Remodeling a restaurant is a risky proposition. If a restaurant is closed long enough, customers may find good alternatives. If the remodel changes the basic vibe of the restaurant, this too can cause customers to seek other options. In the case of Ayara Thai, the owner’s children decided to keep their clients interested by starting a pop-up called Ayara Luk.
Ayara Luk is a culinary project of Ayara Thai. In Thai, ‘lūk’ means child. From their website: “Our goal is to adopt our parents’ recipes and expand on it with dishes inspired by our experiences as first generation Thai-Americans. Our changing menu is small and curated to feature favorites from Ayara Thai, our take on classic Thai dishes, and environmentally-conscious ingredients. To us, these changes mean infusing our contemporary values with the Thai culinary heritage that we have inherited from our parents.”
Ayara Luk is operating their pop-up out of the old Chalet Edelweiss space on Sepulveda near LAX. This is a stone’s throw from their parent’s Ayara Thai on 87th Street in Westchester and they were fortunate to find a suitable vacant space nearby.
Ayara Thai is probably best known for their pad thai and some consider it to be the best in LA. While I think their version is tasty, I prefer some of their other dishes more. I have visited them a few times with co-workers and here is my take:
Pad See Ew with Chinese broccoli
Pad See Ew Beef consists of broad flat rice noodles stir-fried with beef tri-tip, organic eggs and Chinese broccoli in a sweet soy sauce. The flavors work well and I like that it isn’t as greasy as some other Thai restaurants.
Green Curry Beef with brown rice
Green Curry Beef is in a full-flavored curry broth with strips of Thai eggplant, bamboo shoots, green peppercorns and topped with fresh basil. It is the perfect dish for a chilly day. The combination of the temperature and spiciness of the curry broth will keep you warm inside.
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- Kra Tiem with tofu
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- Thai Ice Coffee
On a Meatless Monday, I went vegetarian/healthy and selected Kra Tiem with tofu and brown rice. Small cubes of tofu are stir-fried with chopped garlic and cilantro root. The dish was loaded with garlic and the tofu didn’t do much for me. If I order this again, I will probably choose beef as my protein.
Khao Soi with pickled vegetables and chili oil
My favorite dish at Ayara Luk is Khao Soi. This is a northern Thai dish that was influenced by people living in nearby Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is made with a curry-like sauce containing coconut milk and combined with boiled egg noodles, shallots, lime, organic chicken leg and topped with deep-fried crispy noodles. The addition of boiled and deep-fried egg noodles, chicken, lime, and shallots really elevate the curry broth.
The menu is divided into small and large items. Appetizers, bowls of soup and salads are considered small and priced at $5. Larger items are priced at $13. A regular “set” is a good deal at $15 and includes a small and large item and a non-alcoholic beverage. A premium set is $20 which substitutes the beverage with beer or wine of that day.
Street parking is almost non-existent. Fortunately, there is a large parking lot in the back of the restaurant. There is also a rear entrance to the building from the parking lot.
I think the Asapahus kids have done well. I like the personal message on their receipts.
According to their Yelp page, Ayara Thai is scheduled to reopen on July 2, 2018.
Ayara Luk, 8740 S Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045; 310.881.4498
http://ayaraluk.com