Wat Dong Moon Lek Noodle

Pad Thai/​sidewalk pad Thai needs to be more al dente… service is good… never had to wait…

I love this spot for good Thai food in a comfortable setting. It is not my favorite place, but the food is consistently tasty. A bit pricey sometimes, but worth it for the neighborhood. I also love getting one of their slush drinks to balance a spicy meal.

I seem to be going against popular opinion here, but for me, Wat Dong Moon Lek was incredibly underwhelming. Do not be fooled by the strip mall location-​this place is not the hole in the wall it perhaps once was. It is kitschy Silverlake hipster prime real estate, filled with young white urban professions and young couples with screaming babies. The prices are higher than most other local Thai restaurant competitors, and the portions are smaller.
I appreciate that they have a separate vegetarian menu. The waitress, who was very sweet, informed me that their Tom Yum Udon was the most popular vegan dish, so I went with that. It was edible, but not good. Not spicy AT ALL-​just salty. Incredibly salty. The broth tasted like salty lemongrass, and the udon was somehow flavorless. The huge chunks of soft tofu and mushroom did not help much. Quite a small portion for $ 10. Perhaps I just ordered the wrong thing, but with so many incredible Thai restaurants in LA, Wat Dong needs to step it up.
Visa and MasterCard only.

One of the best and most authentic Thai places in LA. Don’t let the B in the window scare you. They have stuff that you don’t usually see in a typical Thai restaurant around here. Personally I love the poached fish fillets with spicy dipping sauce. Reminds me of home! The rice and noodle dishes are also great. Try the fry larb! Must be one of the best of its kind that I’ve ever had. Servers are nice and the interior décor is interesting. They ran out of the floating lotus so we didn’t get to try it, but will ask about it again next time we go.

Very disappointing. We had chosen this place due to the positive Unilocal reviews but this was the worst Thai restaurant I’ve been to in LA. The plates are small so the value is not great. We ordered a braised beef dish that sounded interesting but was not at all what we expected. Braised usually means chunks of meat cooked for hours until it’s soft but in this case, the meat was chewy slices of beef in a sauce just like our other dishes. We ordered several dishes with different sauces but they all looked and tasted similar.
Service was horrible even for an Asian restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t busy but couldn’t get anyone to take our order until 10 – 15 minutes after we sat down. Our table was lacking silverware so when I asked the sour faced waitress with pigtails for them she didn’t even acknowledge our request. The restaurant forgot one of our dishes and only started cooking it after we had waved one of the waiters down. Unfortunately it wasn’t worth the wait. The ong choi with pork belly had very dry, almost petrified pieces of pork. Imagine melt-​in-​your mouth pork belly. This was not. It was the opposite of any pork belly experience I’ve ever had and borderline inedible. My mom almost broke one of her tooth because some of the pieces of fried pork still contained bone. I’ve had roast pork in both Chinese and Thai restaurants and it’s normally juicy with a nice crispy skin but this tasted like day old leftovers fried until burnt.
Finally we couldn’t find anyone to bring us the check so we paid at the register and left quickly. With so many excellent Thai within a few miles, we should have continued on to Hollywood where the atmosphere may not be as hip but the food is 10x better, less expensive and service is warm, fast and efficient.
The only reason it gets 2 stars is because the décor was interesting and the noodle dish was passable.

I’ve been here a handful of times now and have to say it is one of my favorite spots for Thai food in LA. Service is always attentive, prices are reasonable, and the food is super flavorful. I love that you can specify your desired level of heat and that they have plenty of vegetarian dishes that are clearly labeled. Highly recommend!

I really wanted to like this place but the food came out to be awful! My husband ordered one of the fried rice and it just tasted burnt. He tried to eat it but ultimately had to throw it away. I ordered red curry and although I’m not the best with spicy food I can tolerate it. However, I wasn’t in the mood for spicy so I asked for my red curry to NOT be spicy, as per the option they give you. However, it turned out to be so spicy I had to give it to my husband who was starving because he had to throw away his burnt rice. Now I was the one starving.

I am a fan of this place. I’ve been here twice and I have not yet been disappointed. The portions are good and the price is great. The only thing I don’t like about this place is the décor. I am not a big fan of the artwork on the walls. However, it is a conversation starter.

I have tried a few Thai restaurants in the area and love this place. I visit this place quite often for lunches as my office is nearby, even though there are so many options in the area. It has a wide selection of food items to choose from.
The décor is very beautiful — amazing piece of chalk art against the walls.
The Kak Curry noodle soup is my all time favorite here — I haven’t had a better soup anywhere — I eat Thai food quite often. My other favorite food item in the list is mango sticky rice when available. I haven’t tried a lot of things from their menu because I always end up ordering the kak curry noodle soup or something from the lunch special.
Service could be sometimes a little slow but still this is a must try place.

I’m rounding up my 3.5 stars.
— Barbeque pork: this is great. Totally delicious and worth ordering.
— Pad see ew: I usually order this with beef. I’ve had the chicken before but I think the beef complements the bitterness of the Chinese broccoli better.
— Vegetable pot stickers: great, although it’s kind of hard to mess up pot stickers.
— Yellow curry: my boyfriend loves this.
— Garlic rice: they know how to do this right.
Also, if you’re ordering take out from here double check your bag because the last time they forgot to put a couple things I ordered :(

Ambience and Décor: 5
Food (dishes I have tried): 3.
Overall: 3.5
I wish I didn’t find this place so underwhelming, because it is so conveniently located for me.
Maybe I am ordering the wrong thing (time and time again)? I have had the Pad See Ew at least a half dozen times (convenience?), as well as whatever dish has Chinese Broccoli and Crispy Pork and found myself very disappointed. I am not a picky eater by any stretch. But there are sooo many Thai restaurants around. I have found that Thai BBQ is reliable, Pattaya Thai is pretty decent, and even Boran Thai (the latter two which both deliver) were all more consistent with these dishes.
I will scour the rest of the reviews on this page to see if there are some great dishes I am missing out on that will boost my enjoyment of this spot, as I really want to be able to dine there more. Out of sheer laziness due to proximity!

So good. I know the B is a little shocking (April 18^th 2016) but come on, we all know Asian restaurants are better with B’s ;).
I had the green papaya salad (mild) and it was delish. I liked the crunchy peanuts, texture of the mango, and the big a$$ shrimp.
I also ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice (knowing I’d take it home for later) and it too was good. I don’t like nuts or raisins in my rice… (Wow sounds dirty. Anyhow I digress) so I asked for them to make it without and it came out how I wanted it. And just like the green papaya salad– big a$$ shrimp :). Yum.
I am happy with this place.

As a child I lived in Singapore for one year, I became obsessed with Hainanese Chicken Rice, which is a locals favourite for lunch. You can’t find the dish cooked the same way in LA as health codes prevent the hanging/​cooking method used over there, but Wat Dong’s Hainanese Chicken Rice is the best tasting flavourful rendition of the dish you’ll find. Love to Jenny the owner who creates the most incredible deserts, don’t miss out on her coconut cake or the seasonal pumpkin crème brûlée served in little pumpkin shells, my wife tends to clear those off the shelf pretty quickly. Great vibe, delicious food, vast menu choice and friendly service.

Not your average Thai restaurant and not your average pad thai. I skipped the one with the rice stick noodle and ordered the SPICY GLASS NOODLES PAD THAI. Don’t think I’ve seen that on a menu before. I love glass noodles and these were great. And rather than having pieces of scrambled egg, an entire omelette covered the noodles like a cap! Overall, a really enjoyable dish.

Got the Kak Curry soup. Must say it was pretty tasty. I took it to go but the décor of the restaurant was pretty nice. Parking is pretty bad. Warning they do a «B» for a health code. IDK but from what I heard, it’s pretty hard to get anything lower than a «A». For that I may be cautious on going back but if it was a «A» i wouldn’t hesitate.

I used to give this place 5 stars. I was in love.
Then one day I am eating in there establishment and see that the health code peoples downgraded them to a «B».
I almost lost my mind.
Never ever going back here again. Its 2016. You cant be getting B’s, expecting positive reviews.

Good food, save your time and dont call for delivery. Painful ordering and longest wait.
If you call, the driver is always on the way.

Service could be a little slow and sometimes lacking. Other times it’s spot on. (They have their days).
The Kak curry noodle is so amazing here I usually always default with ordering that.
The mango sticky rice when available is the best I have had in this area.
Other items are good as well but the curry is so good I have a hard time getting anything else.

I have food poisoning from eating there last night. I had the Pad Thai. I thought the egg tasted a little off, and the chicken was dried out in a way that suggested it had been sitting around all day.
These are really terrible stomach cramps. I would avoid. They could use another health inspection.

WAT DONG MOON LEK NOODLE or simply just WDMLN for short, is both a culinary, and a visual treat for the senses.
Situated in the ultra-​hipster neighborhood of Silverlake, this Thai-​food treasure trove is a must place to visit, even if you’re not a fan of Thai food.
You owe it to yourself.
The location is in a plaza, shared with other businesses so having said that, parking can be rather scarce.
But don’t let that stop you, why? because it’s worth it.
Trust. Me.
As soon as you walk in, you will be treated visually by the sheer amount of art that is emblazoned against the wall. Every single space on their wall is used to great effect to highlight, and show off fantastic art, ranging from chalk art, sketch art, painting, etc of famous faces from major characters and figures from the world of pop culture.
You’ll also notice unique collection of bobble-​heads chillin’ at the front counter, next to the relaxing baby buddha with sun glasses. Gotta love the zanyness, and colorful ambiance of this Thai gem.
Okay, now on to the food.
We ordered:
–DEEP FRIED TOFU is a perfect welcome to entice your taste buds with the crunchiness of the tofu to compliment the sweet sauce, to prepare you for whats to come your way. To Thai flavor town.
–SHRIMP & PORK SHOMAI their version is a very surrealisitic taste with a hint of spice, and sweet tang.
–DEEP FRIED MUSSELS combination of egg, batter, and of course mussels, served on a bed of bean sprouts. Taste is both unique, and delicious.
–FRIED CHICKEN AND FRIED RICE AND BROTH is a delicious combo of explosive flavor.
The sweet and tangy flavor of the fried chicken bits perfectly compliments the the light saltiness of the fried rice, and broth blends it all together.
–SHRIMP PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE is hands down BOMBAY! From the generous pineapple slices, to the large serving of shrimps, and the wonderful yellow color perfectly blends both visual, and taste buds galore.
–SHRIMP PAD THAI is a marvelous explosion of flavor of epic proportions. Sweet and spicy, generous portion of flat noodles, peanuts, and garnished with semi-​scrambled egg on top. It is pad thai lover’s dream come true.
–COCONUT and BANANA SHAKE is both nourishing and divine tastes of tropical paradise finesse.
The service was quite swift, albeit it took awhile for my Pad Thai order, nonetheless did not deter me from enjoying this epic feast.
I love everything about this place, err except their parking.
Even the water bottles (Vintage style Milk bottles!) is epic.
Love visual treat.
Love the swift service.
Love the delicious culinary masterpiece.
I still dislike the parking though IMO.
But yes, if you haven’t already, do yourself a flavor, and give Wat Dong Moon Lek Noodle a shot.
You will like it.
I guarantee it.

I have been ordering from here for several years but I will never return after my last experience. The customer service is terrible. I rate it zero. They have messed up my orders many times but I always let it go because they’re conveniently down the street.
I ordered pineapple fried rice with both shrimp and chicken and added brown rice (they charge extra for that) and they left out the shrimp, chicken and made it with white rice. When the delivery man finally showed up he comes with no change and I had to leave a big tip on top of their delivery fee.
When I called to tell them the order was missing the shrimp, chicken and brown rice, they screamed, blamed me and were very nasty.

Do not order delivery unless you want to eat the next day. 2.5 hours later food shows up cold and just tasted like salt. Sorry but I just can’t do it anymore. You’re not far from my house and delivery shouldn’t take this long.

Ok, so i ordered food delivery.
First, the promised estimate time was 45−60mins.
However, when I received the email saying they started preparing our food, 1hour was already passed. I imagined they were busy and decided to wait but I got a phone call saying that they don’t have something we ordered. We cancelled part of our order and still waited.
It ended up 2 hours wait to get the COLD food… Crispy pork was no longer crispy and the curry was just ok.
Well, if they couldn’t make it in time, at least they should’ve been honest to tell us that it took time. The only reason I got the food was because when we cancelled the order, the delivery guy had just arrived at my apartment and said we could have it for free…(I asked for them to discount through the phone but they weren’t willing to do.)
Didn’t taste good anyways.
Never again!!! sorry

Pretty good Thai food! I had Tom Yum udon with shrimp. They put a good amount of shrimp for two dollars extra. My friend had pineapple fried rice. They were both delicious. I was sad that mango sticky rice was out of season!!! I guess I will have to come back during summer to try it.

MY NEW OBSESSION I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS PLACE
With all the Thai food options in this Silverlake area, I can’t believe it’s taken me so many years to get to Wat Dong.
Their lunch specials are a steal. You get 2 sides, a main and rice for $ 7.99. I got tom yum soup, pot sticker, egg fried rice, tofu broccoli arranged like a quartet on a plate. Amazing flavors, no overeating, no greasy gross Thai aftertaste. (also someone told me that the chef is Michelin-​rated? Is that just a rumor?)
Also do not leave here without ordering the green beans. Sometimes they don’t have them. But they’re deep fried but not too heavy, and the sauce is to diieeee for. I can’t explain it. Just go order them! Don’t be one of those people who just orders pad thai — order something different for once,
I was told it gets crazy at dinner, but for lunch it’s chill. Service was very friendly and attentive. Plenty of water, no issue splitting the check, quick service.

We wanted to eat after leaving the Orpheum Theatre. Nothing after 10 pm except Mexican food or pizza but I was not in the mood for that.
My brother checked on Unilocal, and that’s how we ended up here. Very good Thai food. If you like spicy, make sure and say spicy because medium spicy was not spicy at all! Cute little eating place. Décor interesting. Music matches the décor.
Food came fast. I was disappointed in the serving size if you decide to get a dish which already includes rice. 0.75 extra for brown rice which was a bummer. Some places don’t charge extra for brown rice. Food was good though.
I liked the water pitcher, but I wish the water glasses weren’t almost the size of shot glasses.
I would definitely return though.

Came to this little Thai restaurant because I really wanted to try Hainan chicken. The décor of the restaurant is a bit unexpected yet hipster-​ish. Trying to find parking was a bit of a challenge in the tiny plaza parking lot. We ordered the Hainan Chicken, of course, since that was the main purpose of my trip here, Crying Tiger-​Thai marinated beef, and Green Curry. The Hainan chicken came with garlic rice and some type of broth with a side of hot sauce. I’m not quite sure how Hainan chicken is supposed to taste but I must say I was a bit disappointed. The dish was a bit bland for my taste, even the garlic rice was bland. Couldn’t really taste the garlic at all in the rice. I’ll have to try Hainan chicken elsewhere before I make a judgment on it though. The Crying Tiger was pretty tasty. I liked all the hot sauces that came with the dishes. I personally don’t care for curry (except for korean style curry) so I can’t comment on the green curry. All the dishes came out super quick. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. The food portions are also on the smaller side as we had no leftovers to take home, which is uncommon. For beverages we ordered the watermelon & pineapple slush, and coconut slush. The winner of them all was the coconut slush!!! It is seriously sooooooo freaking delicious!!! One other thing I was really looking forward to trying was their mango sticky rice. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in season so I was pretty bummed about that. I will definitely be back to try their mango sticky rice if not for their coconut slush for sure! Yummmm~~~

I came here to try their Khao Soi (Kao Soi) which was delightful (10 +1 for an egg). A bit pricey, but understandable for Silverlake. The yellow curry was standard, but adding lime rounded out the flavors. The beef was chewy, so I would recommend a different protein.
We also got the crispy pork belly with chinese broccoli which came with rice. It was delicious!
I’ve been here one other time before, but I was too buzzed from day drinking that I can’t recall what I ordered family style. But I know that it was delicious! The menu is SO extensive and I’m tempted to come back to try every dish. Yum!

Every weekend my Asian bf says «Time for Wat Dong» I say not tonight I have a headache. Then I realize he is talking about one of the best Thai restaurants in Silverlake. The lunch specials are great they come with a potsticker and a fried eggroll… the dipping sauces are delicious.
One of the things I am really impressed with here is how fast your food arrives. I’ve come in here on a slow night and the food is in front of me in literally two minutes. Even on a busy night it is pretty quick. My Thai bf is quite picky with Thai food as his mother used to own a restaurant and he likes this place. Spicy beef salad is one of his favorites. Parking can sometimes be a pain as this place is right next door to Kitchen and Akbar. Mom’s noodles is another favorite if you can’t take your food too spicy.
Moderate prices quick service fresh food no complaints here.

Always eat here. The slushies rule. Crispy on Choy salad is crack. You just can’t go wrong. Could eat here 3x a week if I wasn’t a decent cook
myself. (I am.)

First: the food was excellent! Authentic. Three of us ordered 8 dishes! From calamari to Pad Thai with glass noodles. The watermelon drink was amazing. I’m sure to return. All that and it was still less than $ 30 each.
So why the 3 stars? The condition of the men’s room is inexcusable –filth upon filth. Yes I took pictures. I just don’t get it. I was ready for a great meal but all the while that men’s was on my mind. What was the condition of the kitchen and does that explain their B rating from the health department?

I absolutely LOVE the food here, the reason for the 2 stars is because of how bad they just ripped me off for the delivery i just ordered.
I purchased the chicken larb salad &the Rambutan salad at 22 $ yet both were SOOO pathetically portioned.
Wat Dong Moon Lek is worth it as a sit in experience but never ever ever as take out. Super sad &super disappointed.

Living in San Diego, I’m pretty spoiled — great weather, clean beaches, amazing beers. So what do I have to complain about? As a Thailander (lol) it’s disappointing that great, authentic, affordable Thai food is hard to come by. The good places are usually overpriced and too fancy. So I am always pretty excited when I have to go to L.A. because I know Thai Town will rarely let me down. However…
I wanted to do something different this time. I googled «best thai restaurant NOT in Thai Town». A few places popped up but the name Wat Dong Moon Lek jumped out at me. What’s with that name?! Lol.
As we’re driving from Anaheim to get there, Waze takes us through a hipster little neighborhood with lots of small hipster businesses. It’s a whole new world.
This reataurant is also hipster. Art and paintings on the wall. Wish they were Thai paintings and art. It was pretty random stuff up there.
I ordered the Crispy Morning Glory Salad. The morning glory was battered and fried into the shape of a flat nest and placed on top of pork or chicken larb. It was beautiful and interesting, but I found the larb to be too sweet for my tastebuds. Hubbs had the Khao Soi curry noodles — yum! A northern Thai favorite. It was flavorful and hit the spot. Ninja had the wings. of course. They reminded me of fried chicken my mom used to make for me when I was little — marinated in Maggi or fish sauce, and fried to a crisp.
We ordered dishes we knew we couldn’t get in San Diego. It was refreshing to not have to go to Thai Town and finding this hip little gem was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
*Sidenote: I was looking for this restaurant on Instagram and found the tag, but it is a restaurant in Thailand. Any relation?

Maybe it was one of those mornings for the chefs?
Got there right at 11am on a Sunday morning.
I’ve always heard good things about this place so wanted to try. I don’t think the food was good. Both my bf and i felt sick after eating. The food was NOT GOOD!
All the dishes lacked something, or it had tooooo much of one ingredient.
The fried green beans were really bland, the sauce that was drizzled on it was really NOT GOOD. (im trying to be nice) It was bitter! I ate it bland without the sauce.
Crispy pork belly bamboo shoots were really salty, we were so hungry we tried to eat as much as we could… Not good. We didnt even want to take it home to remake it!
Pork Spare Ribs Shanghai Noodles, with glass noodles were really salty but not flavorful salty. It was like flavor-​less with added salt. I feel like they added half of the soup with water and added salt to balance it out? It was just really odd.
But the place was really hip and very hipster feel.
Maybe i just picked all the wrong dishes? =(