Asian – Page 8 – Food & Pixels

Sripraphai Thai- authentic Thai in Woodside

Sripraphai Thai is my go to Thai food place in all of New York. This is not your regular neighborhood Pad Thai / fried rice take-out place, although their Pad Thai and Pineapple fried rice are outstanding. This place offers a taste of authentic Thai.
The BOOK of menu is a good read. Almost 10 pages long. Like most Asian restaurants, it is numberize and filled with pictures. And their method of numbering system does not go in order (A-B-C-D), it is A- appetizers; N- noodles; S- soup; O- over rice, and so on, they even have a section just for soft shell crab (SC); awkwardly a-la-carte is C and drinks is SD. It is all over the place, and will definitely take some time to navigate this book, even more difficult to decide what to orde. There are just too many choices and everything look good.
There are a few must have dishes every time I am there.
Thai Iced Tea– it is a little sweet for my taste, but it is so smooth that I can’t not have. But on a recent visit with a friend whom have spent some time in thailand, I was introduced to black Thai ice tea. No milk or sugar, but with lime. Utterly refreshing, the tangy balanced the density of the black tea, make a declious healthy summer drink.

Everyone loves Tom Yum soup, but I prefer chicken coconut milk soup. It also has ginger and lemongrass in it. Creamy with a hint of sourness. If chicken-noodle soup cures cold and flu; this coconut chicken soup smooth my soul.

Crispy Ground Catfish Topped with green mango salad & cashew nuts

The catfish was finely ground then deef fried. While it has all the crunch, fish was lost. It was grounded so finely that it does not ressembled to be fish anymore. Other than crunchiness, it was airly. But when pair with the green mango salad that come with it, it almost become a crumbs topping, very interesting dish.

Papaya Salad with dry shrimp and crushed peanuts
a traditional stable in Thai food. And what’s not to love. It is sweet, sour and spicy.

B.B.Q. Pork Tender with garlic, chili and lime juice
This is a MUST have at Sripraphai Thai. So simple and yet so good. I have never had a piece of pork that have such tenderness. So succlent, and mouth-watering. This BBQ pork tender use the meat from pork’s neck, simply grilled it and serve with the house made special garlic chili lime sauce. This special sauce is sour at first, in the sourness hid a scent of sweetness, then packs a strong kick at the end. It is spicy, but it is the kind of pain that is enjoyable and keep me coming back for more.

Panang Curry chicken w. coconut milk

Sautéed Chinese Broccoli with crispy pork

While everything was delicious, we felt a sense of unsatisfactory, because we were told the mango with sticky rice was all sold out. No Thai meal is completed without this traditional dessert, at least for me. Sticky rice usually cooked with coconut milk, with fresh sliced mango. It is sweet but absolutly delicious. We were sadden that our meal couldn’t be fully fulfilled.
This family own authentic Thai restaurant is located in a residential area in Woodside, just steps away from the 7 train 69 street station. The place closes on Wednesday, and does not take reservation, so get there early as crowds outside the door usually gather around 630p on a Friday night. (March, 2015)

Hot Pots – the Non-Chinese style part 2

Hot Pots – the Non-Chinese style part 2

For a successful hot pot, the soup base is everything. The most simple Chinese hot pot would be just chicken/ beef stock. But there are so much more than chicken stock out there, there are Sichuan pepper, Chongqing Ma La, Manchurian, herbs, etc. Thai’s offers a chili, lime dipping sauce which makes even more spicy. There are places use milk as soup base, and of course we have visited “Hakata” style. Here, I want to introduce to you Vietnamese vinegar hot pot – Nhung Dam.

I first encountered Nhung Dam in Las Vegas, at Pho SO 1, an authentic vietnamese restaurant off the strip, in a strip mall on Spring Mountain Road. Nhung Dam is actually part of the traditional vietnamese meal Bo 7 Mon (Beef 7 courses). Out of the 7 courses, I like Nhung Dam the best. It is so simple, yet so good. The vinegar broth has lemongrass, onion, garlic and of course vinegar in it (some places also add coconut water). Heated by a portable stove, along side with it are: slice of raw beef (or your choice of meat), a small mountain of vegetables (lettuce, cucumber, carrots, basil), a plate full of rice noodles, rice paper, a hot bowl of water, and a dipping sauce. We would cook our meat to our desire temperature, and wet the rice paper till it is soft, add meat, veggies, noodles, and roll it as if we are making out own summer roll, then dip it in the sauce. Because the broth is mostly vinegar, it reduced the oil of the meat and added flavor, and lemongrass added aroma. But, the star is actually the dipping sauce. This is not your typical soy sauce, spicy sauce mixed. It is called Mam Nem, a very popular dipping sauce in vietnamese cuisine. It is a mix of pineapples, chili peppers, lime juice, lemongrass, vinegar, fish sauce, and anchovy sauce. It is sweet, sour, fresh, spicy and salty all at the same time, just thinking about it, makes my mouth watery. I dare to say this is the best dipping sauce of all. This is the star of Nhung Dam. The sauce is so good, I want to bottle it up and bring it home. Every time I go to Vegas, this dish is a must have for me.

As fun as Vegas is, it is still a long flight away. After some searching, I found a place near Boston that serves Nhung Dam with fish, and I love it even more than beef.

Anh Hong, is actually located in Dorchester, MA, south of Boston, a town with rising population of Vietnamese. The place is on a street corner in a residential area. Bo 7 Mon is advertised in neon light on the store window. Ca 7 Mon is on the first page, for only $32.95/ 2 pp, I didn’t need to take another look at the menu.

Goi Ca

Ca Nhung Dam

Cha Dam, Mo Chai, La Loi

Noung Ca

Chao Fish

This fish 7 courses offers enormous amount of food. We honestly could not possibly finish all of it. So we finished those we can’t take home. We tracked down the hot pot, grill fish, fish salad and the congee. All were delicious and satisfying. And the fish ball trio, we enjoyed it the next day.
There are a lot of vietnamese restaurants in NYC, but during my search, ti only found a couple places in NYC that have the dish. I asked some of the vietnamese restaurant owners, why won’t everyone put this amazing course or hot pot on their menu. They all said that, it requires a lot of work, with little profit margin. I guess i’ll just have to take a long drive, or even a longer flight.

Pho So 1 | 4745 Spring Mountain Rd, Las Vegas, NV | Jan, 2015
Anh Hong | 291 Adams St, Dorchester, MA | Jan, 2015

Hot Pots – the Non-Chinese style part 1

On a cold winter day like today, nothing is more comforting than sitting in front of a hot pot with friends and family. You are warm, there is soup; there is meat and vegetables; you can put anything in there you want; you can pick your own sauce. The only thing I would complain about hot pot is the amount of dishes I have to do afterwards. I’m not a fan of dishwasher, and against paper/ plastic-wares. So my solution to that is to eat out. There are a lot of Chinese hot pot places we can go to in the city, some of the best ones are in Queens, but I am recommending 2 hotpot places that are not Chinese.
The first one is right in the city. It has been around for quite some years now. Over the years, we have been back again and again, and the quality is very consistent.
Hakata Tonton, a little hole-in-the-wall place in the village, serving hotpot Japanese style year around. This is not a regular shabu-shabu place, in fact, it has nothing to do with beef, but everything to do with pork- The logo of the the place is a pig’s nose, and the front cover of the menu stated “I heart pork”!!! Hakata is a town in Fukuoka, known for their rich pork broth ramen. Hakata Tonton utilizes that broth and turn it into hot pot soup base. Yes, that rich, white creamy soup that is so good, you can drink it by itself.
All the hot pots are half cook before it is brought to the table. It will keep boiling down with the help of a little stove, and keep it hot while you enjoy it.

HAKATA TONTON Hot Pot (min. 2 orders)$13

The namesake hot pot comes with tofu, homemade pork dumplings, veggies, pork belly and tonsoku. You can order additional sides if you don’t have enough. But the portions are petty generous. And if that is still not enough, with an extra $4, you can choose to add ramen or rice to the pot, to make full use of that tasty, cooked down broth. There are 4 kinds of hot pots, and occasionally, there is a fourth broth which is in red. Honestly, there are no bad choice here, just pick one, sit back, and watch it bubbling down into a delightful, comforting bowl that warms your heart.

Shabu Shabu Hot Pot ( min. 2 orders) $17

Grill Pork Tonsoku with scallion and ponzu sauce

Grill Pork Tonsoku with spicy garlic sauce

Sauteed Pork Tongue w/scallions

Foie Gras Inari Sushi

However, the hot pot is not the only star at Hakata Tonton. The Tonsoku is the true lead. Before diving into the hotpot, we tried the speciality tonsoku, with scallion and ponzu sauce and spicy garlic sauce. Both are absolutely delicious. I recommend to ditch your manner and eat it with your fingers, and suck every tiny bit of meat out. If you want less messy and more meat, go with the sauteed pork tongue. We also couldn’t help ourselves but ordered the foie gras sushi. Yes, the sauce was a little excessive, and it is a little sweet, but it is only $5 a piece. And since I am indulging myself, the soba crème brulee with black sesame ice cream is great note to end the night.

*Note: Hakata Tonton is a very cozy place, reservation is strongly recommended.