My wife and I came in here for a quick meal after passing by for two years and wondering if it was any good. The quick verdict: it was!
We started with these sweet chicken and peanut dumplings.
I don’t mean “sweet” in the way a dude would say after waking up with an awesome tattoo after a drunk night out.
I mean “Sweet” in the actual flavor sensation. The peanuts had an almost honey roasted type of sweetness to them.
My wife nabbed this spicy coconut chicken curry noodle dish, which was topped with crispy fried “bird’s nest” noodles as well. Usually these dishes are way too “sweet” for me, but this was really good.
It came with rice (unless that was my dish that came with rice?), but might have benefitted from a hunk of French bread for dipping. But I think that’s more of a Vietnamese thing than a Thai thing.
I went with a dish that really jumped off the menu at me, because it reminded me of the fried whole fish we had in Vietnam that I loved so much.
The reason why is because of the sauce that comes with it. It’s fish sauce, spiced up with cilantro, peppers red onions and scallions.
The fish was fried to a perfect golden crisp, and the bones were pretty easy to maneuver for the most part.
The meat was tender, juicy and soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside – just how I like it.
Oh and one of the cool things about this joint is a nice pond up front that circulates water around and has little floating flowers.
CHAI THAI KITCHEN
930 8th Ave
New York, NY 10019