Wild Thaiger, burning bright
In the Phoenix desert night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fiery beef Panang curry?
I’m no William Blake, but my inaugural visit to Wild Thaiger in Phoenix, Arizona inspired me to wax poetic. It would be peurile of me to pen an unctuous description of Chef-Owner Olashawn Hasadinratana-Weaver (Ola for short) that might have included the terms “cougar” or “tigress.” Chef Ola is a serious, self-taught chef who learned the art of cooking from her family’s rich Thai culinary traditions and honed her skills hands-on in the restaurant industry. To view her as something other than that is to diminish her talents. She may be a vibrant, energetic and very attractive celebrity chef, but there’s so much more to her than that.
The culinary world witnessed Chef Ola’s culinary talents as well as her vivaciousness during a 2014 visit by gliteratti Guy Fieri and the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” crew. His initial visit was featured in the season 22 episode “Globe Tasting” which originally aired in 2015. During this visit, he highlighted such signature dishes as pork and crab dumplings known as “Dragon Eggz” and the Mu Yang marinated pork skewers. Fieri later returned to the restaurant for a follow-up visit featured in an episode that aired in late 2025. The Triple D host is a massive fan of The Wild Thaiger, effusively praising its modern Thai cooking and boldly declaring it “the best Thai food place in all of Arizona.” He praised Chef Ola’s bold flavors and described her food as a “globe tasting” experience
I am, by no means, a “Triple D sycophant” like so many who travel across the country specifically to dine at restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. These dedicated culinary tourists map out road trips, track down greasy spoons and attempt to recreate Fieri’s iconic cross-country dining experiences, usually ordering the dishes prepared for him on the show. Although I find the spike-coiffured Fieri very entertaining and funnier (by far) than any late night television show host, I don’t always agree with his assessments, especially when there are foods he won’t eat (liver and onions, eggs, etc.).
More than most of the 1,600 restaurants Fieri has visited across the United States and internationally, I found his 2014 visit to Wild Thaiger captivating. Not only were the dishes prepared by Chef Ola unique and intriguing, she proved herself a match for Fieri. Their rapport and repartee was very engaging. Unlike some episodes, Fieri didn’t have to “carry” a chef whose on-air wit and charm don’t measure up to their culinary talents. Chef Ola may not have stolen the show, but she certainly deserved equal billing.
Live and in color, Chef Ola is every bit as engaging as she is on television. She’s energetic, vibrant and personable. She also knows how to take a compliment well…and my compliments came like a fuscillade of the most sincere flattery. We took a couple of “usies” (A selfie that features two people is commonly called an “usie” (short for “us”) or a “twofie”) where she had me cracking up. Chef Ola is a great restaurateur. Yes, but can she cook? Boy, can she cook! She’s known for creating modern, Thai-inspired cuisine with deep, authentic flavors. Her cooking often combines traditional Thai culinary techniques with personal, innovative twists. In a city with two of the best Thai restaurants in the country (Glai Baan and Lom Wong (which is helmed by a James Beard award-winning chef)) Chef Ola takes a backseat to no one!
While critics tend to cite restaurants such as Glai Baan and Lom Wong as being “more authentic,” “regional,” or serving”street-style” food, Wild Thaiger is frequently praised for its high-quality standards and “American-friendly” (but still authentic) interpretation of classic dishes. One dissenting review suggested a more fitting name for the restaurant would be “Mild Thaiger.” How much do you want to bet that this line was penned by someone who couldn’t have eaten food prepared “Thai hot?” Chef Ola approaches “Thai hot” food as an experience that must balance intense, fiery heat with deep, vibrant flavor. Rather than burning the palate purely for the sake of spiciness, her philosophy centers on honoring traditional Thai family recipes by extracting maximum aroma and flavor from fresh, authentic ingredients such as Thai chilies, lemongrass, and galangal. That’s precisely what true aficionados of Thai cuisine want.
Peruse the menu and you will find “Thai hot” (think napalm laced with hellfire) cuisine. The most piquant dish at Wild Thaiger is appropriately named the “Fire Wok-ker.” This flaming hot Thai fried rice is levels above traditional dishes and is prepared with fiery hot basil. It comes loaded with string beans, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, and onions. You may want a gallon of milk on hand to mollify the heat. The menu is categorized into sensical sections: Starters, Salads, Hot Pots, Curries, Rice & Noodles, Pad Thai, Specialties, Seafood, On The Side and Desserts. You can order your dishes ranging from mild to Thai hot.
Perhaps the most popular starter on the menu is the curiously named Dragon Eggz, essentially shrimp, pork and crab (the real stuff) dumplings with oyster sauce, sugar and eggs. You can ask for your dragon eggz served steamed or fried. If you order the latter, Chef Ola first steams the dumplings for fifteen minutes then drops them in the frying pan. She then pours the “dragon eggz sauce” on top and crowns each of the six dumplings with a jalapeño ring. The dumplings aren’t completely sealed. There’s just too much filling to completely wrap them. Though you might be tempted to devour them in one bite, make the time to savor the delicate and balanced flavors. Immerse them in the slightly piquant and tangy dragon eggz sauce for a flavor boost. They go down even better with the jalapeño.
Thailand has developed over 100 different varieties of curry, heavily influenced by regional geography and history. It’s not uncommon in Thai restaurants across the fruited plain to see six or seven curry dishes on a menu. Wild Thaiger lists five, but they’re not the usual curries most restaurants serve. Because I couldn’t make up my mind which to have, I asked my delightful server who recommended the Khao Soi, a mild, coconut-based curry served over soft egg noodles and topped with crispy egg noodles. It is then perfected by optional additions of chicken, lemon slices, chili and cilantro. The rich, creamy, and mildly spicy coconut curry broth (which includes chili, ginger and tumeric) is the star of the show as curry tends to be for me. This curry would make an excellent aftershave (so I could smell it all day long). An entire chicken leg practically is so tender it practically falls apart with a slight press of your fork. Immerse the crispy egg noodles into the broth and they don’t quite soften, but provide a nice textural contrast to the soft egg noodles. This is a magnificent dish!
In the two Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episodes in which Wild Thaiger was featured, the world learned that Chef Osa’s take on modern Thai cuisine is a delicious departure from the same dishes featured in most Thai restaurants. What we didn’t learn is that the chef is not only an accomplished chef, but a fantastic baker. Her baking talents are showcased in the “cake of the day.” Though such thoroughly wonderful Thai desserts as mangos with sticky rice, fried banana and coconut ice cream are on the menu, do yourself a favor and inquire about the cake of the day. During my inaugural visit, that cake was a towering, three-layer Banana-Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cake. It’s flavor upon flavor upon flavor, a melange of flavors that go very well together. It’s moist and delicious, the type of cake you might not want to share no matter how much you love your dining companion.
The Wild Thaiger is a Phoenix hotspot that’s turning tradition on its head with bold flavors, creative twists and a chef with as much charisma and charm as her food has flavors.
The Wild Thaiger
2631 North Central Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona
602-241-8995
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 17 July 2026
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$ – $$$
BEST BET: Banana-Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cake, Kha Soi, Dragon Eggs
REVIEW #1532