This busy Malden spot, open since late 2017, offers a pretty giant menu. It’s named for — albeit in punny form — the “crying tiger” dish originating in Thailand’s Isan region in the northeast, a spiced, grilled brisket. Crying Thaiger offers a handful of “crying” dishes — try the wings, among the best in the Boston area — as well as plenty more options, including khai krok (sunny side up quail eggs), a crab paste omelet, rice baked in a clay pot with sweet sausage, and more. Those dishes are among your best bets, but keep an eye out for seasonal specials, too. The ownership team just opened a second restaurant, the more upscale Thaiger Den, also in Malden. (If nam prik ong, a northern Thai chile dip, is available at either restaurant, get it.)

No longer a newcomer, Boonnoon Market has found strong footing in the ever-so-diverse culinary scene in this corner of Arlington. Swing by the small, plant-filled storefront, which offers a bit of dine-in seating, takeout, and retail Thai food specialties, from curry pastes to packaged snacks. The ua lao, a northern-style sausage, is an early highlight, as are the khao soi and the peanut-y spicy satay noodles.

Dakzen doesn’t shy away from bold flavors throughout its menu, which focuses on street food-style noodle dishes. The fiery tom yum noodle soup is a highlight, and Dakzen also offers particularly good renditions of ba mee moo dang (an egg noodle dish for pork lovers) and northern Thailand’s classic khao soi. Don’t forget a side order of sai ua, northern Thai sausage. It has a sibling spot Thazia located in Seaport’s Innovation and Design Building.

Open since mid-2014, Cha Yen Thai Cookery is a Watertown favorite for Thai food; chef and owner Manita Bunnagitkarn even opened a second restaurant, Kala Thai Cookery, four years later in Boston proper (see below). Cha Yen — which is the Thai phrase for iced tea — mostly sticks with dishes widely familiar at American Thai restaurants, from chicken satay to massaman curry to papaya salad, but done especially well. There are also a few soups that are getting a bit easier to find locally, such as khao soi and boat noodles. Don’t miss the fried corn fritters or the house-made ice creams.

Kala Thai Cookery is the younger sibling to Cha Yen (see above), located right in the heart of Boston and looking out on the bustling Haymarket (which operates on Fridays and Saturdays). The two restaurants’ menus overlap quite a bit — again, go for the corn fritters and ice creams — but one must-try at Kala that’s not also available at Cha Yen is char kway teow, a stir-fried rice noodle dish with sausage, egg, and shrimp.

This spot in the corner of Brighton has attracted a strong following from nearby college students. It specializes in a number of rice plates and noodle soup, including tom yum sukhothai, a spicy and sour noodle soup filled with ground and barbecued pork, meatballs, and other toppings to the brim and nam tok, a spicy pig blood noodle soup with toppings. 

This relatively new Oak Square restaurant replaced Twelve Hours, a beloved husband-and-wife spot in the neighborhood. Street-style stir-fried rice and noodle dishes are the signature, and so are the grilled meat offerings, such as moo ping (grilled pork skewers) and the famous Thai dish Crying Tiger (marinated and grilled steak). If you’re in the mood for sharing, order the tom yum mor fai, a heartwarming, lemongrass broth filled with fresh seafood. Don’t forget to pair your food with Thai beer or Thonglor’s inventive cocktails.

The longtime Rod Dee chain disintegrated in recent years, with two locations (Cambridge’s Porter Square and Brookline’s Washington Square) reportedly closing for good and the other two locations slightly rebranded. The Fenway location is now Rod Thai Family Taste, and it’s focusing on street foods — a mix of classic dishes and “surprising” family recipes. Go with whatever specials are on offer for the day. Take a similar approach at the other rebranded Rod Dee, Rod D By Sitti in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner.

Named after Bangkok’s Chinatown (called Yaowarat), this Quincy restaurant leans heavily on Thai Chinese specialties and does one of the juiciest and most flavorful khao man gai in town. If you aren’t familiar with the dish yet, it’s a riff on Hainanese chicken and rice, a dish brought over by immigrants from the Hainan province of China to all over southeast Asia. You’ll also find khao moo daeng (Chinese barbecue pork over rice), another Chinatown classic you’ll spot in Bangkok.