Thai restaurant opens in Annandale

A new restaurant in the Bradlick Shopping Center in Annandale specializes in the cuisine of northeastern Thailand.

Mae Ornnit opened Nov. 18 in the space previously occupied by Loopy’s at the intersection of Braddock and Backlick roads. It’s a full-service restaurant with waitstaff.

Food from northeastern Thailand is salty, sour, and uses a lot of fermented fish, says co-owner Tipa Prinyaruk.

One of the dishes she recommends is volcano tom yum mama pad, with noodles, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, galanga, mushrooms, onion, red chili, and homemade godmother sauce with seafood.

Another is som tum tad, with Lao-style papaya salad, sun-dried beef, peanuts, bean sprouts, grilled chicken thigh, fried pork rinds, rice vermicelli, and a boiled egg. Tum Lao is a salad with fresh green papaya, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, olives, salted crab, homemade fermented fish sauce, and optional shrimp or seafood.

The menu also includes more common Thai dishes, such as pad Thai, drunken noodles, ka pow, and noodle soups. Beer and wine will be added to the menu as soon as their ABC permit is approved.

The restaurant’s name honors the chef, Ornitt Detya, who is one of four co-owners and devised the restaurant’s recipes. Mae means “mother” in Thai.

Tipa says Ornitt used to cook for her and her friends. “She was such a good cook, we decided to open a restaurant together.”