Ngam

As a child of NYU, I can't help but have a soft spot for the Thai food at Spice (and those shrimp fritters...).  But there's a new rival in town!  Ngam has opened in the East Village and I'm obsessed!

When you walk in, you'll notice a modern feel with exposed piping, brick walls, wooden tables, and an open kitchen on the right.  More often than not, you'll also see the chef and owner Chef Hong making her magic in the kitchen as you walk by towards the dining room. 

Inside of Ngam with an adorable baby picture of Chef Hong on the wall

I love an open kitchen!

Ngam really sets itself above other Thai restaurants by offering a really unique and inventive menu.  In addition to the noodle and curry dishes that are staples in traditional Thai restaurants, Ngam also offers special creations such as Lamb "massaman" Roti Potpie, Lobster Dumplings, and Thai Oyster Shots.  Take a look at their full menus here.

I've been to Ngam several times now, as well as ordered take-out even more times.  My definite favorites have been:

Peek Gai Tod” Brother Chai’s Chicken Wings: amazing marinade with just a touch of the chili sauce glaze.  Served on a piece of wood so it was cool to look at as well!

kin shop

kin shop has been on my list of places to try for a long time, probably over two years.  It serves contemporary Thai cuisine with really powerful flavors.  No ordinary Pad Thai here! They definitely pack a lot of heat in their dishes, so be warned that this is not the best choice for the mild spice lovers. 

Located in Greenwich Village, the decor of the restaurant seemed washed out and dull, which doesn't reflect their vibrant flavors at all.  The service was mediocre - nothing glaringly bad, but our waiter seemed a bit grumpy, and at times borderline unfriendly.

For starters, we had the Spicy Duck Laab Salad and the Fried Brussells Sprouts with Chinese Sausage.  On the menu, the Spicy Duck Laab Salad has with not one, but 3 asterisks next to it denoting its level of spiciness.  They're serious about this! It has some serious heat.  The first few bites were enjoyable, especially because we love spicy food, but after that our tongues started losing all sense of feeling and soon everything we ate (the brussells sprouts, water, our cocktails, etc.) tasted like the intensely spicy duck.  The dish started out great, but it quickly became overwhelming.

I was disappointed in the Fried Brussells Sprouts, and it wasn't only because all I could taste was the spicy duck (though that didn't help...).  I was expecting to have nice crispy sprouts with lightly browned leaves.  Unfortunately these were soggy, and they just got softer as they bathed in the sauce.  There were a handful of crispy ones which I enjoyed very much, now if only there were more...

Fried Brussells Sprouts || Spicy Duck Laab Salad