Yes, yes, yes. I could have sworn I had written a review of this place before because I've definitely been there a few times in the past but I guess I never did or it was before I started this blog. In any case, I have a soft spot of this place. If you every crave Thai food, Hell's Kitchen is a fantastic neighborhood for really solid authentic Thai restaurants. Almost half of 9th Ave is lined with small, tasty and super affordable Thai joints. I believe there is a Wondee Siam II not too far away but I prefer this original location
My mom and I were originally going to Pure Thai Shophouse, but it was a 45 mins wait and we had show tickets, so we walked 1 block down and ducked in here. We got really lucky because right after we sat down, there was an immediate wait. The place is tiny - probably 6-7 tables total and only 2 tables fit more than 2 people. The menu is your typical Thai mom and pop place but I noticed that 2 Thai people sitting next to us who clearly got the secret Thai menu - ha! I knew they existed in every ethnic restaurant. But it made me feel like we were in the right place if there were Thai folks ordering on the sly here. I was totally fine that we got the Americanized menu because I was in total lame but satisfying pad thai kind of mood. We got a papaya salad to start ($12) and I got a chicken pad thai ($14) while my mom got the Key Mao noodle ($14).
Like any Thai place, the food comes out fast and furious which was good because we had 45 mins to order and eat. The papaya salad was enormous - it could have been a meal in it of itself. It was awesome - a plate piled high with shaved green papaya, peanuts, string bean, tomato, chili and lime juice. It was the right amount of tartness and spiciness. We pretty much polished off the whole thing which was a mistake because that practically left no room for our noodle dishes, which were also the size of our heads. The pad thai was your standard pad thai but super flavorful and the noodles were the right texture. I kept eating and eating, yet the plate of noodles never seemed to get smaller. If we weren't in such a hurry, there looked like a lot of other authentic dishes to try. The other table next to us ordered a whole red snapper which looked amazing - maybe next time. It's the perfect place to go before a Broadway show - walking distance to most theaters and the service is super fast but nice at the same time. Total bill: $50 for 2 people with tax and tip.
Photo Credit: Yelp
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