My family is Jamaican and there’s a joke that we will make soup year-round. Fall? Soup. Wintertime? You better believe a soup is being made. Is it 106 degrees on an August day in Los Angeles? There’s a soup for that. Soup, or anything with a broth (thick or not), is almost customary to be had at any time of the year. Is it the Jamaican way? Amongst a handful of other things, pretty much.

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As I roll my eyes at a stereotypical joke, this one reigns true for myself and my family.

I love a soup and the time of the year or the temperature gleaming on a clock means little to me. That’s why when I received a direct message via Instagram to try khao soi, I took it. The Instagram handle with the message came from Best Khao Soi – not the most unique name, but it gets the point across. The man running the page and the business introduced himself and described his menu. Scanning over the images across his social media account I could admit that it wouldn’t be a matter of if I would place an order with him, but when.

Not to be queen obvious, but it didn’t take long.

If you’re like myself and you can’t recall if you’ve had Thai khao soi, here comes the breakdown. The dish submerges egg noodles in a coconut-based stew alongside a protein. Spice levels are customized, flavor is expected, and fragrance is so palpable that you’ll think it tucks you into bed at night. In my series of messages on Instagram I could order the dish, pick the protein, select my spice level, and have it delivered anywhere within the West Hollywood area. I opted for the Shrimp Khao Soi ($17). To no one’s surprise, it was delicious.

Packaged and delivered in separate containers, I assembled the khao soi into a bowls placed over a wooden board. It was the food writer’s routine: photos first and then dinner. Crispy wontons, onions, chilli peppers, and lime were sprinkled into the bowl of noodles, broth, and large shrimp. The same fragrant aroma that I knew about, didn’t shy away from my nose as I took photos. Almost flirting with my face, the scent made it hard to take pictures. The splash of the broth across my fingertips made it difficult to concentrate, but this food writer’s routine wasn’t my first go, so I didn’t give in.

The minute I could set down my camera and wrapped one hand around the bowl and my second hand around the grooves of my fork, I took it. The dish was delicious. The bowl was full of warmth that you would gladly eat even in the middle of summer. It’s the kind that you wish you knew about earlier in life so you could have more moments with your hands around it. The kind where you would reconsider take out from other restaurants if it meant you could have take out with them. It’s the kind of dish that you would gladly enjoy year-round, and I encourage you to discover that for yourself–regardless if you’re Jamaican or not.

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