Renu Nakorn

The Last Word in Thai

An eerie silence fell over the dinner room of Norwalk’s Renu Nakorn last Friday evening. The romantic purrs from young couples suddenly stopped and the cries of young children inexplicably halted. The source of this silence? Heaping, steaming platters of Thai food. With noses flaring from the chile heat of their meals, grown men were reduced to tears as they held on to their loved ones tightly. Their food had arrived. Have you had good Thai food? I mean Thai that satisfies the part of your brain that rarely gets touched, that Siberian nether region of your cerebellum which lay dormant which is now awakened by a sensory explosion. That's good Thai.
I arrived for a birthday celebration for my niece. My brother brought his three other kids and a rather large, lumbering kid named TEENAGE HUNGER. Considering me an expert on these matters, they graciously let me order half the entrees. I order nam-prik-noom a green sauce with pork skins, a spicy mean green Northern Thai specialty that we Latinos prefer to call chicharones con jalapenos. My brothers kids are nuts. They called for more heat. All right then! These are kids after my own heart. Here comes the red curry shrimp, the nam kao sod, and the hot hits playlist: pad thai, pineapple fried rice, white rice, and boat noodles on a beautiful bed of greens.
The silence was deafening. These kids are quiet! Wait, the whole joint suddenly went quiet. Do you know Norwalk? It’s the awkward stepchild Orange county doesn’t want and LA county ignores. But with the demise of Bobo’s Fun House, Norwalk has one last claim to fame. Renu Nakorn is the best Thai join this side of Thai Town’s Jitlada.
I walk out of the place satisfied with my Thai food buzz. I notice a patron studying his menu like it was a sacred Torah text. He looks Latino so I recommend the chicharones. He won’t know the difference.