LAX-C

Thai Costco in Chinatown Serves a Slice of Bangkok Street Food in LA | Eater LA

"Inside the sprawling Lax-C warehouse I grab affordable lunch combos that start at $9 from Lax-C BBQ Express, where the hot bar features a rotating menu of curries, stir-fries, salads, and stews served with jasmine rice and popular options like larb streaked with red Thai chiles and shallots; most hot foods are prepared on-site while some packaged desserts—steamed tapioca layer cakes, sticky rice tamales stuffed with banana and taro, and mung bean rice crepes—are imported from Thailand. There are a few worn booths to dine in but most people take food to go, and the refrigerator next to the bar is filled with freshly pounded curry pastes and chile dips (the young green chile dip, nam prik num, goes well with steamed vegetables and pork rinds, while the roasted red chile jam, nam prik pao, is useful for cooking or spreading on toast). Known affectionately as the two-decade-old “Thai Costco,” Lax-C has grown since opening in 2000 into an essential fixture for the grocer’s employees and the surrounding Chinatown and Thai Town communities." - Kat Thompson