Thai Top: a quiet restaurant oasis on Hermosa Beach’s upper Pier
Thai Top’s Tom Ga, or coconut and chicken soup. Photo by Kathalina Rodriguez The Beach Cities have never been much of a destination when it comes to authentic Asian food. The landmark Chinese restaurant in the 1960s was Manhattan Beach’s Tai Song, which was more famous for ornate architecture than the taste of their tomato beef, and the food at Redondo’s Polynesian was assisted considerably by the several mai tais you consumed before ordering. Hermosa offered Fook Gin, the seedy Chinese joint that was a hangout for poets in the 1960s and punk rockers in the 1970s. Fook Gin was a beloved institution, and locals were saddened in the 1990s when it closed. Within weeks a new place was open there — Hermosa’s first Thai restaurant, Thai Top. I remember visiting the place shortly after the change and being unimpressed by the food, which was unusually mild – it was gringo Thai, probably deliberately muted to suit a neighborhood that was unsophisticated about authentic flavors. The restaurant had been cleaned up and had a scruffy charm, but besides convenience there wasn’t much of a reason to go there. Thai Top. Photo by Kathalina Rodriguez My most recent visit was almost an accident…
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