Best Thing We Ate This Weekend: Spicy Catfish at Wat Dong Moon Lek

By Lesley Balla

Sure, we may have tasted Heirloom LA's fried chicken smothered in sausage gravy, Border Grill Truck's quinoa fritters, and Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches at Barnsdall Art Park's final wine tasting of the summer on Friday night, but there was still room to share spicy curries and noodles at Silver Lake's Wat Dong Moon Lek, just a hop and a skip from the Hollyhock House on the hill. The strip-mall joint has expanded - it's now twice the size, with a new cleaner and sleeker look, but with the same funky art on the walls and friendly service.

Like many nearby Thai restaurants, you choose the heat level with any dish, and we volley between 7 and 10 depending on the ingredients. We love the crispy rice salad, which always delivers great spice, and the green curry with tofu was delicious. But a friend recommended the spicy catfish curry, which is basically crispy pieces of fiery catfish fueled by whole peppercorn strands and red chilies. There's so much flavor here, it is dynamite - and we mean that in the best sense. Thank goodness you can take your own beer (no liquor license yet) because we needed it to cool down.