Where to eat and

evening, so sneak in for lunch. This casual strip-mall spot serves unapologetic Southern Thai cuisine, with its lusty embrace of mouth-staining turmeric, pungent odours (stink beans or satoh, the sulfuric emanations of acacia leaves) and extreme heat.

Less confrontational options include steamed mussels in fragrant, lemongrass-spiked broth ($14.95) or addictive salads with battered and fried spinach, pomelo (the milder direct ancestor of the grapefruit), or green mango and toasted coconut (all from $13.95 to $18.95). The adventurous and asbestos-tongued should flip to the last four pages of the menu for Jitlada’s Southern specialties.

One less fearsome option is the Crying Tiger (beef or pork crusted with coriander and caramelised palm sugar, $12.95).

Extreme eaters will enjoy a choice of meat dry-fried in a turmeric- and chili-heavy curry paste ($12.95).

Those seeking liquid heat should order the fish-kidney curry ($18.95), acacia-leaf omelet and shrimp in sour soup ($15.95), or the Southern curry with “wild tea” leaves ($20.95) with clams.

Cool down with the mango and sticky rice ($8) for dessert.

Lacha Somtum Thai Restaurant specialises in tart, punchy northeastern or Isan cuisine, and the Thai national obsession of som tum.

American diners probably have encountered “som tum

Thai” – shards of green papaya

Spicy Curry with Thai Spaghetti at Siam Sunset restaurant in Los Angeles.

Thrupkaew/The Washington Post Pictures: Noy Pomelo salad at Jitlada Restaurant.