(not as spicy) Lao Meal @ Spicy Thai Lao- Sun. March 9 @11am

After Sunday's successful meal, I contacted Kaew at Spicy Thai Lao, if she was willing to replicate this menu at a lower heat point. She advised Sunday's food was made to a heat level where four or five minutes later, you could still feel the heat. She commented her medium was set for 90-120 seconds of lingering heat. I inquired if she could set this (never really thought of experiencing heat on a timeline before) for a lingering heat of a minute or less.

While I expect some will consider this a dumbing down of their cuisine, I consider making it approachable for those whose heat threshold is lower. What is intense for me, may be child's play to someone else ... though both of us may be challenged at at different heat levels presented. If you have zero heat tolerance, save yourself time and money to come another day for a sweet variant.

Bringing beer, wine or spirits is fine and the restaurant has a selection of soft drinks available for purchase. The dining room is small so unfortunately there has to be a limit of 20. For this price point of $20, it also requires a minimum of ten reservations. If you sign up and haven't canceled by the end of Wednesday the 5th, please consider it a firm commitment (Kaew needs an accurate head count so she can shop).

Don't be in a rush, because this last dinner was eaten over four hours. Perhaps this second time around may go a bit faster, but maybe not.

Appetizers

Egg rolls

Lao style chicken wings — Fried chicken wings pre-marinated in tamarind, langa root, lime leaf, lemon grass, white pepper, and dried Thai chilies; served with a Lao style dipping sauce and fresh cucumber.

Lao style cucumber salad — Fresh sliced cucumber mixed with tamarind juice, lime juice, garlic, and dried Thai chilies.

Lao style beef jerky — Beef strips marinated in black sauce, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, garlic, white pepper, and sesame oil.

Soups

Kow tome — A Northeastern soup usually eaten for breakfast, made with garlic, cilantro, onion, and rice.

Lao style tom yum chicken soup — Made with langa root, lemon grass, lime leaf, basil, rice powder, green onion, and ma-gwen spice.

Salads

Jackfruit salad — Young jackfruit, rice powder, fish sauce, onion, cilantro, basil, tamarind, lime juice, and dried Thai chilies.

Lard neua — Ground beef, rice powder, dried chilies, onion cilantro, basil, fish sauce and lime juice.

Bamboo salad — Bamboo shoots with rice powder, dried chilies, onion, cilantro, basil, fish sauce, and lime juice.

Som tum — Papaya, fish sauce, pala (homemade fish paste), tomatoes, lime juice, tamarind juice, green beans and garlic.

Entrees

Lao style chicken sausage — Homemade sausage made with ground chicken, langa root, lemongrass, lime leaf, salt, Thai chilies, and Lao spices.

Pad cha squid — Young peppercorn, bamboo, ga-chai root, lime leaf, green and red curry, dried Thai chilies, Thai eggplant, bell pepper, and carrots.

Batu lard prik — Fried mackerel topped with dried chilies, garlic, onions, fish sauce, and lime leaf.

Beef pad tamin — Stir fried beef made with turmeric, lime leaf, lemon grass, langa root, bamboo, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers and basil.

Desserts

Coconut ice cream with sticky rice

Mango with sticky rice

Cost is $20 with tax included, tip is not included. Please bring cash, including some small bills for the tip.

Spicy Thai Lao is in Burbank at 5357 S State Rd (a diagonal street), a couple miles south of Midway Airport. It's a few blocks northeast of 79th & Central, in a small strip mall with a parking lot in front, easy to miss when approaching from the north. Be aware that all north-south streets between Cicero and Harlem are interrupted by a train yard from about 65th to 73rd. Traffic on Cicero south of Midway can be challenging sometimes so plan accordingly.

Reserved:
1. Cathy2
2. Helen
3. Ms. Ingie
4. GAF
5. Rob Dirks
6. Deb Dirks
7. Toria
8. Frank

I would like to attend.

I would like to join as well. But I wonder if we could start at Noon. Sunday March 9th we move our clocks forward an hour (spring forward, fall back), so 11 am is "really" 10 am.

GAF wrote:I would like to join as well. But I wonder if we could start at Noon. Sunday March 9th we move our clocks forward an hour (spring forward, fall back), so 11 am is "really" 10 am.

I will have to check and frankly I didn;t pay attention to clocks changing.

The timing was chosen before due to this restaurant opening later on Sunday.

I will certainly ask!

Regards,

Hi,

A preview in pictures of our meal can be found here.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

GAF wrote:I would like to join as well. But I wonder if we could start at Noon. Sunday March 9th we move our clocks forward an hour (spring forward, fall back), so 11 am is "really" 10 am.

I will have to check and frankly I didn;t pay attention to clocks changing.

The timing was chosen before due to this restaurant opening later on Sunday.

I will certainly ask!

Regards,

Any word yet on whether the start time can be moved to noon?
TT aka Sleepyhead

Hi,

I will stop by there on Saturday. The reason for the start time has to do with when they open their business on Sunday, which is 2:30 pm. If we begin at 11 am, then we finish around the time they open. It is manageable for them with this timing.

This is not a restaurant accustomed to large groups, so it would be nice to bend with them.

Regards,

Hi,

Menu has been slightly amended taking into account feedback from the earlier lunch:

Appetizers

Egg rolls

Lao style chicken wings — Fried chicken wings pre-marinated in tamarind, langa root, lime leaf, lemon grass, white pepper, and dried Thai chilies; served with a Lao style dipping sauce and fresh cucumber.

Lao style cucumber salad — Fresh sliced cucumber mixed with tamarind juice, lime juice, garlic, and dried Thai chilies.

Lao style beef jerky — Beef strips marinated in black sauce, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, garlic, white pepper, and sesame oil. with Kimchee and sticky rice (kow-neo)

Soups

Kow tome — A Northeastern soup usually eaten for breakfast, made with garlic, cilantro, onion, and rice.

Lao style tom yum chicken soup — Made with langa root, lemon grass, lime leaf, basil, rice powder, green onion, and ma-gwen spice.

Salads

Jackfruit salad — Young jackfruit, rice powder, fish sauce, onion, cilantro, basil, tamarind, lime juice, and dried Thai chilies.

Lard neua — Ground beef, rice powder, dried chilies, onion cilantro, basil, fish sauce and lime juice.

Bamboo salad — Bamboo shoots with rice powder, dried chilies, onion, cilantro, basil, fish sauce, and lime juice.

Som tum — Papaya, fish sauce, pala (homemade fish paste), tomatoes, lime juice, tamarind juice, green beans and garlic.

Entrees

DELETED Lao style chicken sausage — Homemade sausage made with ground chicken, langa root, lemongrass, lime leaf, salt, Thai chilies, and Lao spices. INSTEAD Isan Chicken Sausage-made with sticky rice, lemon grass, salt, and garlic (mildly sour)

Pad cha squid — Young peppercorn, bamboo, ga-chai root, lime leaf, green and red curry, dried Thai chilies, Thai eggplant, bell pepper, and carrots.

DELETED Batu lard prik — Fried mackerel topped with dried chilies, garlic, onions, fish sauce, and lime leaf. INSTEAD fish cakes (Tond-mon-Pla) made with red curry, butter fish, green onions, and tapioca flour

Beef pad tamin — Stir fried beef made with turmeric, lime leaf, lemon grass, langa root, bamboo, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers and basil.

Desserts

Coconut ice cream with sticky rice

Mango with sticky rice

Cathy put me down for two. I will bring Frank he really likes spicy food.

Hi,

If anyone else wishes to attend, I have two spots left. I could include more, though I know they prefer a minimum of 10.

Regards,

I assume we are still on for eleven am dst.

Yes, we are on to 11:00 am, the new time!

I am leaving now.

Cathy

Hey guys, how was the (not as spicy) meal? This article reminded me that I hadn't heard a report back, also thought it might get a laugh.

laikom wrote:Hey guys, how was the (not as spicy) meal? This article reminded me that I hadn't heard a report back, also thought it might get a laugh.

Yeah and where are the pics?

Helen posted them to Facebook. Cathy needs to get them from her and post here.

HI,

The only pictures I plan to post are food not served at the original dinner. I'd rather highlight than repeat.

Regards,

So how was it?????

We had a lovely few hours of delicious (for the most part - not a fan of Bamboo Salad), terrific company and light conversation. Our hosts were salt of the earth, very accomodating and hopefully off to a prosperous business.

C'mon folks. Let's have some details, please. Was anyone at both meals? I'd be curious to know how they differed and I'd also love to know about which dishes were only served at the not-as-spicy meal.

=R=

I wasn't at the first outing, so I can't compare. I will say that the owner/cook was very accomodating. Even though the heat level was dialed down, there was sufficient spice with great flavor. Robert and I did manage to inadvertently bite into a hot Thai chili that is encased within the chicken sausage. I must have only had a small amount, but I had quite the burning sensation on the left side of my mouth. Robert, on the other hand, had tears rolling down his cheeks. The other wise diners pulled the peppers out of the sausage before eating. Some of my favorite dishes included Lao Style Chicken Wings and Lao Style Beef Jerkey. Favorite salad was the cucumber. Loved the sweet sticky rice, and the coconut ice cream with sticky rice was divine.

Ms. Ingie wrote:I wasn't at the first outing, so I can't compare. I will say that the owner/cook was very accomodating. Even though the heat level was dialed down, there was sufficient spice with great flavor. Robert and I did manage to inadvertently bite into a hot Thai chili that is encased within the chicken sausage. I must have only had a small amount, but I had quite the burning sensation on the left side of my mouth. Robert, on the other hand, had tears rolling down his cheeks. The other wise diners pulled the peppers out of the sausage before eating. Some of my favorite dishes included Lao Style Chicken Wings and Lao Style Beef Jerkey. Favorite salad was the cucumber. Loved the sweet sticky rice, and the coconut ice cream with sticky rice was divine.

Sounds like the sausage was the same at both meals. At our meal, it was heavily studded with Thai chilis and some bites were really fiery. I loved the wings, too. I think my favorite salad was the som tum.

=R=