Rhong Tiam

I have a slight obsession with Thai food. I can eat it everyday and not get sick of it. I just think it has the perfect blend of spicy, sweet and salty flavors. I've been on a personal mission to find the best Thai food around. A friend told me Rhong Tiam was pretty close to being authentic so I had to try it. Although it's in my neighborhood, I have yet to eat there because quite frankly, the restaurant looks like a futuristic club from the outside. After a remodel some months back, there are floor to ceiling windows/doors with white and Lucite furniture inside. There is also a lounge area and a central bar. Pretty much as far away from authentic hole-in-the wall Thai as you can get. But in the name of research, I had to check it out. Boy am I glad I did! It was really good!

The menu was extensive and it was a bit difficult to narrow down what I wanted. I decided to try some of their fusion items along with some typical Thai dishes.

This is an appetizer sampler of steamed duck bun, Thai nachos, and roti canai. All were pretty tasty.

I LOVE pad thai. I really can't get enough of it. For me, it's the measurement scale of how good a Thai restaurant is. If the pad thai sucks, I probably wouldn't go back. This pad thai was delicious! The most surprising element was the tender chicken. Chicken is so often dry in stir fry dishes like this.

I ordered this pork dish because it was described as an authentic dish of some region in Thailand. It really wasn't as spicy as I expected nor that exciting. It was just lemony, mildly spicy pork. It was served with sticky rice that was dry as old paste. Really. It was a disgrace. There was nothing rice-like about it.

All in all, I will definitely go back here and try more of their dishes. Plus there are some tasty looking cocktails on the menu!




Restaurants mentioned:
Rhong Tiam
87 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003