"Since transitioning from street vendor to brick-and-mortar, Mai Malai serves a much bigger menu featuring crispy shrimp omelets, pad thai, and housemade Northern Thai sausage full of fragrant lemongrass. That being said, you’re still coming here for the boat noodles, which are some of the best in Los Angeles. For roughly $9, you’re served a small cup of chewy rice noodles, juicy pork meatballs, and crunchy pork rinds with an intensely sharp, spicy, and sour broth. There’s a slight offal funk swimming in this soup, too, but it's cut with fish sauce, lots of herbs, and sweet basil. Just know that when we say this soup is spicy, it ranges from mild (spicy) to Thai spicy (heart palpitations), so trust your gut." - brant cox, arden shore, garrett snyder, sylvio martins