Sunday, January 14, 2007

Ocha Classic




Ocha Classic
837 Vermont
LA
213-427-9823

What a find!!! What a find!!! My girlfriend mentioned we should go for Thai food and said she wanted to go to Ocha. Now this is the first Thai restaurant I have reviewed for The New Diner. Thai food other than satay isn't my favorite. I'm not a fan of real spicy food. But Ocha really surprised me.

We ordered the spicy shrimp soup ($7.95) and the chicken satay($6.95). The chicken satay was tender and had nice bits of charred that made it one of the best satays I've had. And it's a great deal. They bring you four huge skewers of chicken. The chicken is a mixture of dark and white meat and not some grounded chicken as some other places can be.

Not the best part, the spicy shrimp soup. First it's not that spicy. About a the spiciness of the mild sauce at Del Taco. But the soup is a fish based with tons of deveined plump shrimp. The soup works well as a soup but over white rice it's a great meal. I didn't like the celantro but otherwise this was a great dish.

I saw the spicy seafood soup, filled with mussels and crab claws, at other tables and that looked great too. Matter of fact everything looked great from the fried rice to the seafood items.

Service is good but expect a wait. There is a long line out the door along Vermont. It does move pretty fast but it's still a wait. They do not take reservations.

I would love to go back to Ocha and try their other items. But I will always order the spicy shrimp soup and chicken satay. A great find.