You can't go there just anytime but the Thai Temple on Martin Luther King near Ashby Sunday morning has some of the best Thai food in the area. And it's the most like being in Bangkok that I've experienced since being back. And (drum roll) they have roti's!!!!!

I liked Cha Am in Berkeley, gourmet ghetto, on Shattuck avenue.

So what are some good Thai restaurants in the LA area? I think Saladang in Pasadena is pretty good, but I would like to find others...oh I also know Palms in Hollywood, with the Thai Elvis on Friday and Saturday nights. Any others?

There's a big thread on this over at the East Bay restaurants tribe:

eastbayrestaurants.tribe.net/thr...579a

I'm always a little surprised when people recommend the Thai temple brunch, because some of the stuff there is disappointing. To be honest, I'm also bitter because I remember when you got quite a bit more food when you went there. If you do go, don't get the pad thai (always bland), and the vegi curries are almost always better than the meat curries. The food in the other areas (soup, papaya salad, desserts) is quite good.

IMO, if you want the best, you go to Ruen Pair on San Pablo in Albany, just South of Solano, where there are several very good Thai and Thai/Lao places. It's a little pricey but worth it. The quality and flavor is amazing. Try the crab papaya salad! Their heat scale is the only one I've found that is truly Thai-esque, medium is quite hot and extra spicy is far hotter than I have been able to get anywhere else.

The best options I have found for a little less dough are Sabuy Sabuy in the Rockridge area of Oakland, Lucky House Thai Lao on University at Shattuck, and Thai Lao Kitchen on Solano. All will make the food reasonably hot, and at Thai Lao Kitchen, you can get food hotter than that by asking for it "Lao style spicy" when they ask you how spicy. Saying "I want it really hot" is not enough, you have to use the magic words, "Lao style." Also, Thai Lao Kitchen is really Thai Lao Soul Food Kitchen, so you can also get ribs, blackeyed peas, greens, pie, etc. with both kinds of food prepared authentically.

People speak very highly of Old Weang Ping Village in Oakland, but I so far have only dreamed of going.

Paya Thai in Hayward. Short menu, but everything is homemade and very flavorful. Very quiet atmosphere. My favorite dishes are the Tom Kha Pak (spicy and sour soup with vegatables, straw mushrooms, galanga, lemon grass, and magrood leaves), and the homemade Gang Pak (red or green curry paste with vegetables and coconut milk), at moderate spiciness. Then I'll get 1 or 2 glasses of white wine, which I think is 3 dollars a glass. Very reasonable.