My friends and I went to Siam Sunset (http://www.yelp.com/biz/siam-sunset-los-angeles) for brunch today, and it was delicious as always!  This is the perfect place for those who miss the street vendors in Bangkok.  The restaurant offers over 100+ authentic Thai dishes, from Khao Mon Gai to Hoi Tod.

Oddly enough, the restaurant shares its entrance with a shady motel, so you may have to walk into the model courtyard to enter.

We started off with the Chinese donuts with condense milk.  This is a popular street snack that people often eat with hot soybean milk.

After the Chinese Donuts, we ordered Gra Paw Pa, Tom Yum Noodle, and Khanom Jean.  Be sure to add additional spices according to your liking.

Siam Sunset is also known for their delicious Khao Mon Gai, so we also ordered one to share.  Khao Mon Gai is basically steamed chicken on top of delicious rice, served with a special sauce and hot soup.

After brunch, we went to Lax-C (http://www.yelp.com/biz/lax-c-los-angeles), which is a Thai Grocery Wholesale store that serves local restaurants and smaller grocery stores.  This is a perfect place for those who like to purchase food in bulk.

We also stopped by Thong-lo, which appears to be a Thai Desert store, but in my opinion, it is still missing many of the popular snacks, so you are better off heading over to Thai town.

Thai Town in Los Angeles

Thai Town is centered along Hollywood Blvd between Normandie Ave and Western Ave.  If you are coming from Downtown Los Angeles on US Route 101 North, be sure to take the Hollywood Blvd exit and turn right.  There is a sign showing Thai Town as you approach the Hollywood Blvd.

The closest subway station to Thai Town is the Hollywood / Western Red Line Station.  After exiting the subway station, be sure to turn right and you can find a number of authentic Thai restaurants within a block or two.

One very obvious indication that you are now in Thai Town is the big Thailand Plaza sign, which is situated in front of the Silom Supermarket, where you could also find a Thai Cuisine and a book store named Dokya.

Silom Supermarket offers many Thai and Asian dry and frozen food as well as fresh produce.  You could also find many Thai fruits that are in season like Durian and Mango.  I usually stop by for grocery items such as oyster sauce or sweet and sour sauce for eating with chicken.  They also offer many delicious deserts (kanom) from various local merchants.

In addition to books and magazines, you could also find many Thai music and movies at Dokya for a premium fee.  You could also subscribe to receive Thai magazines in the mail through Dokya, which is very convenient.

There is also a small shop right in front of the Silom Supermarket that offers some information for subscribing to dooTV (www.dootv.tv), which is an entertainment on-demand service that allows you to stream Thai movies, lakorn, music videos, game shows, and other Asian movies and drama series from Korea, Japan, and China.  The dooTV service is very similar to Netflix.  If you are interested in subscribing, be sure to have a good internet connection that is fast enough for streaming videos.

You could also find many fresh Thai produces such as the Holy Basil for cooking your favorite Thai stir fry dishes.  The supermarket also offers a variety of paste for cooking your favorite curries and tom yum soups.

The Silom Supermarket offers a variety of Thai dry and can foods.  You could find anything from mama noodles to the delicious Rambutan in cans.

Also in front of the Thailand Plaza is the Brahma Buddha statue.  Remember to pay your respect to the Buddha as you walk pass to the New Hollywood Plaza, which houses a variety of Thai shops and restaurants.

Next to the Thailand Plaza is the New Hollywood Plaza.  The plaza houses many restaurants and shops for Thais and tourist.  Most local Thai Americans usually stop by Red Corner Asia, Ganda,  Ruen Pair, and Gang Moo Gob for authentic Thai food while most tourist would visit Thai Patio.

 You can find many delicious Thai deserts and sweets at Ganda (http://www.yelp.com/biz/ganda-siamese-cuisine-los-angeles).  The restaurant is only one of the very few that claims to offer delicious sukyaki that is comparable to what the MK Restaurants offer in Thailand.

Ganda is the perfect place for those who do not like to wait too long for the food.  The restaurant offers pre-cooked foods that you can and choose from.  If you can't find it on the display, there are also a variety of items that you can choose from the menu.

Ban Kanom Thai is my favorite place for finding delicious Thai deserts.  Although you could find many items that are pre made and ready to eat, the place offers a few special fresh, hot items on the weekends.  Just remember to stop by in the morning before they run out.

You could find fried deserts or ice cold deserts like shave ice with delicious toppings or a bobba.  My favorite is the shave ice with red mung beans and grass jelly.

I also like to stop by the place for some chines donuts, which goes very well with hot soy bean drink.  

My other favorite item is the Tao Kae Noi seaweed snacks.  The place offers Tao Kae Noi snacks in a variety of flavors, but my favorite will always be the original fried seaweed.

The North Hollywood Plaza is one of the few places that I visit on a weekly basis.  Whether if its authentic Thai dishes or groceries, this plaza is definitely a one stop shop for your those who misses Thailand.

Making Merit on Chinese New Years

Happy Chinese New Years! As part of my Chinese New Years celebration, I went to make merit (tam boon) at Wat Thai (or Thai Temple) of North Hollywood along with some friends.  The temple is about a 20 minutes drive(with no traffic) from Downtown LA.  Depending on when you arrive, there may or may not be many parking spots.  Please keep in mind that there are two parking lots, so if the lot near the gas station is fulled, go around the block to check the other one.

The merit-making process involves giving food, grocery, or daily supplies along with donations to monks and the temple.  This process took place in the main building with two large statues (yuks).

Inside, you will find a big golden Buddha placed next to a number of smaller Buddhas, an area where the monks sit, and an area that allows you to obtain materials for the merit-making process.  

There are many donation boxes for those who wishes to make donations to the temple.  You can even place your donations in a basket that is associated with the birthday (i.e., Monday, Tuesday, etc.) you were born.

Donation boxes associated with Chinese New Years.

Typically, people will bring their own dry food or daily supplies for the merit making process.  The temple also provides a package consisting of dry food, daily supplies, flowers, and water.  They also provide you with a piece of paper for writing your wishes that you can place in an envelop.  It is suggested that you make your donations right of way in the donation box in the area if you choose to use this package.  

Area where you can find the package for merit making.

Package provided by the temple for the Merit Making process.

  

After merit making process, most people will go pay their respect to the big golden Buddha and/or the emerald Buddha.  The temple also provides you with incense for this process.  There's also an area where you get your fortune reading for entertain.  While some may disagree with my choice of the word "entertainment," I believe that I am fully capable of making my own future.  Since it was Chinese New Years, the monks had also given us a gift (a plastic bag filled with two oranges) to start the new years.  

After merit making, I headed over to the food court that can be spotted by the green tents in the lower ground, behind the flags.  

There are a variety of foods for purchase at a very small price (cash only).  You can purchase many popular Thai dishes, including boat noodle, kanom jean, papaya salad, moo ping, fried bananas, curries.  My favorite dish there is the stew pork leg with eggs (paw-lo).

I was told that you could always find a number of food stalls offering a variety of popular dishes on sundays a few years ago.  Those days were long gone after the nearby neighbors had filed a complaint to the city about the associate noises.

After eating the delicious food, the temple has a variety of statues for you to see and take photos with.  A walk around the main building with two big statues is definitely a great way to walk off the heavy eating.  In addition to being a temple, it's a wonderful Thai cultural center.  There's even a library filled with many Thai literature for all ages.  For those interested in the Thai language or culture, the temple offers many sessions for teaching dance, music, meditation, and the Thai language.  The teachers here are very knowledgeable and very patient to work with students of all ages.

  

After walking around the main temple, we decided it was time to head home.  Parking could be a challenge at times, and when we got to our car, there was another car patiently waiting for our spot.  It feels great after making merit.  I like to do this at least once a month if schedule permits.