Jason P.
Yelp
Bok Bok Baby Buriram (BBBB) is Chef Onanong Insamran Copelenko's restaurant on the main drag of Hollywood Blvd (2051A Hollywood Blvd.) You know her from her food stall at Yellow Green Market.
It was previously a Korean restaurant named "Bok Bok Baby". Chef On decided to keep the sign, but that is all that is left of the original concept.
In my estimation, it is -the- most hardcore Thai restaurant in South Florida right now, and very few typical or boilerplate items are on the menu--it is not for beginners or for someone who has never been exposed to Thai food before.
Saying that this Thai restaurant is the most hardcore and authentic is a strong statement even for myself, especially since we have some very good places now, like Larb Thai Isan and Kan's Thai Kitchen in Fort Lauderdale and Just Thai in Deerfield Beach. But it is really that serious a Thai place.
The menu consists of street food dishes from her home city of Buriram, which is in Isan (northeast Thailand). The food is by default VERY spicy, so don't order anything above medium unless you have a death wish.
We ordered a whole bunch of stuff. The "Tum Tum" salad section on the second page has a lot of raw seafood, so if you have hangups on eating raw crab, shrimp, clams, and oysters, I would go for one of the regular ones. But if you like ceviche-type dishes, by all means.
We got a spicy oyster salad in her homemade pickled fish sauce with a lot of crispy fried onion. It is outstanding, but you need to be a raw oyster fan.
Oh, and if you don't like fish sauce (!!!!) and funky flavors, this place is not for you.
Thai Isan sausage is the real deal, although the fermentation in On's is less than Larb Thai. This is not a bad thing because the sour flavor can be overpowering if you aren't used to it. But it's a great appetizer to start off with and to munch with the raw vegetables, herbs, and pieces of raw thai bird chile.
Get some beers because you're gonna need it.
Pad Kaprow (holy basil sauce) stir fry is excellent; it is easily one of the best I've had locally.
Moo Ping/grilled pork is super juicy and flavorful and comes with an excellent "jeaw" dipping sauce.
Morning Glory (water spinach) sauteed in an oyster sauce with thai bird chiles is an excellent vegetable dish, but it will bite you unless you order it without the chiles.
The crispy pork (pork belly) and crab noodles are a twist on ba mee moo deng, and it's terrific, but ask for extra dressing/sauce as it is a dry noodle.
Honestly, I would have loved to have ordered more stuff, but it was just the two of us. If you can bring some friends it would be ideal. They even have a large community table for an extra large party, or those who don't mind sharing a table.