Verified Company
The food has been excellent every time I’ve visited. Unique dishes with well-balanced flavors. They also have many options for those who don’t eat meat. The crab curry is a must-order.
The service, however, has been inconsistent. On my first visit, we weren’t greeted by the host and were seated outside due to “too many indoor reservations,” despite the indoor dining area remaining empty the entire time we were there. On my second visit, the waiter was standoffish and rude. That being said, the POC/Asian staff have consistently been lovely. So take that as you will 😬
Side note- Only adding the fish cheeks dishes. For the rest of the photo and the menu, see my more detailed review.
I recently went back to this Thai restaurant for their excellent collaboration with the popular Philadelphia Thai place, Kalaya, which they apparently did before in Philly. A handful of us came here for this $135 (+ tax/tip) meal, which was packed with people, and for very good reason. The price might seem a bit high, but we were served 12 dishes overall, so it was very much worth it. The atmosphere was pleasant, there was plenty of food, and we had a very good time. To drink, they had a couple of collaboration cocktails, and I ordered the Tom Kha Manhattan for $19, with coconut milk-washed Highland and Islay scotch, lemongrass, makrut lime leaf, galangal, sweet vermouth, and cacao. This was a tasty drink, with Thai spices to start, and a mild burn at the end from the scotch, though I would not have minded more peat with the Islay listed. I hope they add it to their regular cocktail list, as I think it would be a hit. For the food below, the appetizers were primarily from Fish Cheeks, while the entrees were from Kalaya, though some dishes had a small collab.
My favorite of the appetizers was the Marinated Raw Crab, consisting of blue crab cured in fish sauce and seasoned with fresh lime juice, Thai bird's eye chili, shallots, and fragrant cilantro. Of course, since this was raw crab, it reminded me of a more flavorful version of the standard gejang at Rice Thief. There was plenty of succulent meat and roe, and the dish had a pleasant sourness outside of the spiciness.
I also liked the Re Rai with Gaeng Pu, with vermicelli noodles topped with Southern-style crab curry, betel leaf, and makrut lime leaf. These were small bites of the slightly sweet noodles, topped with their excellent moderately spicy curry. I have previously had their Gaeng Pu, and it was again good here, working quite well as a topping.
The Zabb Wings, consisting of free-range chicken wings fried with chili, lime, and makrut lime leaf, and served with Kalaya sweet chili sauce, was a bit of a collab but mainly was a dish from this spot, as the sweet chili sauce was honestly not needed with the wings being plenty flavorful on their own. I loved the dry spice blend on the chicken wings, with a touch of sourness and heat (I'm presuming there's also some MSG in there, but I am unsure.)
I also liked the Mussel Gorlae, consisting of grilled mussels in gorlae sauce with house-made crispy shallots. The mussels were tender and on skewers. The flavor was a mix of sweet and mild sourness, with a bit of flavor from the grill.
The last of the appetizers was the Squid Ink Calamari with stir-fried fresh calamari, squid ink, lemongrass, and fish sauce. I didn't have this dish for obvious reasons, but the rest of the people weren't fans, with the squid being a bit overcooked, and they found the sauce oddly sweet.
As the entrees were primarily from Kalaya, I won't go into as many details. There was the Pla Tod Kamin, Lon Tai Pla, Moo Waan, Nor Mai Tom Kati, Gaeng Pae, and Kalum Tod Nam Pla as a vegetable side dish, as well as a small side of ajat, or pickled cucumber. Descriptions of these dishes can be found in the photos, but my preferences were the Nor Mai Tom Kati, which reminded me of rendang, and the Lon Tai Pla, a complex coconut curry that paired nicely with the ground pork. The rest of them were good as well, with the cabbage side being a surprising hit.
The dessert, I believe, was a collab as well: Khao Niew Durian, or durian with sweet coconut sticky rice, salted coconut cream, and coconut gelato. I love just about anything made with durian, and this was excellent. The bit of salt helped balance the dessert's overall sweetness, and everything paired nicely with the funky fruit. The sticky rice was also cooked well, and while I've had much stronger coconut gelato, it was still tasty.
The four of us thoroughly enjoyed this collab, and I hope it happens again next year. As soon as the crab is on the menu, I'd go back as well.
