At Kin Khao’s fashionable baby sister restaurant, tucked inside Hotel Kabuki, Chef/owner Pim Techamuanvivit infuses her bold, vibrant Thai cooking with a thoroughly modern Californian sensibility—sliced fresh stone fruit in a Massaman lamb curry, for instance. The result is delicious, elegantly composed food in an equally sleek setting.
Kick things off with a starter of crispy fried veal sweetbreads, tangy with tamarind and spicy with chilies; or tender Monterey Bay squid and chili-spiced pork jowl, accompanied by sticky rice served in a banana leaf. Desserts are an absolute must: try the Dreaming of Lod Chong with cold, salted coconut cream around a pandan parfait; or Babin coconut cake, topped with long, curled pieces of toasted coconut and purple basil.