Inside Oakland’s tropical new Jo’s Modern Thai restaurant

You want “Thai spicy?” This is the place.

Jo’s Modern Thai, a new family-owned restaurant in Oakland’s Laurel District, is an homage to the fiery cuisine of Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region. At the kitchen’s helm: Intu-on Kornnawong, a former sous chef at San Francisco’s groundbreaking Michelin-starred Kin Khao. During the pandemic, she launched a buzzy Hayes Valley pop-up, Intu-on, celebrating the flavors of her native region, combined with her cheffy Nor Cal sensibilities.

Now, together with owner Kao Saelee, whose family runs Berkeley’s Racha Cafe, a Thai restaurant, Kornnawong is bringing her modern takes on spicy, pungent, herb-loaded dishes, like pad kee mao and pork laab, to the East Bay. They’re served…