Night + Market Song open for lunch: Thai boxing chicken, ‘fast plates’

People lucky enough to be in the Silverlake area around lunch can now avoid the wait associated with dinnertime at Night + Market Song.

The popular Thai restaurant is now serving lunch, offering a dozen types of jaan duan, Thai for “fast plates.” Diners who frequent the restaurant at dinner will be pleased to see a couple of new options available for lunch, which began Jan. 7.

The eggplant dish, which is similar to the Chinese yu xiang (fish fragrant) eggplant, is stir-fried with bean sauce, chili, garlic, and Thai basil. It’s served with a mound of rice and can be made vegan upon request.

There’s also a Thai boxing chicken on the menu. A turmeric-heavy barbecue sauce coats the chicken skin and seasons the tender meat. It’s served with steamed rice in a bamboo basket, a sweet and spicy sauce, and a side of som tum (papaya salad).

The assertive heat of the papaya salad paired with the chicken makes this a great lunch option for someone tired of the usual office sandwiches. But then, you could say that about anything on the menu.

There’s also chef Kris Yenbamroong’s fried chicken sandwich, grapow khai dao (minced chicken) and a noodle-less pad Thai — all new for the lunch menu.

Dinner menu items that are also available for lunch include the usual noodle options: pad Thai, pad see ew, kuay tiew, and khao soi, although it should be noted that the vegan khao soi is not yet ready for lunch.

It should also be noted that Yenbamroong has also lately been doing a considerable bit of khao soi experimentation, thanks to another recent visit to his family in Thailand. It seems we have the chef’s grandmother to thank for many, many things.