TOM KA SOUP HOTPOT AT LITTLE BANGKOK

Step into Little Bangkok’s small waiting area and you’re greeted with walls filled with framed articles about the restaurant. One particularly amusing review mounted at eye level was written by my esteemed colleague Wendell Brock. He wrote it in 2012. Former Atlanta JournalConstitution Dining Editor John Kessler was the last to cover Little Bangkok in this publication. That was in 2014.

Both mentioned the Tom Ka Soup Hotpot.

Plenty of food trends have come and gone since Brock and Kessler wrote about this excellent version of the classic Thai coconut and chicken soup, but good food transcends trends.

While Little Bangkok’s Tom Ka soup is tasty, no matter what, the best way to eat it is in the hotpot at the restaurant. It’s served in a vessel that looks like an upside-down rocket engine, complete with flames shooting from the top. This keeps the soup near boiling while you eat.

Even without the flaming hotpot, the soup itself is a spectacle — a slick of chili oil floats on top, coating the button mushrooms bobbing at the surface. Underneath, tender chicken and rich coconut cream round out the unctuous soup. Small crosssections of green onion and lemongrass further enliven the flavor. It’s easy to respect the classics when the classics are this good.

2225 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, Atlanta. 404-315-1530, littlebangkokatlanta.com.

CONTRIBUTED BY HENRI HOLLIS