Lom Wong Is Battling Glai Baan for the Thai Food Crown
Lom Wong
Years ago, I thought to myself, “I wish there was more good Thai food here. Like, sit-down good, not takeout good.” Then Glai Baan materialized. Then I thought, “What if we had even more?” And Lom Wong appeared, and it’s just as good! Maybe better! Then I asked for a gold brick and it never came. A shame, really. Anyways, Lom Wong should be on everyone’s go-to list this year (and forever) because it’s exactly what your taste buds have been missing. I mean, where else can you get a piña colada with fish sauce?
Downtown - 218 E Portland St
Awards + Accolades
Reviews
I’m nuts about Lom Wong, and I’m guessing you will be, too. The Martins’ light, herbaceous food – slightly less spicy but plenty savory – offers a compelling education in Thai culture and culinary traditions, and I can’t think of a more effective way to do it.
- Nikki Buchanan, Phoenix Magazine
The plates at Lom Wong are mighty in flavor, but small. We enjoyed four prior to dessert. One or two more would have been welcome. It can be pricey to fill up, so go with a group to get more bang for your buck and sample seasonal menu items that you may not be able to snag next time.
- Natasha Yee, Phoenix New Times
The flavors are bracing and vivid, even when reserved. A deep cooking-with-love travels from Thailand’s temples and village kitchens and seaside cook fires through Lom Wong’s cooks and food and to you. Each meal is a song of a faraway place, songs that, some certainly, you’ve never heard before.
- Chris Malloy, Phoenix New Times
What to Get
Ae Kan Khlak Ti
The year may come when I don’t have some dish from Lom Wong on my list, but 2023 is not yet that year. The one I fell hard for this time is a seafood curry (Ae Kan Khlak Ti) that’s a beautiful contrast of smooth sweetness and stinging spice. You can literally see hand-pounded curry paste swirling together with cool, sweet coconut cream — bright orange eddies of turmeric, fresh chiles and Makrut lime leaves, drowning a beautiful piece of fish.
- Dominic Armato, Phoenix New Times
Kaeng Hang Lay
Kaeng Hang Lay, a tamarind-accented curry that the Martins say fuses Burmese and Northern Thai styles, was ornate, huge, and delicious — fragrant of lemongrass and delicately spiced, with lime and a galaxy of fragrant botanicals moving back and forth like the swirled inside of a marble, rich, rich, rich with pork belly and soulful leakings of its rendered fat. Easily one of the best things I ate in 2020.
- Chris Malloy, Phoenix New Times
Kaeng Phet Charinda
Signature dish: Kaeng Phet Charinda, an unusually light, brothy beef curry dish made with hand-pounded chile and succulent makheua eggplant.
- Phoenix Magazine
Gai Tawt Won Pen
A handful of them exude an appetizer vibe, so if you like to eat in a linear Western way, consider starting with Gai Tawt Won Pen – fried chicken from Alex’s honorary Thai grandmother Won Pen. Six plump drumettes, marinated in herbs and spices, are fried to deep brown crunchiness and sided with nam jim gai, the sweet, spicy Thai red chile sauce you surely already know. This dish could easily make a “best fried chicken” list.
- Nikki Buchanan, Phoenix Magazine
Yam Mamuang Boran
Best Dish in a Supporting Role - Winner
- Foodist Awards 2023
