Traffic outside obscured the sound of Santa's sleigh landing on the Thailand Plaza Restaurant Sunday afternoon. But all of a sudden in he popped with a sack of gifts for the little kids who were waiting.
Parents brought them up to sit in his lap while dads and friends took photos. It wasn't an entirely happy occasion. The littlest ones screamed with rage and fear. Who was this devil in a red suit who didn't speak Thai?
Not in the least disturbed, Santa did his job and with a ho ho ho sleighed off to some other engagement while families stayed behind to eat.
Throughout the holidays, Thailand Plaza is featuring the green papaya salad som tam as prepared by visiting chefs from Thailand.
Winners of a national som tam contest, they have devised such creative versions as a som tam hamburger (actually, a chicken burger with Thal seasonings accompanied by som tam sauce) and tempura som tam. In this one, shrimp and strands of papaya and carrot are batter-coated, fried crisp and arranged around a bowl of som tam dipping sauce.
Too bad Santa didn't have time to try either one, but the rest of us can still get a taste.
He'll be gone by Christmas Day, but the guest chefs will stay on until New Year, when their big jet-powered sleigh takes off for Thailand.
Thailand Plaza Restaurant, 5321 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027. Tel: (323) 466-1804.
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