SriPraPhai

»Disgusting experience leads to a bizarre meal in Sripraphai

As we settled at our table, we were perhaps too lost in the menu to notice that we were delivered two glasses of water not only completely smudged with greasy fingerprints, but one with a dry shrimp tail stuck to its outside. I am not even willing to entertain what may have happened. I just want to be able to forget the disgusting sight before I die. I do want to emphasize that I am a huge fan of...+READ As we settled at our table, we were perhaps too lost in the menu to notice that we were delivered two glasses of water not only completely smudged with greasy fingerprints, but one with a dry shrimp tail stuck to its outside. I am not even willing to entertain what may have happened. I just want to be able to forget the disgusting sight before I die. I do want to emphasize that I am a huge fan of Sripraphai and that I frequent the Woodside location regularly. This is perhaps the only reason I went through with the meal, anywhere else I would have been out of the door at that moment.
By this time, however, there was utter confusion about what the waiting staff was going to "do" with us. It was easy to discern that they decided to change us to a different waitress. Accordingly, our previous water who brought the glasses no longer, our new waitress did not yet care to give us any water.
The lack of any fluid well into the first half hour of the visit was all that was wrong with my watercress salad, I thought (I order it practically every time I go to this restaurant). The problem was much simpler: I forgot to tell the waiter that I did not want it to come as spicy as thai food gets. This I do admit is my fault. Yet I'd be hard-pressed to think of any visit to a thai restaurant where this is not something that a waiter is thoughtful enough to ask. Not even the water, which did arrive by that time arrive - following a trip to the counter with the request for it - helped me get through more than four bites.
At this point, the choice is clearly between just not eating the appetizer, or doing what waiter friends of mine always warned me not to do do: sending it back. The situation, by this time, was truly awful. So awful in fact that, for the first time in my life, I did send it back (and was secretly hoping that we could just forget that I ever ordered it at all). Yes, a replacement was provided, which tasted just fine. It was hard to finish it at this point, however, while being stared at by a group of waiters with easily perceptible hostility.
One more thing to add: this happened during one of the _least_ busy times at the restaurant, on a Thursday afternoon, which might be a time when the managerial supervision is laxer than usual. Before this trip, I would have recommended this place unconditionally. Hours after the experience, still shaken up by what happened, I think I am on the market for a new favorite thai restaurant. It was a combination of the sanitary concern, the way in which it turned into a stand-offish reaction from the waiting staff, and the completely unexpected discomfort throughout the visit. I did have much better experiences when the restaurant is busy and chaotic, but I will not try again after this freak accident.-COLLAPSE (by sophie_in_nyc, created November 4, 2011)

»Sripraphai - Not overrated

Last Friday my fiancee & I went to Srip for the 1st time and in our opinion deserves the praise that it receives. I know that many poor reviews start with; "Well In Thailand.....", "When it was small" or "My grandma makes better" (In reality whose grandmother doesn't makes better?).

Well we are not Thai, never ate there when it was a hole-in-the-wall, nor have visited Thailand (on our list...+READ Last Friday my fiancee & I went to Srip for the 1st time and in our opinion deserves the praise that it receives. I know that many poor reviews start with; "Well In Thailand.....", "When it was small" or "My grandma makes better" (In reality whose grandmother doesn't makes better?).

Well we are not Thai, never ate there when it was a hole-in-the-wall, nor have visited Thailand (on our list though). Our only exposure to Thai food has been through local places in the US, which I am sure is the demographic of the majority of people here. Sure the heat was dumbed down, but hands down this was the best Thai food that we have had. Everything had depth of flavor that we have never been exposed to before. It was so good that both of us mentioned that it will be hard to eat at our favorite Thai places going forward. Luckily Srip is a short drive from home.

Logistics: We showed up roughly 8ish on a Fri. Parking was no problem. After hearing the horror stories we were resigned for a long wait. Sure enough when we arrived there were groups of people standing outside. Preparing for the worst, we walked in and put our names down. Turns out it was only a 10 minute wait.

Service: As expected, it was less than stellar. It took forever for the waitress to come take our order. After finally coming over to our table she wanted to take the whole order at once - not the typical drinks, then come back for food. We both sensed that we better order now or we may never see her again. On a positive note she was very friendly and answered our questions thoroughly. Drinks & food came out relatively quickly. Some of the food dropper-offers explained what was delivered and others just dropped it on our table and left.

Food: For the two of us we way over ordered with the expectation that a lot would come home with us.

Tom Ga Kai - Ahhh the depth of flavor of the broth I can only begin to describe. It was so good we immediately ordered a large container to go.

Watercress salad - Just like Italian frito misto, but a bit heavier. We ordered it with mock meat to offset all of the meat dishes. This was fantastic, but as others have mentioned, I wish it was only the fried watercress and peanuts without the "meat". We ended up eating the watercress and leaving most of the rest on the plate - too much food coming to eat something that was marginal.

Larb (pork) - the flavors were great, but was a little heavy on the salt.

Pork with chilies, cilantro and lime - This was fantastic and our favorite of the meal - along with the soup. It was so light and refreshing and the heat actually worked with the dish in a perfect balance. I think if it was any less spicy the dish would not have worked as well. I loved it, but it was a little spicy for the Mrs. To quote her; "This is too spicy for me, but I can't stop eating it."

Coconut rice - Again so good we ordered extra to go

Chicken Green Curry - At this point we were both pretty stuffed. I had a little bit just to try it, but saved it for lunch for the next two days. Wow! Again, what a depth of flavor. I have eaten many-a green curry and this was unlike anything that I have had. It was not as sweet as you normally get, but had a much deeper range of flavors. The only way I can describe it is as a much more sophisticated version of what I was used to eating. I am not sure I can go back to those sugary sweet green curries you normally get - before I had no idea.

Pork with long beans - Again, we were pretty stuffed so at the rest. so I just had a taste. This was a much different flavor than I have ever been exposed to before. Its hard to describe, but when I first tried it it was a little overpowering with flavor. I really liked it, but it was too much flavor coming at me at once. Like a lot of foods this was much better after sitting a day or two - that also goes for the green curry. In fact, I just ate it while writing this. It was so good, I went for another round and finished it off.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (14 Replies) (by dynastar, created February 24, 2011)

The problem with Sripraphai is what so often happens to once wonderful hole-in-the -wall ethnic restaurants: they get discovered by the populace at large who demand familiar food--which inevitably means bland, too sweet, too greasy, too dumbed-down. And the restaurant ends up doing it. The secret at Sripraphai--and many others--is order dishes that only real Thai food aficionados would get: the...+READ The problem with Sripraphai is what so often happens to once wonderful hole-in-the -wall ethnic restaurants: they get discovered by the populace at large who demand familiar food--which inevitably means bland, too sweet, too greasy, too dumbed-down. And the restaurant ends up doing it. The secret at Sripraphai--and many others--is order dishes that only real Thai food aficionados would get: the Sotor (stinking beans), the rice with shrimp paste (really delicious), the spicy bamboo shoots (which are not on the menu), the sour curry. OK, I also love the crispy pork with basil and the Tom gai kha and the duck salad--but these are perhaps slightly less good than they used to be. But they are much better if ordered with the other, less gringo-friendly dishes. Why? Because they take you more seriously.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (114 Replies) (by swannee, created January 25, 2011)

»Downhill? Was it good before?

In the two years since the long island location near me has opened I have been there twice. The first time there were long lines at all times because of the buzz of this newly opened branch of the "famous" queens establishment - so we did take out. Nothing was too impressive but the soup was tasty. Stopped by again last month for diner and (shocker!) the lines were gone - so we sat. Next time I...+READ In the two years since the long island location near me has opened I have been there twice. The first time there were long lines at all times because of the buzz of this newly opened branch of the "famous" queens establishment - so we did take out. Nothing was too impressive but the soup was tasty. Stopped by again last month for diner and (shocker!) the lines were gone - so we sat. Next time I want to go to this place in December, please remind me they do not have heat. But then next time might not be soon anyway because the food was again mediocre at best. My duck was soggy and tasteless. The soup was HOT and I liked it but the ingredients were carelessly chopped and unappealing. If Sripraphai has a good reputation as anything more than a passable Thai alternative then yes it is over rated.-COLLAPSE (by streetfeeds, created January 11, 2011)

My visits to the Queens location have always been great. Living much closer to the New Hyde Park location that has become my regular Thai restaurant. It is unfortunate for us true Thai lovers this location has bowed to the tastes of the masses and it is literally impossible, even by requesting "the bomb" for heat, to get it. The folks I saw there in the beginning were ordering hot and then...+READ My visits to the Queens location have always been great. Living much closer to the New Hyde Park location that has become my regular Thai restaurant. It is unfortunate for us true Thai lovers this location has bowed to the tastes of the masses and it is literally impossible, even by requesting "the bomb" for heat, to get it. The folks I saw there in the beginning were ordering hot and then sending it back as too hot, thus the problem now encountered. The Queens crowd is much more into the ethnic tastes and I guess I have to go to Queens or Elmhurst for Ayada which is able to give me what I want in heat. Not Sripraphai's fault but they succumbed to the taste of the masses.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (114 Replies) (by Dick G, created January 11, 2011)

usually the watercress salad is great, and very fresh.--did you go at lunch time? I find that weekday lunch can be hit or miss sometimes--unless it's on a friday ,which tends to be okay...I like to go on Thurs nights early side----always excellent and consistent are drunken noodles with beef ground--not pork--chicken satay (they happen to make it great and juicy with excellent peanut...+READ usually the watercress salad is great, and very fresh.--did you go at lunch time? I find that weekday lunch can be hit or miss sometimes--unless it's on a friday ,which tends to be okay...I like to go on Thurs nights early side----always excellent and consistent are drunken noodles with beef ground--not pork--chicken satay (they happen to make it great and juicy with excellent peanut sauce)--green curry with shrimp--ask for it without the eggplants, just the red peppers and bamboo shoots--the mild is often very spicy--but order medium if you want to be tortured----coconut rice, spring rolls, chive dumplings, shrimp with garlic and pepper, --I tend to stick with shrimp or meat dishes--not a fan of bones in fish, and do not care for tilapia--the soft shell crab very good also....keep trying, we are very longtime customers there--from their old location when it was only really Thai customers--and if it had consistently disapointed us, we would have bailed a long time ago...it just might not be your cup of tea...-COLLAPSE / REPLY (99 Replies) (by janie, created July 9, 2010)