Fried chicken khao soi from Chef Kitima Boonmala's pop-up will be on the menu of Bird Song. Photograph by Kitima Boonmala.Chef Kitima Boonmala’s family ran a small noodle shop in the central Thai city of Ayutthaya, the birthplace of the boat noodle. When she moved to the US, her mom gave her the recipe for her noodle soup. “She said, ‘Maybe you can use it one day,’ and I didn’t really think I would use it,” Boonmala says. Nor did she expect that the dish would become a specialty of hers at a series of pop-ups, and later this spring, at a modern Thai restaurant in Chevy Chase DC called Bird Song. The restaurant, located in the former Blue 44 space, is a partnership with restaurateur Aaron Gordon of neighboring Little Beast, where Boonmala had previously taken over the kitchen for Sunday pop-ups. “It was just awesome. It was phenomenal, delicious, wonderful. And right then and there, we were like, ‘We’ve got to do something together,'” Gordon says. Boonmala had previously worked for chef Alex McCoy’s former Thai pop-up Alfie’s. That led to her first late-night Thai pop-up Toh Roong—short for “night market”— in 2018 at McCoy’s burger joint Lucky Buns. She’s continued to showcase her fiery cooking and noodle dishes at a number of other restaurants over the last seven years, including Elle in Mount Pleasant, where she also worked. Sen lek dry noodles. Photograph by Kitima Boonmala. At the forthcoming Bird Song, Boonmala says, “we want to showcase what people have never had here yet.” The restaurant will of course feature her spicy boat noodle soup with slow-cooked beef shank and a rich, blood-thickened beef broth (a vegan option with shiitakes, braised tofu, and daikon will also be available). The soup is seasoned with her mom’s signature spices, fresh herbs, and pork-fat-fried garlic. There will also be a number of other noodle dishes—none of which are pad thai. Instead, look for fried chicken khao soi with egg noodles and coconut broth or sen lek, thin rice noodles tossed with garlic oil, sweet black soy, and peanuts. It’s not just noodles though. The menu is broken down into sections that mirror a Thai market experience, starting with one of Boonmala’s favorite street foods—dumplings. Among the options, expect tapioca pearl dumplings, crispy pork wontons, and shrimp dumplings with tom yum broth. The wide-ranging menu will also feature small plates like grilled oysters with a tangy-spicy dressing, as well as family-style dishes that may include jungle curry with smoked brisket, white curry with sun-dried pork, or a spicy-sour fish soup with tender beef tongue. Cocktails, including non-alcoholic options, will embrace Thai herbs, spices, and fruits, and channel snacks from Boonmala’s childhood. Meanwhile, Little Beast chef and pastry talent Naomi Gallego will create Bird Song’s desserts. Thai-style doughnuts will be served with toasted-sesame sugar and hojicha-tea caramel, and a steamed pandan cake will come with toasted-coconut anglaise and a banana-lime salsa. Gallego is also working on a coconut rice pudding with an array of colorful, multi-textured toppings, including dragonfruit, lychee, guava pearls, purple butterfly pea tea jellies, and crispy coconut tapioca. Bird Song. 5507 Connecticut Ave., NW.The post Popular Noodle Pop-Up Will Become a Thai Restaurant in Chevy Chase DC first appeared on Washingtonian.