Thai Town in L.A.

I had heard of Thai Town before, but can't ever recall going there. After our long day at Universal Studios, we headed back to Pasadena for dinner. But were stuck in traffic on 101, so I did a nearby search on Yelp and ended up with a long list of Thai restaurants. We were right by Thai Town!

So we speeded off the freeway and ended up at Saap Coffee Shop. Once again, it was a total hole-in-the-wall, but hey, there was a parking space right out front! And it was virtually empty - this might have been due to the fact that they were about to close in 30 mins. They serve from 7 am, so the owner was worn out by 8:30 pm.

This place was known for its Thai Boat Noodles (kway tiao reua) - in fact, as I found out later, Anthony Bourdain had included it in one of his episodes of "No Reservations". This is basically a spicy beef broth with noodles and various kinds of meat added. The truly adventurous add tripe, liver, tendon and blood. Me? Just beef balls, thank you - I'm Thai, I don't have to prove anything ;) The food was good and the soup hit the spot (I was still chilled from a wet ride on Jurassic Park at Universal).

Next doors was a little Thai dessert place that had lots of different homemade desserts. And a large TV blaring a satellite Thai station. Just like home.

Thai Town was wonderful - many, many places to eat. Thais like their food. Plus video rental shops, book shops, travel agents etc. With all the signs in Thai. If we weren't so tired, I would have liked to explore it a little more. Next time...