Pad See Iew probably seems pretty pedestrian, and it is, especially compared to Pa-Ord’s more compelling porcine options, including crispy pork with Chinese broccoli and soup with barbecued pork, crumbled pork, pork balls and pork liver. However, I didn’t eat those dishes in the past week. Instead, I opted for a pre-hike container of Pad See Iew, featuring rice noodles that were crusty with caramelized soy sauce, crunchy cuts of Chinese broccoli with a slightly bitter finish, and lean, high-quality strips of seared pork. Chef Lawan Bhanduram showered the dish with a liberal dose of black pepper and made sure to pack containers of chile flakes and pickled dimes of jalapeno, both of which added punch to the dish. Sometimes it’s the seemingly simple dishes that prove to be the most satisfying.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.