Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - Yai Restaurant 7 Years Later (Los Angeles)

Just before this latest wave of Covid-19 infections, we decided to take another road trip; this time to Oxnard....yes, Oxnard. And, if you've been reading our recent posts, you'll notice that the Missus has been quite enamored with Thai food recently.

So, as we headed up the 101, the Missus requested a stop on Hollywood Boulevard at the edge of Thai Town....requesting a revisit to Yai Restaurant. Funny thing, when I checked on our last visit to Yai, I was shocked to find out it was seven years ago! And our previous visit was seven years before that one! Time sure does fly.

There was quite a bit of construction going on close to the restaurant; though it seems that there are now homeless encampments all along the 101. The location still looks a bit worn and the Yai sign is now quite faded. It does look like they've done a refresh on the interior though.

Our Server was quite efficient and we chose a table in the far corner. Wouldn't you know....geez, even with all the open seating in the place, two parties would arrive and insist on getting tables next to us....sigh.....

We had our aim on two dishes we've had before and the Missus wanted to try one additional item.

Things started with the BBQ Duck with Chili and Garlic which we had and enjoyed on an earlier visit.

As before, the duck was on the chewy side....but also as before, that wonderful garlic-basil-chili flavor with a hint of sweetness.

The Missus wanted to try the Som Tom, so we ordered it "spicy"......which, well it wasn't. We've always thought of Yai to be on the Thai-Chinese end of the spectrum.

This was still quite good though. Loved the cut of the papaya, you could tell, based on the rough edges, and different sizes, that it wasn't "bought in a bag"...in fact, we saw one of the women actually cutting the papaya. Nice acidity, perhaps a bit light on the fish sauce, loved the dried shrimp which added nice savory tones.

Of course, the one item we just had to have was the Black Egg Pow. This was as good, if not better then we recalled.

Man, I'm not sure how they fry up that pidan, but it's crisp on the outside and oh so creamy. That basil forward sauce has a nice hint of spice, balanced sweetness, good garlic tones, and is just plain wonderful.

We were so happy with our meal. And though the prices have gone up quite a bit....it's been seven years after all, and the portions are smaller...it's actually more in line with true "Thai portions" like we had in Thailand. We didn't order any rice with our meal.....after all, I still had a bit of a drive up to Oxnard....the woman working said "oh, you are trying to be healthy" when we didn't order any rice. And then when I paid,  she gave me a couple of cookies for the road, "because you had no rice, you might get hungry." It just kind of put that "cherry on the top"; you know what I mean.

For some reason, the fact that Yai was just as good seven years down the line just made us feel great........we felt blessed that in this time of Covid, we were able to get out for a bit and grateful for a wonderful meal.

And hopefully, we won't have to wait another seven years to have that Black Egg Pow again.

Yai Restaurant
5757 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Comments

[Soo]

That's nice people like to be near you. I like to park in an edge spot near the far side of the parking lot and often someone will park next to me.

[kat]

glad you were able to reconnect with this restaurant and hope you can return soon!

[Kirk]

Well not necessarily so during the pandemic Soo.

We hope so too Kat!