I remember back in the day, I was a little afraid of telling people that I met Lon on friendster (kind of like facebook). Meeting people on-line was taboo or just seen as dangerous. True, I did have a stalker once but it was a short-lived incidence and I am now happily married to the best husband in the world. Just a few years has changed perceptions and now people are constantly making new friends on-line. First, I started making blogger friends from reading their blogs or them reading mine. Now, I’m making new friends on twitter too. Do I sound like an old-fart for thinking that this is so amazing?
So my new friend is Ken, interior designer by day, blogger by spare time. We decided on lunch at Wondee Siam 792 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, the original location – now 3 exist. I had heard through the grapevine about a secret Thai menu but lost contact with my informant. Ken comes to the rescue and gets the list from his friend. Here it is, exactly as I got it, unedited:
squid with string bean
mien kana salad
pad kra prow (ground chicken or beef with Thai basil; say Thai style)
Nem kru dook moo (Fried preserved spareribs, Thai menu)
Pork belly with turmeric (Thai menu)
Catfish with Thai eggplant and basil (Thai menu)
Pak bung moo krob (chinese watercress w crispy pork)
Ka na moo krob (chinese broccoli w crispy pork)
Yum moo yang (grilled pork salad, similar to chicken larb, which is also good)
Pad woon sen (glass noodles with squid OR shrimp)
A complimentary salad arrives soon after we place our order. While it looks similar to those complimentary salads at Japanese restaurants, this one has a light peanut dressing. I love it!
With just two of us at lunch, we decided on 4 dishes. The Pad Kra Prow, ground beef with Thai basil, was the first to arrive, which was before I finished my salad. All these little bits go really well with rice, so fragrant and addictive.
The next was Pad Woon Sen, glass noodles with squid. It looks generic but I thought this one was prepared well, lightly sweet with tender chunks of egg and a generous amount of vegetables. The squid pieces didn’t add much though.
The Yum Moo Yang, grilled pork salad, was my least favorite. The flavors were nice and bright but the meat was a bit dry.
The Nem Kru Dook Moo, fried preserved spareribs, were the most notable with a distinct and almost unfamiliar flavor. The porkiness was extremely concentrated and I almost want to associate the preserved flavor with stinky tofu except that I don’t like stinky tofu and I could down a plate of these while watching TV.
Throughout the meal, I noticed that nothing was oily at all, impressive for deep-fried and stir-fried foods. I left feeling comfortable despite almost finishing all four dishes with Ken. The bill came to $45.13 (without tip) which is a bit expensive for a Thai lunch where portions are a bit smaller than normal. Still, there isn’t much competition when it comes to Thai in Manhattan so I’d go again to try more dishes off that secret menu.
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hehe! I live 2 blocks away from wondee siam and I’m addicted to their noodle soup with pork 🙂
Well, I guess that I’m an old fart too since I am constantly amazed how many friends I have made on-line! And this food looks so good it is making me bang my head on my desktop in desperation – there are no decent ethnic restaurants at all where I live. And I love this kind of food!
Jamie, for a food lover like you, you’ve got to plan a trip out to NY!! We have tons of ethnic restaurants and when you do come, I’ll compile a nice long list for you!!
I forget which one of these actually has the secret menu on each table, in one of those little plastic stands for drink specials. the one I went to was the most north one I think, west side of the street in the upper 50s on 9th or 10th ave. we had the miang khan (leaf wrapped thing) which was pretty good! which, incidentally I had a very good version of at Ploy Thai (elmhurst).