Kala Thai Cookery sits in Downtown Boston, close enough to Haymarket that the produce stalls spill nearly to its door. It's chef Manita Bunnagitkarn's second restaurant, following Cha Yen Thai Cookery in Watertown; she trained under Todd English and holds a degree from Johnson & Wales, background that could have pointed her toward fine dining but instead went into a neighborhood spot built on MSG-free, made-to-order Thai cooking.
The menu runs through familiar noodle dishes done well, but the small plates and curries are where it stands out. A corn cake built from fried kernels — closer in texture to a crisp, loose scoop than a dense wedge of bread — has become one of the menu's more talked-about items.
It's a casual, quick-service kind of place, suited to a fast lunch or an easy dinner in the middle of Downtown.
The menu runs through familiar noodle dishes done well, but the small plates and curries are where it stands out. A corn cake built from fried kernels — closer in texture to a crisp, loose scoop than a dense wedge of bread — has become one of the menu's more talked-about items.
It's a casual, quick-service kind of place, suited to a fast lunch or an easy dinner in the middle of Downtown.