Esarn Kheaw

Kaprow (30s, Female, London)

It's not much to look at and the location's a bit awkward but I often trek to the western fringes of Shepherd's Bush for an Easarn Kheaw fix. North-Eastern (isaan / easarn) food is one of the most popular regional cuisines in Thailand but you rarely find it as well represented abroad as here. The kitchen doesn't skimp on chillies so specialities like sausages, papaya or bamboo shoot salad and jungle curry are hot enough to make even the most hardened chilli fiends sweat. But it's not all about the heat: even the fieriest dishes display careful balance of flavours and you often find ourself surprised by notes of unusual aromatic herbs.