When Gourmet magazine tapped Commercial Center's Lotus of Siam as "the best Thai restaurant in the United States," Las Vegas gained national attention as a dining destination away from the Strip. But the accolade raised eyebrows among local Thais, and the ire of one of its rivals, Ocha, a Thai community favorite that recently moved to larger digs across the street from the Stratosphere.
Lotus is wonderful, and does dishes few restaurants in America attempt, such as ones from Chef Saipin Chutima's native hometown of Chiang Mai. But Ocha is wonderful in its own way, in spite of the cafeteria ambience, and noticeable absence of waiters who can discourse on the subtleties of sheet fish-banana blossom hotpot, or match the hot boutique Riesling of the moment with crispy rice-sour sausage salad.
I first stumbled on Ocha in its old incarnation, when it occupied a storefront in a small Thai mall just below Downtown. At that time, you had to walk through an Asian bar to get to the dining room, which had all the charm of a waiting room in Whitehorse, Yukon.
But now, Ocha occupies a large, sunny space in a motel, next to a wedding chapel and swimming pool, and is entirely visible to passers-by. And this time, the room is totally generic, unless you call posters from the Tourism Authority of Thailand atmospheric, or you happen to notice the otherworldly desserts wrapped for takeout next to the kitchen.
Seating is at green plastic tables set with straw placemats, and there is a white tile floor and open kitchen. On the table are bottles of nam pla, an amber-tinged, pitilessly salty Thai fish sauce; Sriracha chili sauce; and pickled green chilies. Service is friendly in a diffident sort of way, as if no one cares if you order or not. Food is prepared quickly, as it can be only in Asian restaurants. Just about everything on the menu is great.
Well, almost everything. One of the English-speaking waitresses admitted that the city frowns upon Thai restaurants using charcoal braziers to make gai yang, the spice-crusted barbecued chicken that is one of the crowning glories of Thai kitchens. In fact, there is nowhere in town to get great Thai barbecued chicken, and Ocha's substitute, a deep-fried Cornish game hen, is one of the few items on the menu not to bother with.
But the other I-sarn (Northeast Thai) dishes on Ocha's menu are fabulous: papaya salad, which can be had Thai style—slightly sweet and with dried shrimps—or Lao style—which is spicier, with tiny cured river crabs that you crunch in your mouth, shell and all; and a number of others, from the incendiary, slippery bamboo-shoot salad, to the I-sarn hot dog, a garlicky, deep-fried sausage with enough garlic to turn Dracula into Peewee Herman.
Better known Thai dishes are great, as well: coconut-cream-chicken tom yum soup, any of the beef or squid salads, Thai curries, or a number of the stir-fried dishes, that are perfect with steamed rice.
Tod mun, rubbery Thai fish-cakes flecked with basil and served with cucumber relish laced with crushed peanuts, is one of my favorite dishes, as is beef tendon soup, which comes in a silver tureen with a heating element underneath, a triumph of spice and richness, with great broth loaded with vegetables and gelatinous hunks of tendon.
I often like to balance my meals here with a simple dish like Thai scrambled eggs with ground pork, really more of a spicy Asian omelet that you eat with more rice. One of my favorite noodle dishes is pan-fried bean thread, woon sen in Thai: clear, low-carb noodles tossed around with shrimp, green onion, tomato and egg. Thais are big on egg.
If you're in a splurge mode, deep-fried catfish with chili sauce is magnificent, a better choice than the bony, hard-to-eat deep-fried pompano that Asians seem to prefer, not to mention that the catfish at $10.95 is $6 cheaper. There are excellent vegetables too, such as Chinese watercress, a.k.a., pla boong, when available, and that old standby, Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, expertly done here. (For the record, just below "Ocha" on the sign outside, the subheading reads "Thai-Chinese cuisine.")
How about some dessert? The former location was two doors down from a tiny place called Thai Desserts, and though no longer there, the business appears to be active. Thai desserts are generally riffs in the keys of mango, tapioca, egg yolks, mung bean, sugar and rice; and while completely unfamiliar, many are delicious and especially good with tea.
I didn't write down any of the Thai names, and none have English ones, so look for the ones that resemble buttercup petals, sticky rice with mango and coconut cream, or tapioca squares. I haven't eaten in every Thai restaurant in the United States, but this one is definitely no slouch.