I couldn’t believe I was going to say it, but I did anyway. “This is the most flavorful thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.”
Owners of restaurants who serve food from other countries, food known for bold, strong, spicy flavors, often admit to lessening the intensity of dishes for their customers here, especially those who do not have similiar backgrounds.
Having not been to Thailand, but having eaten plenty of bland, almost sweet Thai food in this country, I can attest to the utter vibrancy of Songtham and Panida Pinyolaksana’s Elephant Jumps. It’s that good kind of smack in the face, the kind where you want more.
A seemingly innocuous bowl of shredded papaya suddenly radiated: It was spicy and sour and tangy, everything dialed way up, like the volume of a Kelly Clarkson song when you’re in the car alone.
The dish was served with beautiful shrimp, sticky rice and pork rind, and this was just a starter.
Order from the first few pages of the menu for curries marrying comfort with sparks, like the hang lay curry with pork. It’s a deeply flavorful, nuanced dish. There are always a few specials here, and it’s a good idea to order from that chalkboard, like a whole fish served extra crispy and with a biting vinegar sauce decked with Bird’s eye chilies and garlic that could double as the best bloody mary mixer. But that’s just me, dreaming and eating and thinking of being on a beach far away in the Pacific. Like they say at Passover, next year in Jerusalem. Maybe for a food-lover, next year in Thailand. Or Merrifield. • 8110 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church
(April 2017 Best Asian Restaurants)
