​Sharing Some Lovin’ with a Nong-La Lunch

Yes, its Valentine’s so here’s the obligatory post. Well, not really but reason enough. There’s always a bunch of places in the neighborhood you walk or drive past and think – we should check this out sometime. So today was the right day and time to check out this Thai place I’ve been eyeing since I moved to Hollywood. Called Nong-La, its nestled between a series of businesses on La Brea. The outer area has these green creepers growing over the window rails that makes it look very cozy compared to all the other buildings around. Since I live close by, this was the lunch spot today. Most folks seem to prefer to sit outside on the semi open porch area and it can get pretty noisy real soon so we opted for indoors. Started out with the Thai tea and iced coffee. Both perfectly milky and sweet as expected. For lunch though, despite what looks like a limited menu, there is a reasonable amount of dishes to choose from, even though I stay away from pork/pork products, and they do have a lot of dishes with pork added in the mix. The husband settled for a beef pho bowl while I chose the curry chicken with vermicelli. I thought it would be a smaller portion compared to typical pho bowl sizes but it actually turned out to be the opposite. So yes, there it is, the bowl of curry chicken with vermicelli and sweet potato. Just the right balance of salt and spice, lemongrass and onions. I could savor only half of it though before having to resort to a box to go. Ended the lunch with their caramel flan. Perfect ending to a lovely lunch with lovely company (read:husband).