not have to compete with the masses for parking or seating, nor have to wait in lines for any long period.

At 915 in the morning, all the vendor stalls are open but there are no lines:

And the fragrance of ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and Thai herbs are floating in the air. Noah seems to have designed this "food court". There are two of everything. Two stands making papaya salad, two "sausage/meat" stands, two stands making soup, and so forth.

The Vendors take no cash; instead you go to one, or more of the "token" booths and exchange cash for tokens.

After exchanging our cash for tokens; the Missus went off in one direction, and I in another. I made a beeline for this booth in the middle of the food court:

I had already pretty much knew what I would be ordering, but since there were no crowds I could take my time, and I looked over the larb and other sausages.

But my sights were set on having a Papaya Salad($3.00), even in the dead of winter.

And so while the Lady was hard at work at the mortar, I had time to look around.

And ordered a chicken satay($1.00):

Perfectly grilled; slightly charred around the edges, moist and mildly flavored, this was very good. The Missus was very surprised at my display of restraint; I didn't order any beef or pork, or any other of the satays.

I did order this interesting "sausage"($2.00):

If someone knows what this mystery meat is called, please let me know. It's a nicely formed rectangle of "meat", spotted with garlic and rice, with a slightly crunchy, almost tripe like, gelatinous strings going through it. The sausage was dense, garlicky, and slightly sour. And not the slightest bit salty; I had expected "Spam on a stick", but this was not even close. I really enjoyed the flavors and textures of this "mystery meat".

I also slid over to the booth next door and ordered a grilled sausage skewer($1.00):

Very similar to a"formed" sausage patty; this was nicely flavored, and quite dense. Nice pepper and garlic, and a slight sweetness throughout the sausage.

Finally, my Papaya Salad was ready:

As I sat, I took time to admire this melange of ingredients; green beans, peanuts, julienned green papaya, and tomato were readily visible. Along with a generous amount of Blue Crab.

The salad was as close to the most perfect Papaya Salad I've ever had! There was such balance and harmony(in such an appropriate venue) between the fish sauce and lime juice, the tomatoes added a touch of sweetness and kept the sour lime juice in check. The interplay of textures between the papaya, green beans, and peanuts was excellent, if on a menu, it could be called "crunch, three ways". The crab added at briny, salty component, that was tempered by the lime juice. The "heat" was perfect; I'd gotten medium. Spicy, but not so spicy as to block out all of the other flavors. This was delici-yoso!!! Even on a winter day, where everyone around me was having soup and porridge, this Papaya Salad was King.

I ate half of everything, and saved half for the Missus. But where was the Missus?

To be continued.......

Comments

[ed]

Wow. Damn, I'm jealous. Wow!

[RONW]

glad you decided take the 130-mile road trip. Back home in the Hawaii, that's driving around the island twice without using the Pali tunnel. But yes, the atmosphere of the food stalls is lot more leisurely than being inside a restaurant. Sure couldn't capture that ambience without a camera though. Also, the enlargement-enabled photos were really worth viewing, especially for the square ? sausage.

[milgwimper]

Kirk,

How I am jealous the food looks really good. The papaya salad sound really good compared to the ones so far I have eaten. I wish I could snag a taste of that crab salad! I can't wait to read where the Missus had wandered to, and which provisions she chose. :)

[elmomonster]

90 minutes! You must have been red-lining it all the way!

This is going to be the penultimate post on the Wat Thai feast...I can tell!

I can't wait to see part 2!

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - You know, this might be on your way down from Monterey, if you time it right.

Hi RONW - Those sausages were delici-yoso!!! The trip was worth the 260 miles round trip. Though I would've appreciated a aplce to nap in between.

Hi Mills - We did have a blast! The papaya salad was excellent.

Hi Elmo - I waited several years for this; I was sure as heck getting my money's worth! LOL!

[Joan]

Kirk- I had NO idea that they had something like that in So Cal! My friends and I used to go to a much smaller one when we were students at UC Berkeley, so your post brings back memories of some delicious eats! I can't wait to read Part 2 :)

Any idea if they have something similar to this in SD? My mouth is watering!

[Pam]

Kirk, Wow, you were in my hood (well sorta, my old work hood anyway)...and shame on me, I haven't even visited Wat Thai yet (on my list of things to do)

Hey I'm slowly getting around to meeting all of us food bloggers (met Kristy & Dylan the other day!), so if you're ever up this way again (or if we're in SD), email me and we'll go get some chow!

[clare eats]

I LOVE Papaya salad!!!!!!! That looks so so so delicious-oh

BTW Buggah I'm gunna wop yo'jaw with my pidgin now that I have pidgin to da max

Ack!!! I can't wait for the rest of the post!!!!! Please be quick!

[MEalcnetric]

You are a true soldier. Thats a looong drive but it looks like it paid off. Interesting how in Thailand, all foodcourts are a no cash business. You buy your tickets then proceed into the food court. So the Wat Thai temple set up is the real deal.

[Anna]

Hi Kirk,
Yum! I love Thai food too, especially papaya salad. I made a huge bowl of this stuff the other day, following David Thompson's recipe(you have a copy of his cookbook "Thai Food" like me!).I was inspired to make it after reading one of your New Year resolutions to cook a recipe from each cookbook you own. This was my first attempt at a recipe from his cookbook, so thanks for giving me the inspiration too :) The slab of meat you are referring to is called nem chua (in Vietnamese, I 'm not sure of the Thai spelling). It is fermented pork with pork skin, garlic etc. There should be a recipe for it in Thompson's cookbook too.

[Kirk]

Hi Joan - Unfortunately I'm not aware of any place like this in San Diego. It was a fun (and filling)road trip.

Hi Pam - Will do! can't wait for your post, done in the most "gluttinous" fashion!

Hi Clare - Eh, no get high mucka-mucka cause you can speak da' kine pidgin la' dat!

Hi MEalcentric - That's really great to know!

Hi Anna - I've had Naem, several times - usually at Lotus of Siam in Vegas, and in other places locally - it's never looked like this; and the Missus also bought some link style sausage that were labeled as "Naem", so I really don't know, but I'll take your word for it. But they were good! Papaya salad is one of my favorite Thai/Laotian dishes.

[Kathy]

Ohhhh, dear that blue crab, it looks too delicious! And what a good deal for only $3. Think of all the labor that went into that dish!

[Rachel]

Kirk, you big tease ! Will be exciting to see what your next post brings. Your first few photos looked just like the outdoor food court type places in Thailand. You must have felt like you were transported to a different place all together! I love places like that, when you step into them, its like being on a holiday!

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

Everything looks delicious and the prices seem quite reasonable. The papaya salad look especially delicious.

As for that big hunk of processed meat, if you asked someone Thai what it was, they would probably tell you that it was spam or luncheon meat. From here, it looks almost like the luncheon meat that you get on banh mi.

[clare eats]

Ey, I no can da kine if you da kine li'dat. I Make ass da pidgin I max out every time.

[Jack]

Kirk, I've heard about this for years but have never even come close to going. This is looks like it is a must-do. Great post and pics!

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - There quite a bit of labor in making the papaya salad; and it tasted really good!

Hi Rachel - The ambiance really added to everything. This was a fun little "road trip".

Hi Reid - I think this might be a fun stop if you're ever in the area. the prices are very good, and so is the food.

Hey Jack - Definitely worth a visit! Thai New Year is in the middle of April; it may be crazy, but I'm sure it'll be a blast.

[Kirk]

I Clare - I think you are taking pidgen to the max......

[clare eats]

LOL
hehehe sorry, I had to hassel someone! and you have such a good sense of humour ;)and know pidgin and can laugh at how silly I am :)

[Kirk]

Hi Clare - It is really funny...to the max! Doesn't bother me at all, but at times you're creating your own original pidgen english! LOL!