Mae Toi Mahasarakahm is a Thai restaurant on the second floor of 198 Geylang Road in Geylang, Singapore, with a 4.1 Google rating. Its name points to Mahasarakham, a province in Thailand's northeast, and the cooking that region is known for. Northeastern, or Isan, food is the funkier, chilli-forward side of Thai cooking: papaya salad pounded to order, grilled meats, larb with toasted rice powder, sticky rice instead of jasmine. A good Thai kitchen balances salty, sour, sweet and chilli in every dish, so ask how hot they cook before ordering. Regulars trust the less-translated dishes and whatever the Thai families at the next table are eating. A short wait for a salad pounded fresh is a good sign. It sits upstairs at #02-02 on Geylang Road, one of Singapore's most reliably good eating streets.