guanubian's Profile
Best 5 restaurants in Jackson Heights?
I think Ayada is technically Elmhurst, though I agree it might as well be mentioned in this thread.
I don't have 5, since I think there's better stuff in Elmhurst, but I definitely encourage those in the area to give Mustang Thakali Kitchen a shot. Great food.
Talde...is it worth it?
I haven't endured the lines yet, but it's worth mentioning they have a perilla leaf-based appetizer, which is pretty cool since you don't tend to encounter that outside of hardcore Korean and Japanese cooking.
Park Slope lunch with Dad
Scalino is a nice Dad option. Very solid place run by very nice people. If you ask and get lucky, they'll make you their taglierini with truffle butter, which the last time I checked was off-menu. Istanbul Park is decent and Dad-y; their adana kebab is respectable. You can try Zito's, which has interesting stuff and fresh olives.
If you and your Dad are more Chowhoundy, which is to say in to mom-and-pop ethnic food, then Tacos Nuevo Mexico is one of the best in that category in all of New York, somewhat uniquely situated on 5th Avenue and 12th Street (out of your range a bit) owing to the pre-gentrification history of area Hispanic eateries.
Cambodian food?
I agree that Cambodian is not a weak cuisine; I wrote that it and Burmese are the region's -- mainlaind Southeast Asia's -- weakest cuisines. That's a really high bar. Objectively, Cambodian and Burmese foods are wonderful.
I've found this to be the consensus among non-native Southeast Asian food lovers who have been to the region. (I mention them as my sample, because natives work within a distorting framework of national bias.) I've been there too, though not to Burma. Your impression appears to be based on the American versions of Cambodian and Vietnamese food, and it is accurate for those variants. I love that you alluded to Elephant Walk, which when I lived in the Boston area well over a decade ago was a delightful restaurant. By and large, Vietnamese food in Vietnam simply blows away American Vietnamese food. There really isn't a comparison. Alternately, Cambodian food in America, when done well, tends to blow away its antecedent in the motherland, at least the version you get in Phnom Penh. That's because even now Cambodia hasn't really recovered from the genocide years; it's squalid and there isn't a lot of time and money to knit together dazzling displays of leisure culture, including food. (For the sake of perspective, note there can also be parity -- for example, some Thai/Isaan restaurants in Queens, NY are of equivalent quality to very good restaurants in Bangkok.)
So, in America, the way this works out is good Cambodian and Vietnamese are about on par with each other. In mainland Southeast Asia, for my money Vietnamese is actually THE BEST of them all, in spite of what people say about Thailand and Laos. Two of the reasons Vietnamese is so much better in Vietnam are American Vietnamese tends to emulate a narrow subset of the overall cuisine, whose flavors are sweeter and comparatively insipid; and the cuisine is based heavily on local fruits, vegetables and herbs that aren't exported as freshly or at all.
Where to find a Lao restaurant ?
I read a post elsewhere by the reliable DaveCook that Zabb Elee in downtown Manhattan is owned by Isaan folk and the ex-chef of Poodam is running the kitchen. If that's true, Zabb Elee is functionally Lao and likely among the best, if not the best, Thai-regional food in NYC. Dave?
The Number One BEST Thai Restaurant in NYC
Well I just read that Zabb Elee in downtown Manhattan is owned by Isaan folk and the ex-chef of Poodam is running the kitchen. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, Zabb Elee is now likely among the best, if not the best, Thai in NYC.
Where to find a Lao restaurant ?
They retain the traditional Jackson Heights branch on Roosevelt Avenue. I think there is now something on the awning making very clear that you can have Lao food there. Either that, or it conspicuously advertises Isaan food, which is cognate with Lao food. I went to Zabb some years ago and found it to be inferior to Poodam, from both the perspectives of Thai and Isaan food, but now Poodam is toast and Zaab is very good. Maybe it's improved since then.
Also it's worth mentioning that Thai Central Station has a Lao combo or two, and Ayuda, which for my money is the best Thai operating now in NYC, serves some Isaan/Lao items. TCS was good, but not great. Ayuda will make a bonafide Lao som tam; that is to say, the pickled crab version; and it's awesome. If I remember correctly, Ayuda serves Lao sausage (sai ua), and Thai Central Station serves something similar, but distinct and also Isaan. But better than that, at Ayuda you can get the Chiang Mai pickled pork specialty sausage naem, which any serious Chowhound must try.
More people praise Sripraphai than Ayuda, but if your Thai taste is northeastern or Lao (spicier and fish-saucier), then I think you might be happier with Ayuda. I'm not sure to what extent Sripraphai will do Lao style.
The Number One BEST Thai Restaurant in NYC
I think that is the consensus, but it does an injustice to Ayada, which is every bit as good as Sripraphai, and arguably does Isaan-style better, but doesn't offer the same breadth of dishes.
The Number One BEST Thai Restaurant in NYC
I've been on a diet for nearly a year, so my information is dated accordingly. Authentic and delicious Thai food in Brooklyn and Manhattan is a mug's game. Go to Queens, either to Sripraphai or Ayuda. Runners up are Chao Thai, Arunee and Zabb. All of these are in Jackson Heights or Elmhurst.
Personally I rock it Isaan style, so for me the best was Poodam in Long Island City/Steinway, but that's long gone. Ayuda does the best approximation today that I'm aware of. Has anyone tried Poodam's replacement?
Best Cambodian and Lao Near Burbank
Thanks. How does New Battambang compare with the others?
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Battambang
648 New High St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Best Cambodian and Lao Near Burbank
Yep, I've been to Laos and Cambodia and felt the same way about Cambodian food, although in a good restaurant like Ponlok in Phnom Penh, my disenchantment was merely relative to the varied splendor of food in Bangkok and Saigon.
Best Cambodian and Lao Near Burbank
Hi. What are the best Cambodian and Lao options near Burbank?. "Near" here is defined as a 20 minute drive or less. Thanks!
Bars in Brighton Beach?
Yes, about 1/4 of the seating space is outdoors, but in spite of umbrellas they'll close it down if it's rainy. I haven't eaten too many of the dishes, as Gambrinus is more of a bar than restaurant for me. What I've had -- appetizer stuff -- has been solid.
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Gambrinus
3100 Ocean Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Cambodian food?
Not to be pedantic, but it depends on how you define Southeast Asian. The main SE cuisines that are virtually or totally missing from NYC are Cambodian, as you noted, and Lao and Burmese. Of those, the best you used to be able to do was indulge in the Isaan Thai menu at the incredible Poodam's, which has tragically shuttered; Isaan Thai food is cognate with Lao food. (Has anyone tried the Thai restaurant that supplanted Poodam's?) Zabb Thai purports to serve some Isaan food, but I heard that closed too -- not sure -- and anyway, while it was very good I didn't think it held a candle to Poodam's. Ayuda, which is amazing, is going strong and will make you a bonafide Isaan som tam and other Lao-style dishes.
Cambodian and Burmese food are even less frequently and well-represented here. This is a tragedy, although it should be noted that these are the region's weakest cuisines. That is comparatively speaking against a rather high bar -- Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and the island melange cuisines -- but still, it's probably not for nothing in explaining, along with immigration patterns, why we don't have more Cambodian and Burmese restaurants.
Best Korean restaurant
The two best I'm aware of are deep in Queens -- Sol Bawoo (149-44 41st Ave Murray Hill) and San Soo Kap San (17110 Northern Boulevard Flushing). They both excel at BBQ; the former is more country-style, and thus has less common meat selections, than the latter.
BEST SUSHI??
The New York sushi trifecta is Masa, Sushi Yasuda and Kurumazushi. Omakase at either one should be one of the best eating experiences of your life, assuming you're not in possession of unlimited time and money. They are all rather expensive. Does anyone know how omakase ranges in price at each restaurant?
Bars in Brighton Beach?
Gambrinus is a lot of fun. Absurd kitsch, half-mute, brutish waiters in sailor uniforms right out of Jean Genet's Querelle, the Baltika flows freely, etc. Order the red caviar and blini.
http://www.gambrinusny.com/
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Gambrinus
3100 Ocean Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Malaysian restaurants in NYC
I agree with your assessment of Nyonya, and have found most Malaysian food in NYC (America, really) to be crap. With that said, I strongly suggest the wonderful and nearly literal hole-in-the-wall Taste Good in Elmhurst. You walk in to that place and it's heavily redolent of shrimp paste, and I mean that as a strong endorsement. The sambals taste accordingly. It's rojak is a standout from the normally treacly mess.
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/taste-good/
Still looking for Laotian or a good Banh-Xeo in New York...
Laotian is tough to come by in and around NYC. Now that Poodam's, the Isaan Thai restaurant in Long Island City, is closed, it's even more difficult. To my current knowledge, your best bet to find Laotian is to go to Ayada or Zabb Thai in Elmhurst or Jackson Heights, respectively, and order Isaan items from the menu, such as som tam prepared in Isaan (w/picked crab) rather than generic-Thai style. The Isaan region of Thailand is culturally cognate with Laos.
Best 5 restaurants in Jackson Heights?
In line with the demographic trend in which Jackson Heights has been phasing from Indian into Nepalese/Tibetan, Thakali Kitchen and the much older Himalayan Yak are worth visiting, in that order.
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Mustang Thakali Kitchen
74-14 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11372
Himalayan Yak
72-20 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11372
Authentic Sichuan in Brooklyn
Spicy and Tasty in Flushing is one of my favorites. Is there a similarly luscious and authentic Sichuan place in Brooklyn, say, in the Sunset Park chinatown?
Sripraphai Super Seriously Extra Spicy codeword
Just tell them you were born in Udon Thani and not to insult you.
anyone else try poodam's thai in astoria/lic?
Your comment suggests there is something in Elmhurst that is on par with Poodam's. Chao Thai is the only thing I know that comes close. Is that what you had in mind?
EDIT: Ohhh, you must be thinking of Ayada? They make a straight up Isaan som tam.
anyone else try poodam's thai in astoria/lic?
This is such a foul crime. Poodam's was a cultural treasure.
Best street food area in Bangkok?
Soi Convent is small but dense -- a worthwhile experience.
Food Tourism in Malaysia and Indonesia
Hi,
I've got about 2.5 weeks in December that I'm going to spend in Malaysia and Indonesia. My goal as a tourist is simple and always the same: to eat and drink like a local on the mom-and-pop side of the socio-economic spectrum. So it's all about non-tourist restaurants, street food and open-air markets.
In Malaysia, it seems the cities I should explore are Penang and KL. In Indonesia, Jakarta seems obvious, but the rest of the country is much more opaque to me owing to its incredible size and diversity. I would be very grateful for suggestions inside Penang, KL and Jakarta, and also for advice choosing one more destination in Indonesia to maximize my exposure to the food.
My time isn't long, unfortunately, so I'm leaning toward synoptic experiences like Jakarta -- where I assume I can find divergent foods, such as Batak, Manado, Javanese, etc., relatively close to one another -- rather than regions with more narrow cultures and tougher logistics. Finally, I'm happy to be disabused of any of the assumptions in the lines above, and welcome any advice at all.
Thank you for taking the time.
eating my way around southeast asia
In the night market of Chiang Mai, try to score some "nem", the super-cured garlic pork sausage. Whoa is it good; just don't kiss anyone for three days after eating it.
In Vientiane, try the raw beef laap at bunmala.
Just close your eyes and throw darts at a street food map of Saigon. You can't go wrong.
In Bangkok visit Aw Taw Kaw market.
