Thailand

Lad Nar, $13 | Ty Fun Thai Bistro

You can almost taste all the time Sonny Ting spent working in his family's restaurant in Thailand. A Bangkok native, he's borrowed many of those recipes for his Tremont eatery. Take the lad nar, for example, a popular Thai street food or late-night meal. "My dad, he loved lad nar," the chef and owner says. The secret is tapioca to thicken the brown gravy so it clings to the wide rice noodles and vegetables. When the traditional Chinese broccoli is unavailable, Ting subs cauliflower and broccoli to go with the egg, baby corn, carrots and protein. "It's in my blood," he says.

815 Jefferson Ave., Cleveland, 216-664-1000, tyfunthaibistro.com