Personally, I love the eggplant and pumpkin dish. But I get it with tofu (telling them they can use fish sauce). It may work better because the starchy pumpkin has a more meaty role.
The cauliflower dish looks much better than the counterpart at Majordomo, which I think is a little simplistic. I look forward to trying it sometime.
Seems like Eater really dropped ball on holy basil. Thought they easily could have been in 19 hot new restaurant in LA but nope, some OC Newport Beach place got a spot. 
Agree. This is easily if not the place for Central/Bangkok style.
Or, they could have changed it to “20 hot new restaurants in LA.”
I love the colors of the food, especially the eggplant pumpkin dish. Brilliant purple, yellow, orange, red, and green
Anybody know what happened last week? I missed it. Vandalism or something?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNJQ3OIhz8S/?igshid=1sh5js0wces2e
https://www.instagram.com/p/CM-So8FB35c/?igshid=u7eljzodcawg
closed to get their second shot
We are Rebuilding:fire: Closed March 28 - April 1
Sounds like a little more than that to me
Maybe they had a little fire? Their food isn’t spicy so I have to figure a fire is involved. Or is that just how young people talk these days?
Certainly could be. I do think that’s part of their social media style guide tho, they use that fire emoji before every post, and super often throughout.
No fire. Just vaccination and regrouping after the nice feature on LA times with full photo spread.
…Well I’m glad we cleared that up. 
Chinese Laundry + Holy Basil
Last month we got a Chinese Laundry Zero Waste Vegan Dan Dan Noodle Kit for our son & his gal at Holy Basil.
They eat mostly vegan and are definitely save the planet type peeps so I thought they’d enjoy this, especially her. They sent me this photo of the finished product. Son did not know what a dan dan noodle was and does not love spice. His girl loves both. She said it was really delicious but it almost melted her tongue off.
And for the parents…
Hubs had the Joy Thai Tea and I had and really enjoyed the Lychee Cold Brew Jasmine Green Tea, both brewed & canned each morning.
A curiosity? A snack? Both. I love potato chips and wasn’t going to pass up a new (to me) flavor. Tangy, salty, gingery, herbal & slightly sweet. I was enjoying them until…
Well that put a damper on things. 
Gra Pow Moo Krob (mild) Wok-fired Crispy Pork Belly, Holy Basil, Long Bean, Bird’s Eye Chili, Garlic on Purple Rice, topped w/Farmer Market Fried Egg.
We had been eating a lot of spice lately and went for mild. It was Holy Basil mild so everything still had a nice kick. The pork shoulder is listed as organic sustainable and I’m assuming the belly is too… at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Crispy porky goodness. 
Kai Jeew Stuffed w/Ground Pork Shoulder
The Kai Jeew was off the charts good. I don’t like well-done omelettes but hubs does. This pleased us both - light & fluffy inside, lightly crispy outside. Flour? Corn starch? And the ground pork shoulder was the flavor! On top of nutty purple rice & douse of hot sauce… So good 
Pad See Ew w/Ecuador White Shrimp - Wok-fried Smoked Flat Noodles, Chinese Broccoli, Free-range Egg, White Pepper, Fermented Soy Bean, XO Sauce
Lots of flavor, savory, sweet, peppery, garlicky, good noodle flavor & texture, solid. My only quibble - one I didn’t note last time because it could’ve been a onetime thing - is they overcooked the shrimp - soft not snappy.
Some good downtown eating!
Actually, my main quibble has also been that the shrimp are a little soggy. The first time I went they tasted snappy and fresh, but after that I was unimpressed. I’m not sure if it is overcooking or freshness / freezer issues. I figured it is the latter because I think overcooking shrimp makes them firmer.
It’s a shame as they’re good shrimp. Idk if they were frozen which could be a definite factor, but overcooking also makes them soft and mealy, which is why shrimp are the last thing added to stews & gumbos.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQBoH8fjHGU/?utm_medium=copy_link
Dry aged steelhead yum
I wasn’t a big fan of this salmon yum. It is so sour, herbal, and oniony, with no sticky rice to compensate. I also felt the salmon didn’t integrate into the dish very well.
The Yum salads typically won’t include rice. I’ve Never had this, but their Yum’s are my favorite part of their menu and their sauces have always been so well balanced. Hopefully it was an one time thing.
