Restaurants Chefs Best New Chefs Kris Yenbamroong of L.A.’s Night + Market Song is a 2016 F&W Best New Chef Quintessential dish: Grilled fatty pig neck Thai chile dip. Read more about this amazing Los Angeles talent, one of the new Food & Wine Best New Chefs. By Night + Market (Read a review) and Night + Market Song Location: West Hollywood, CA Why He's Amazing: Because he created a terrific, innovative pork-centric Thai street food spot adjacent to his parents' well-respected but aging Thai restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. Culinary School: Self-taught Background: Talésai (/sites/default/files/est Hollywood) Quintessential Dish: Pork toro: grilled fatty hog collar with jaew northeastern chile dip Night + Market's Philosophy: "I love my family's restaurant [Talésai] but people come in and do the stereotypical L.A. thing and ask for modifications [to the dishes they order]. Night + Market food is uncompromising, unmessed with." Food Style: "In Thai, it's called aharn glam lao, which roughly translates to 'food to facilitate drinking' or 'booze food.' That's at the heart of what we do. We make food for drunkards." Alternative Career: Yenbamroong studied film at New York University. DIY Ethic: "We make our sausage completely by hand, on the premises. For the first few months, we used a Chinese soup spoon to stuff them because we didn't have a stuffer." A Family Timeline 1982The year Kris Yenbamroong was born, his family opened L.A.'s first ambitious Thai restaurant, Talésai. His grandmother Vilai was the chef. "It was the '80s, and we were 10 doors down from Geffen Records," says Yenbamroong. "The waitresses wore black leather skirts, and Madonna came in with Warren Beatty. Mick Jagger came in, too. My grandma was on the cover of the Los Angeles Times Magazine with Thomas Keller." 2011Fast-forward three decades: Yenbamroong tried updating Talésai by serving unfamiliar Northern Thai dishes, but longtime customers resisted the change. So he decided to open Night + Market, where he could experiment. At his second spot, Night + Market Song, his powerful, spicy dishes include Bangkok Mall Pasta with Thai bird chile and lots of peppercorns." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Kris Yenbamroong Kris Yenbamroong Restaurant: Night + Market (Read a review) and Night + Market Song Location: West Hollywood, CA Why He's Amazing: Because he created a terrific, innovative pork-centric Thai street food spot adjacent to his parents' well-respected but aging Thai restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. Culinary School: Self-taught Background: Talésai (/sites/default/files/est Hollywood) Quintessential Dish: Pork toro: grilled fatty hog collar with jaew northeastern chile dip Night + Market's Philosophy: "I love my family's restaurant [Talésai] but people come in and do the stereotypical L.A. thing and ask for modifications [to the dishes they order]. Night + Market food is uncompromising, unmessed with." Food Style: "In Thai, it's called aharn glam lao, which roughly translates to 'food to facilitate drinking' or 'booze food.' That's at the heart of what we do. We make food for drunkards." Alternative Career: Yenbamroong studied film at New York University. DIY Ethic: "We make our sausage completely by hand, on the premises. For the first few months, we used a Chinese soup spoon to stuff them because we didn't have a stuffer." A Family Timeline 1982The year Kris Yenbamroong was born, his family opened L.A.'s first ambitious Thai restaurant, Talésai. His grandmother Vilai was the chef. "It was the '80s, and we were 10 doors down from Geffen Records," says Yenbamroong. "The waitresses wore black leather skirts, and Madonna came in with Warren Beatty. Mick Jagger came in, too. My grandma was on the cover of the Los Angeles Times Magazine with Thomas Keller." 2011Fast-forward three decades: Yenbamroong tried updating Talésai by serving unfamiliar Northern Thai dishes, but longtime customers resisted the change. So he decided to open Night + Market, where he could experiment. At his second spot, Night + Market Song, his powerful, spicy dishes include Bangkok Mall Pasta with Thai bird chile and lots of peppercorns. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines and Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 24, 2017 Photo: © Ken Tisuthiwongse Where: Night + Market Song3322 W. Sunset Blvd.; 323-665-5899; nightmarketsong.com Born: Los Angeles, 1982 Why Yenbamroong is amazing: He’s turned his bold version of Thai street food—in particular the potent Northern Thai dishes of his family’s homeland, many not seen in the US before—into one of the coolest, most vibrant cuisines in Los Angeles. Education: NYU film school © Night + Market Song Rèsumè: Talésai, his parent’s landmark, classic Thai restaurant in L.A. "I grew up in the restaurant and absorbed things. I picked up the vocabulary of Thai cooking. That food was "royal palace" cooking: more traditional and stereotypical Thai restaurant cooking. When I began cooking and made changes to the menu, I lost a ton of customers. So I said, ‘Let’s go back to the way it was.’ And that’s really when Night + Market happened, so I could do my own thing." Quintessential dish: Grilled fatty pig neck ("It’s salty like bacon") with jaew, a northeastern Thai chile dip First restaurant: Night + Market (in an annex of his parents’ restaurant), a spare, uncompromising, pork-centric place. © Night + Market Song Cooking style: "In Thai, it's called aharn glam lao, which roughly translates to 'food to facilitate drinking' or 'booze food.' That's at the heart of what we do. We make food for drunkards." How Yenbamroong describes Night + Market Song: "It's where you have food, beers and hang out. Like TGI Fridays, but with water bug relish," a reference to a northern Thai dip that he has had on the menu at the restaurant. Fun facts: The bright-colored walls at Night + Market Song are decorated with Thai album covers and a topless poster of Cindy Crawford.Yenbamroong designs some NMS T-shirts, including the tattoo-style "For True Larb, I Will Sacrifice." Indie designer Clare Vivier created another of the restaurant’s shirts. Follow @ntmrkt on Instagram. By F&W Editors By Kris Yenbamroong Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit