LUNG YAI THAI TAPAS

Food: 4.5/5

Ambiance: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Food with an attitude? I dig it. After all, I did live in Philly where you either know how to order at Pat's cheesesteaks or you go to the back of the line. Lung Yai Thai Tapas is oddly similar to Pat's. It's awesome Thai food, with an edge. I went to see a play last night in Calle 8 and a friend recommended we try Lung Yai. We were warned, you only get one chance to order. If you're halfway through your meal and decide there's something else you want to try... tough luck. But a little sass is fine with me as long as you can back it up with awesome food. So we walked down Calle 8 to Lung Yai. The restaurant is a hole in the wall but the decor is pretty cute with hanging patio lights and greenery. We waited a little bit (no reservations accepted) and then trusted our friend (who is a genius at ordering awesome food) to do her thing.

We started with crispy mushrooms. Delicious. Dip them in some sweet chili sauce and you've got yourself an awesome appetizer.

We also ordered the fried spring rolls. Though they were delicious, it felt a little repetitive after the fried mushrooms in sweet chili. I'd order the mushrooms and skip the rolls next time.

Tom kha is easily one of my favorite soups ever. And Lung Yai's tom kha is delicious. The coconut mixed with that lemony flavor...in the words of my husband, I could eat a gallon of this stuff (that's why I love him 😍)

Time to pick a curry and we went with the crowd favorite massaman. Though I wanted green curry, I was not mad. This curry was soul food. Flavorful and warm and delicious and yum.

While ordering, a girl sitting in the next table waved me down. "Order the khao soi gai!" I do as I'm told and I'm so glad I do. Inside, egg noodles, up top crispy egg noodles. That's noodles TWO WAYS. Revolutionary. The curry was kind of similar to the massaman but it was so good it didn't matter. Do not skip this dish.

We ordered the pad see ew because noodles. Yum yum yum. I've had lots of pad see ew, this took flavor to another level. Happy tummy over here.

My friend (the goddess of ordering awesome food) recommended the pad woon sen. This was a nice departure from all the meat and chicken. Still noodles (because we're smart people) but mixed with lots of yummy veggies. I was afraid it would be missing something but they packed a lot of flavor into all those greens.