Crispy catfish and mango salad: rather epic. The catfish is so crispy that my first reaction is “Are you sure there’s fish in it?” Cos it feels like tempura batter. The combination of mangoes, peanuts and crunchy catfish makes it the perfect Thai salad. 

Crying tiger beef: very, very good. Almost like the Thai version of the Vietnamese bo luc lac. Don’t forget the sauce! I almost wanted to take the sauce home. Also, what is it with Thais and crying tigers? There is that cult Thai cowboy movie “Tears of the Black Tiger.”

Green curry big eggs. Comes with little green eggplants and these fish dumplings filled with salted egg yolk. In Indonesia there is a very similar style of dumplings, but it’s never, ever made in a curry. So this is intriguing and also good, but I suspect I won’t develop any cravings for it. But it’s a great green curry anyway. 

Goong pear shrimp: looks epic, doesn’t it? I like the crispy coating of the shrimp, the spicy sauce, the brittle snap of the basil leaves. But at this point I was a little too full.

Verdict: Jitlada seems very interesting and authentic, definitely not your run-of-the-mill Thai restaurant, especially with their Southern Thai menu. Next time I’d come armed with Jonathan Gold’s review, so I can try out more weird different stuff. Mister Gold, you’re our best friend.