I am torn about this review because the flavor profile at Ugly Baby is really outstanding. Even though I don't love Northern Thai food, it's definitely got a lot more heat and flavor than Southern Thai food and if you're a spicy food nut, I can see why you go crazy for this kind of food. Your mouth will definitely feel the burn so be prepared. I'm just not one of those people.
I met up with Vinita on a random Monday and it was packed to the gills. This place has been the darling of the food blog world lately, so I wasn't surprised at all. It's not very big and they don't take reservations, so your wait will likely be in the 45 mins to 1 hour range and there is no place to really wait around. We ended up getting 2 seats at the bar which was perfect. The waitress/host was super sweet and helped us with the menu. Again, the food here is from the Northern region, so it's more khao soi and no pad thai and if you are vegetarian there is absolutely nothing you can eat on this menu - don't even bother trying. The waitress suggested 3 dishes for 2 people. We said we were ok with spice but not to the point where our faces were going to hurt. We went with the Pad Tua Ngok Rau Kao ($14), Kang Hoh ($17), and the Kao Tod Nam Klook ($16). If these were "medium spicy" I can't even imagine some of the brutally spicy dishes that were listed. My face didn't quite fall off but my nostrils were seriously cleaned out after this meal.
The Pad Tua Ngok Rau Kao was the least spicy dish and I used it as a vehicle to cool off my tongue. It's stir fried bean sprouts, with minced pork and tofu and was a very nice compliment to the other 2 dishes. The Kang Hoh was pork shoulder, spare ribs, mung bean noodle, string beans and topped with chicharrones. It comes with a side of sticky rice and you will need all of it. Did I forget that this dish is made with red curry paste? I had no issues with the pork but Vinita was getting pieces that had a lot of bone/cartilage that made it a bit challenging to eat. The combination of the pork and noodles were great but I definitely hit pockets of insane spice and was downing beer like it was my job. I was actually pretty full at this point and barely touched the Kao Tod Nam Klook which made me sad because I think I would have liked it more than the Kang Hog. It's curried rice with pork skin, peanut and ginger. The few bites I had were tasty but again, I had to cool my mouth off with the sliced cucumber and string beans that came with it.
On one hand, I shouldn't have been surprised by any of the food here. I've been to several Northern Thai places and I always have issues with the spice level. I really want to enjoy it but I don't think I'm programmed this way. The rest of the menu sounded great and I would give it another go and try the khao soi or the chicken skewers or red snapper. I've gotten much better with my tolerance for spice and I'm determined to get even better. This place is not for the faint of heart - in either wait time or spice level so buckle up. Total bill: $55/pp with tax, tip and beer
Photo Credit: Yelp
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