What People Order at Jitlada

IT’S BEEN TWENTY YEARS since Sarantip “Jazz” Singsanong and her late brother Suthiporn “Tui” Sungkamee bought Jitlada, the longtime anchor of an East Hollywood stripmall on Sunset Boulevard. It only took them a few years to turn the restaurant, which was opened by previous owners in 1971, into one of Los Angeles’ most beloved institutions.

So much about Jitlada is famous now: the gargantuan menu, the walls covered in framed awards and Matt Groening sketches, and the dueling anxiety of its parking shortage and walk-ins-only policy. Not to mention the celebrity clientele, who are frequently featured on Jazz’s Instagram. But it’s also known for the heat index of its spiciest dishes — a reflection of the cuisine that Jazz and Tui (who died in 2017) grew up eating in in southern Thailand.

Around the time Jazz celebrated the anniversary of her March 6, 2006 purchase, she gave L.A. Material the rundown on the restaurant’s top five best selling items — both for customers who order their food Spicy or Jitlada Spicy (the two spiciest options on their five-point scale) and those who avoid the heat entirely.