Part Thai karaoke bar, part restaurant, Playground houses its eatery along a long narrow space on the first floor.

Owned by Sudarat Yingyong, the menu offers an interesting array of dishes from the Isan region including a host of grubs. Try a plate of silkworms on for size.

The regular dishes you might be used to, such as pad kra pao (stir-fried holy basil) are served with a difference. Theirs is sautéed with a century egg which gives it a blackened, jellylike consistency.

The papaya salad was funkier than what I’m used too as they use a pungent pickled fish sauce to flavor it.

Spicy means hot here at Playground. I think they serve one of the best Tom Yum soups in the area which has a great sweet-sour depth to it.

Two dishes really stood out for me. One was the Pad Hoy Lai (Stir Fried Clams with Chili Paste and Thai Basil) and the other was the Fish with chili lime sauce.

However, there is a plethora of dishes here at Playground that will keep you coming back for more.

Here is some of what we ate: