Lum Ka Naad (Thai food, both northern and southern specialties done well) now has another location in Encino. Got my usual order of kang ho and khao soy to go and the food tastes pretty much the same as the Northridge location. It's much more convenient proximity to the 101 so we'll probably be eating here from now on unless we need to eat late night (this one closes earlier than the University location).
Still love this place, with a slight preference to the Northridge location when it sensible to go there instead of the Encino location (we almost always get this as takeout on the way home from somewhere in LA, so the distance difference from the 101 is small but significant, but at late hours only Northridge is available). Though it hasn't been practical to try a back-to-back tasting, the cooks at the original location seem just a little more seasoned, with the spicing and balance just a smidge more deft. Though they have a huge menu, with specific Northern and Southern specialties, we have stuck mostly with our Northern favorites, the khao soy and kang ho (the noodles never stick together, it's loaded with vegetables, and has a distinctively tangy curry flavor). We've also tried several other ordinary noodle dishes and apps (all are fine-good-great, but unmemorable compared to these dishes, though my husband really like the angel wings [stuffed chicken]) and a few of the more interesting plates from the Southern menu (very good), but these dishes are what we crave. They take a lot of care with takeout orders, lining containers with foil, individually packaging all the little spices/sauces, and making air vents to preserve crispness as needed.
They were on the LA Weekly's Essentials list of restaurants last year but fell off this year, which might actually be the sweet spot of publicity (they were slammed several times when we stopped by last year, and shortly after publication the FOH folks at least were adorably clueless that they had made the list) for visitors, as they seem to remain busy but you can get your food in a reasonable amount of time.
We originally found them while looking for late-night food coming home from Six Flags Magic Mountain (a GREAT roller coaster park, and I'm saying this as a huge Cedar Point fan). It's really at an excellent location if you need good food at odd hours (or any time!) coming back to the city from the north. The Encino location is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and Northridge is open until 2 AM on those days for the college kids 
