What I Got: Fried Taro Balls, Chive Pancakes, Steamed Shrimp Dumplings, Chive Dumpling Massaman, Pad Thai, Khao Soi, Thai Sausage Fried Rice

Price: $$-$$$

Location: NYC

Review:

Fried Taro Balls – The Fried Taro balls are made with taro, peanut, and coconut milk, with a peanut sweet chili sauce.  They have an amazing crispy exterior with a soft, yet firm texture on the inside due to the unique texture of taro.  The taro is subtly sweet and nutty while the hint of oil flavor from the fried exterior adds savory flavor.  The peanuts scattered throughout the taro balls complement and enhance the delicious nutty flavor of the taro.  The peanut sweet chili sauce is the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and nutty.  The spiciness of the sauce adds another extra layer of flavor.  I love taro and peanuts, so I enjoyed this appetizer very much.  

Chive Pancakes – The chive pancakes are thick, fried chive pancakes served with a soy vinaigrette.  These pancakes are not thin, delicate pancakes, but instead are a thick layer of batter that is perfectly crispy on the outside and smooth and soft on the inside.  The chive makes the pancakes savory and delicious.  The soy vinaigrette is the perfect salty, sweet companion to the pancakes.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings – The Steamed Shrimp Dumplings are made with minced shrimp and served with soy vinaigrette.  The shrimp was incredibly juicy with a hint of saltiness.  The dumpling wrapper was perfectly thin and tender.  These were some of the best shrimp dumplings I’ve had. 

Chive Dumpling Massaman – The Chive Dumpling Massaman include Chinese chives, shiitake mushrooms, and tofu wrapped in a pandan infused rice crepe served in massaman curry and topped with coconut milk.  These dumplings are a unique mixture of sweet and savory flavors.  The chive, mushroom, and tofu inside are soft and savory.  The pandan rice crepe surrounding the filling is delicate and tender with a gorgeous green hue from the pandan.  It has a subtle, sweet, pandan flavor.  The massaman curry is savory and spiced, while the coconut milk adds a hint of sweetness.  The savory filling and curry with the subtly sweet crepe and coconut milk create a harmony of sweet and savory that is so fun and interesting to eat.

Pad Thai – The Pad Thai includes stir fried thin rice noodles, Chinese chives, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, and egg in a savory, sweet, tamarind sauce.  You can choose to add vegetables, tofu, chicken, vegetarian duck, shrimp, squid, beef, mixed seafood, or seared duck breast.  I got mine with vegetables which included bok choy, carrots, and broccoli.  This was by far the most delicious Pad Thai I have ever had.  I have always thought Pad Thai was just okay.  After one bite of this Pad Thai, I changed my mind!  The rice noodles were tender with the perfect amount of chew.  The peanuts were crunchy and nutty.  The egg added richness.  The chives had great savory flavor while the bean sprouts brought a fresh crunch.  The bok choy, carrots, and broccoli were perfectly cooked and complimented the other flavors in the dish.  The best part was the tamarind sauce.  It had the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavor with a hint of unique tart tamarind flavor.  This Pad Thai is so flavorful and absolutely delicious.  Luckily, the serving is very generous, so you will have plenty to enjoy.  I usually get two meals out of one order.

Khao Soi – The Khao Soi includes northern Thai egg noodles in a creamy coconut curry broth topped with pickled mustard greens, red onions, fried shallots, and crispy egg noodles.  You can choose to add vegetables, tofu, chicken, vegetarian duck, shrimp, squid, beef, mixed seafood, or seared duck breast.  I got mine with tofu which was soft and perfectly took on the flavors of the curry.  The egg noodles were tender and flavorful.  The coconut curry broth was spicy, warm and perfectly creamy and smooth.  The pickled mustard greens and red onion balanced out the curry with fresh, bright flavor.  The fried shallots and crispy egg noodles added great texture.  This is a great hardy dish for lovers of curry and spice.

Thai Sausage Fried Rice – The Thai Sausage Fried Rice includes jasmine rice stir fried with Thai sweet pork sausage, sweet red bean curd sauce, egg, carrot, onion, and scallion.   The Thai sausage is sweet and salty.  The sweet red bean curd sauce compliments the sausage and makes the rice sticky and delicious.  It also gives the rice a fun red hue.   The carrot was sweet and earthy.  The onion and scallion added great savory flavor that balanced out the sweet sausage and red bean sauce.  The best part of fried rice is always the egg, and it was amazing as always.   This fried rice is a unique and interesting alternative to your typical fried rice.