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)

Sammy's Fish Box, City Island, NY

Greetings from Shadow.  Great place to report on today called Sammy's Fish Box on City Island.  They have been around for years and years and , the company pretty much owns half the restaurants on the island, with  Fish Box being a family favorite, for its lively atmosphere, great service, super fresh seafood and HUMONGOUS portion sizes.  While prices are not the cheapest here, you definitely get what you pay for.  A great deal is their twin lobster special, two 1 1/4 pound lobsters cooked either broiled and stuffed or steamed.  Lobsters have always been super fresh here with super sweet and succulent meat, every morsel being precious.  Their feasts for two (not ordered this visit) have also been a great choice, platters are loaded with giant crab legs, lobster, clams, mussels, calamari and despite being named "for two" there is actually enough food to feed an army.  Everyone who dines here will most certainly not only leave with a doggy bag, but that doggy bag will likely contain more food then was actually consumed while at the restaurant.  The complementary bread platter is wonderful and could be a meal in its own right.  It includes corn bread, a freshly baked sesame loaf, spreadable cheddar cheese, various picked and fresh vegetables and olives. Seafood risotto was great, not only was the seafood in it delicious, but the actually risotto was perfectly cooked rich and creamy.  Deserts were equally as generous, one slice of chocolate cake was a staggering tower enough to feed at table of four.  Lemon sorbet served in a hollowed out lemon had to be one of the largest lemons around, great end to a spectacular meal.  Sadly the only bitter taste in my mouth that spoiled a nearly perfect meal was that despite being very polite, our server refused to substitute a small soup for the salad that came with the meal. In the several times that we have visited th this restaurant in the past, we have not had any problems doing this before, and considering the prices we are paying for the food, this should not be a big deal to make the customers happy.  His excuse was that they only do that for lunch, though I am certain we have been able to do this for dinner in the past.  I doubt they will make an effort change this as this policy will not keep the throngs of customers from coming back (I know it certainly won't keep me from coming back), but if management is paying attention to this I hope they will consider taking better care of their customers so everyone can leave happy.

                                                   Sammy's Fish Box
                                                  41 City Island Ave
                                                  Bronx, NY 10464
                                                  (718) 885-0920

Bread Platter

Salad (alas, no substitutions for soup were allowed this visit, shame!)

Lobster Special (Steamed)

Lobster Special (Broiled)

Snapper

Seafood Risotto

Chocolate Cake

Lemon Sorbet

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)

Jewel of the Himalaya, Yorktown Heights, NY

Greetings from Shadow.  Recently opened, this restaurant is a great find.  They can get crowded pretty quickly, so best to get there before or after prime dining hours.  The place is very, very clean.  The decor is modern and simple.  They have some interesting artifacts on display and  pictures of various scenes from the Himalayas.  A flat screen TV above the counter also plays historical/travel programs on the region.  Music is gentle and relaxing.  Chairs are comfortable leather backed.  I am not really familiar with Nepalese Cuisine, however the menu was pretty extensive with lots of interesting things to chose from.  Service was very friendly and attentive.  The complementary wafer thin bread was well spiced (tasted of fennel seed) and the sauce that accompanied it was nice and spicy and complimented it well.  If you want a variety, the Nepali Thali is a good choice.  It is a set that comes with a main curry dish, several side dishes and a desert.  Chicken curry tasted very fresh and flavorful, meat was tender and juicy, I could taste the coriander,  I would have liked it better if the curry was spicy (though I do not know if the dish is traditionally made like this).  Seafood curry was not bad, again very fresh flavors, I would have like it more if it was not too sweet, though the lobster tail in it was cooked well.  The nan bread was nice, warm and fluffy.  Finally, we couldn't resist the curiosity to try their Pad Thai, it is on their menu after all.  A worthy attempt for a non-Thai place, noodles were cooked dry which is a good thing (something a lot of Thai restaurants cannot get right).  They did use broader noodles than the traditional Pad Thai noodles.  Taste, not quite there, not sure what they used for the sauce (traditional sauce should be palm sugar, tamarind juice and fish sauce).  I think it would taste better if they served it with crushed dried chili's.  Finally they garnished the Pad Thai with sliced ginger, must be a Nepalese twist.  Overall all great place, great service, freshly made food.  Definitely check it out if you are in the area.  Happy eating!

                                                   Jewel of the Himalaya
                                                   34 Triangle Ctr
                                                   Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
                                                   (914) 302-2886

Nepali Thali - Veg Thali

Chicken Curry

Seafood Curry

Nan

Pad Thai Chicken

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