Woohoo! Now the discerning Thai food loving people of Seattle can get their fill of braised beef cheek steamed buns and noodle-less vegetarian pad thai more than just on Monday evenings when Wiley Frank (of Lark) and Poncharee Kounpungchart’s (aka PK) set up their pop-up shop at La Bete. Little Uncle kicked off weekday lunch service at their permanent takeout window on 1509 E Madison in Capitol Hill, just around the corner from neighborhood favorite Skillet Diner and a few blocks from Chopsuey.
Pay at the far left, cooking magic happens in the middle, and covered shelter for waiting and scarfing down your food goes down on the right.
The window is open for lunch Tuesday-Friday from 11am-2pm and guess what? They serve Hainan chicken rice which is about as hard to come by as peanut butter in France. Now I don’t need to make a trip to Singapore’s hawker center to get my fill of this street food delight.
The elusive chicken rice in the flesh
Tender pork shoulder braised in spices, bamboos shoots, and mustard greens served with rice and hot sauce.
What’s next for the takeout window? For now, PK says they will keep the menu as-is while they get their bearings. That is more than fine with me, but I am holding out hope Frank and PK will eventually find a way to get their Ovaltine ice cream sundae on the lunch menu.
Chef duo team at work in their new takeout digs
