Anajak Thai

and Happy Days Cafe

Happy Days Cafe.

Churros and chocolate are the thing here.

Chocolate filled on display.

Plain churros.

Hot chocolate was good.

Menu at Anajak Thai.

Their signature fried chicken is excellent.

Papaya salad (som thum) was delicious too.

Laab tot was good but skippable.

Haw mok (custard curry) was interesting. Much better reheated the next day.

Grilled cabbage was meh.

Dessert wine. Good but not $23 per tiny pour good. Inside.

Inside.

Outside was a bit windy.

Early dinner with Dr. Bauch as that was the only booking we could get at Anajak Thai that worked for our schedules. I ended up a bit early so grabbed a hot chocolate at the rather charming Happy Days Cafe beforehand; sadly I had to skip the churros con chocolate as I didn't want to ruin my dinner (getting old, sigh...).

Quick stroll over to Anajak Thai, where their outdoor seating (at least today) did not look great due to the wind, while inside felt like a cross between a wine cellar and a restaurant. Service was pretty good and their signature Southern Thai fried chicken is excellent. Som thum (papaya salad) is also tops, while I found the laab tot (pork meatballs) tasty but generic enough to be a pass. Haw mok (custard curry) was much better the next day over rice as opposed to when fresh, the custard is definitely a different style to most. Grilled cabbage was decidedly meh, although again the next day it was better, with the heat (spice-wise) definitely showing more.

Wrapped up with a solid but ultimately overpriced dessert wine (I forget which but $23 a pour was ouch). In the end, great to finally dine at one of Los Angeles' hardest-to-book Thai places, even if it felt like it failed to live up to the hype.