Thai Gai Yang Cafe, St. Louis, MO

This is shadow reporting on another place from Pat's Thai Restaurant empire in the Delmar Loop.  Nice modern decor, some seating areas had pretty cool looking seat cushions with pastel colors.  There are some rare Thai dishes on this menu, which is a major plus.  In particular they had Hung Lay curry, a Burmese influenced northern Thai curry dish.  Really surprised to see this dish here.  The only other restaurant that I know of in the U.S. that has this dish on their menu is the world famous Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas.  Regrettably I did not try the dish during this visit so I cannot report on it.  I went for the Yen Ta Fo.  Just ok.  No water spinach, no crispy squid, no white woods ear mushrooms, no solidified blood.  Condiments tray was just crushed dried chili's and fresh crushed chili's with vinegar sauce.  Default noodles were thin Pho style noodles "sen lek".  Server did not give options for noodles, but I would have preferred flat noodles "sen yai".  Broth was  too sour, but at least this is better than being too sweet.  I requested sugar to help with this and the waitress was happy to bring me some in a plastic cup (not a typical request, I guess).  Sugar helped a lot.  Good bowl overall, but not great.  Generous portion size and very reasonable prices.  Service was good, but again a bit indifferent to the customer.  While I was dining the servers chatted to themselves in the background in Thai about school and other things.  Good move on their part not to be gossiping about the customers who may or may not understand them (sounds crazy, but I have seen this happen in other places).  Overall not a bad place for Thai food that is not too Americanized.  Worthy effort. 

                                                           Thai Gai Yang Cafe
                                                            6250 Delmar Blvd
                                                            Saint Louis, MO 63130
                                                            (314) 862-4400

Condiments Tray

Yen Ta Fo

Saigon Bay, Tampa

Welcome to restaurant reviews by go gin chow this is the  food ninja.  I have some insight on a Vietnamese restaurant called Saigon Bay in Tampa close to the USF campus. It really is a nice restaurant. From the outside you could not really see the great decor inside. The outside is really deceiving. I was impressed when I walked in with my family. It was like wow! They kept it modern, but authentic, with all the bamboo they used in different ways to dress up the place. They did a great job and the food was spot on in every way. The broth in my pho soup was really an awakening to my taste buds and the vegetables were fresh and crisp. The service was up to par. I'd say this is a great affordable place to get some great food for families and students. So please keep an eye out for this great little place in Tampa if you are anywhere near the USF  campus. Take from the food ninja look for this place and stop on in and please enjoy. You will not be disappointed.

This is Shadow for Go Gin Chow.  Definitely one of the best things about this place is its atmosphere.  Walls are decorated with bamboo poles giving the illusion that you are dining in the middle of a bamboo thicket, very cool.  Food is decent.  Soups come with a complimentary side salad, which is nice, salad dressing was good.  Respectable bowl of Beef Pho, broth was good, variety of meats, though meatballs are not included in the Special Pho and had to be ordered at an additional charge.  Seafood Pho was good, nice jumbo rings of calamari.  Shrimp and Crab with vermicelli soup broth was a little bland, but the crab claws were definately a nice touch.  Service was pretty good, though there may be a bit of a communication barrier (as they do not speak English very well), they were still very friendly and did their best to try and understand you.  Clean bathrooms.  Will definitely be back.

                                                           Saigon Bay
                                                           2373 E Fowler Ave
                                                          Tampa, FL 33612
                                                          (813) 971-0854

Complimentary Salad

Herbs that Accompanied the Soups

Pho Dac Biet with Meatballs (extra)

Seafood Pho

Shrimp and Crab Soup with Vermicelli

Close-up of Crab Claws in Soup

Sripraphai, Woodside Queens, NYC

Shadow here for Go Gin Chow reporting on one of the best Thai restaurants in the country.   This restaurant is truly a gem located in Woodside Queens NYC.  The menu selection can be quite intimidating, it seems like every Thai dish you can think of (and the many others you can't think of) may be found on the menu, and while they may not execute everything perfectly, they are guaranteed to give it a decent effort  with the freshest most authentic ingredients (no crazy substitutions will be found here), nice flavors and  complex cooking techniques.  It truly is amazing at the variety of dishes they can do so well.  All Thai restaurants need to make a note of this and acknowledge that this is a huge factor in their success.   My favorite dish is the Crispy Catfish with Green Mango Salad (not ordered this visit).  In my opinion this is their signature dish and no one else can execute this as well as they can.  The mango is grated at the perfect thickness to blend with  the flavors of the dressing, only the most premium flesh of the mango is used, no pieces of the outer skin can be found here.  The catfish is superb, such fine consistency, deep fried to perfectly crispy yet dry and not greasy, you would not know it was catfish.  The herbs (cilantro, mint, green onion) are so fresh they taste like they were freshly picked right before tossing in the salad (how is this possible, they are in Queens for goodness sake??).  A must try dish if you are visiting here.  Now on the the dishes ordered this trip, the Crispy Watercress Salad, another spectacular dish.  The watercress is battered and fried almost like a tempura but not as heavy.  The dressing is loaded with a variety of meats (Squid, Shrimp, Pork).  Very good.  Their tendon soup with clear broth was just ok, fresh herbs and flavors, but was not spicy.  Their fried tofu appetizer, again just ok, though not much you can do with this dish, just fried tofu with dipping sauce.  Their Shrimp Paste Fried Rice, not a bad choice, beautifully arranged plate with shredded green mango, sweet pork, red onions, sliced cucumbers, sliced omelet, thinly sliced green beans, dried shrimp and garnished with a sprig of fresh mint, a lime wedge and dried chilies.  Their beef noodle soup with dark broth was excellent, rich complex flavors and textures.  The broth was made with blood, might be a turn off for some, but tasted amazing (it is not easy to find places that do this).  Meat fixings included a worthy variety - beef, beef meatballs, liver and tripe.  No condiment tray was brought out with the soup and when asked for one, all that was given was chilis in fish sauce, not good considering everything else is so spot on and this is really an easy thing for them to put together.  Service is just ok here.  You really have to wave down to get their attention.  One thing I never like is that the servers do not automatically give chopsticks with dishes like noodle soup and since waving them down can be such a challenge your soup might get cold.  Ended the meal with my absolute favorite desert, lychee ice cream.  Four scoops of delicious lychee ice cream garnished with lychee fruit (canned), a single mint leaf and a maraschino cherry.  A real treat.  Finally, be sure to check out the front of the restaurant for a huge selection of to-go goodies, such as appetizers, deserts and dipping sauces.  You cannot miss this place, it is a landmark for Thai food connoisseurs, homesick expat Thais, and general food lovers alike.  Happy eating!

                                                 Sripraphai
                                                 6413 39th Ave
                                                Woodside, NY 11377
                                                (718) 899-9599

Fried Tofu

Tendon Soup, Clear Broth

Crispy Watercress Salad (as served)

Crispy Watercress Salad (with dressing mixed)

Shrimp Paste Fried Rice

Beef Noodle Soup, Dark Broth

 Lychee Ice Cream

To-go goodies (non-refrigerated)

To-go goodies (refrigerated)

Haru, 3rd Avenue NYC

Hello everyone, this is Shadow out to get my sushi fix in Manhattan, NYC.  This place is packed!  Very hip, lively and fast paced environment.  Despite the crowd, staff is very efficient and you are seated pretty quickly.  Let's get right to the food.  Lobster miso soup, wow, they really give you a decent amount of   lobster here, for a small bowl it seemed like a whole tail, claw and everything, broth was very salty though.  The king crab dumplings, sounded nice on paper, but the filling was all ground up to a puree, I would have appreciated it if there were some lump pieces of crab in them.  With the crab completely ground up, they might as well have used any other cheaper seafood, I would not be able to taste the difference.   The scallop entree was just ok, portion size a little on the small side and a little bland in flavor, could not taste the advertised truffle, scallops were perfectly cooked though.  The seafood udon was hearty with lots of veggies, shrimp and salmon, scallops, though again the broth was too salty.  Sushi is definitely one of their strengths here.  Fish is very fresh.  Their special roll menu is very secretive, they just mention, the name of the roll and not what is in it.  Took a gamble and went for the Gramercy Park roll and the Third avenue roll.  Both came to the table as beautifully prepared works of art.  The Gramercy park roll was very colorful the outside was wrapped with assortment of different raw fish and paper thin lemon slices, cilantro leafs then topped with a strikingly vibrant assortment of different colored fish eggs.  Taste was a complete explosion in your mouth, the sourness of the lemon, the different textures of the eggs and fish, the spicy mayonnaise sauce.  Did not need to dip in soy sauce or wasabi which would take away from the native flavors of the roll.  The 3rd avenue roll was just as beautiful garnished with red tobiko and scallion, though the taste was richer and the flavors not as complex.  For a chain restaurant (they have several locations throughout the city and in Boston as well), not bad at all.  Happy eating!

                                                           Haru
                                                           1329 3rd Ave
                                                           (between 76th St & 77th St)
                                                           New York, NY 10021
                                                           (212) 452-2230

Salad

King Crab Dumplings

Lobster Miso Soup

Seafood Udon

Scallops with Truffle Salsa

Gramercy Park Roll

 Gramercy Park Roll (Close up)

3rd Avenue Roll

3rd Avenue Roll (Close up)

Pure Thai Cookhouse, Hell's Kitchen NYC

Shadow here.    Easily one of my Favorite Thai Restaurants in Manhattan.   I have nothing but praise.  Upon entering this place I am immediately filled with nostalgia. They really put a lot of effort in the atmosphere alone giving the feel of the typical roadside shack you would find in Thailand.  These shacks are known as Shophouses since they would typically be family owned  businesses with the ground floor being the "shop" (restaurant, coffee shop, barber, medical clinic) and the top being the "House" (living quarters of the family).  In fact the original name of this restaurant was Pure Thai Shophouse, however sadly they had to change their name to "Cookhouse" to avoid conflict with Chipolte Mexican Grill's new Southeast Asian themed restaurant Shophouse.  You really have to have been to one of those shacks in Thailand to truly appreciate the work they put into this.  Everyting from the tin sheet-metal ceiling, to the wooden plank walls to the the exposed screw in ceiling incandescent light bulbs lends itself the the theme.  The A/C units are cleverly disguised under wooden planks to give the illusion that the restaurant is cooled soley by the oscillating corner ceiling fans, consistent with shacks in Thailand where A/C would be too expensive.  The backless metal stools   are painted pastel colors to mimic their less sturdy cheap plastic counter parts.  The walls are lined with classic Thai movie posters from back in the day.  Even the tap water is cleverly served in glass bottles similar to the water bottles found at the table of street side restaurants in Thailand.  Chopsticks are found in tin pales at the table.  Despite the pseudo shabby look, the place is very clean.  The Menus have an interesting design as well, they are inserted in a plastic bag and stapled closed with a  paper top with a hole to hang on the wall kind of like a bag of candy you would find in a classic general store.  I appreciated that they also printed the menu in Thai.  When entering the restaurant, the servers also make an effort to greet all their customers in Thai.  A nice touch.   Now onto the food.  They have the best bowl of Yen Ta Fo I have found in the U.S...nuff said, this is high praise coming from someone who has dined some of the best noodle shops in Thai Town L.A.  What sets this bowl apart from the rest is that they include even the rarest ingredients.  They have the fresh squid, the fish meatballs, the water spinach, the fried wonton dough chips, and the ever rare white wood ear/jellyfish mushrooms.  The only items missing are the "crispy" squid (re-hydrated dried squid), and the solidified blood (red tofu), perhaps these items might be too much of a turn off to those unfamiliar them. There already is a warning that the soup is not for beginners and no returns.  No worries.  I finished every last drop of my bowl.  Broth was seasoned perfectly, perfect balance of sweet, sour and spicy, not overly sweet or rich as I have found some other U.S. Thai places to be.  The soup was accompanied` with a side of condiments to adjust the taste - again the nostalgia set in, this condiment set is found in almost every restaurant in Thailand though ironically I did not need to use them this time, broth was perfect!  Other dishes tried this visit was the Papaya salad with blue crab (crab is raw) - very very good, beef noodles soup -nothing really outstanding here, Stir fried shrimp and vegetables with tamarind sauce - not bad -  nice flavors.  The bill is brought to you on a wooden clip board, again a nice touch.  Overall I highly recommend this place, it is certainly unique experience that cannot be missed.  Happy eating!

                                                        Pure Thai Cookhouse
                                                       766 9th Ave
                                                       (between 51st St & 52nd St)
                                                       New York, NY 10019
                                                       (212) 581-0999

Chrysanthemum Juice

 Condiment Tray

Condiment Tray Exposed

Papaya Salad with Blue Crab (crab is raw)

Yen Ta Fo Krabi

Pa-Yao Beef Noodle Soup

Wok Cashew Nuts with Shrimp in Chili Tamarind Sauce

Check presented on wooden clipboard