It's so sunny and nice outside today, and it felt great to be walking around again. I was looking for a lunch special to take home with me this afternoon, and I found it at Dee Thai. The lunch special had six appetizer choices and thirteen entrees, for a total of either $7 or $8 depending on the protein chosen. I decided to ask for something that I never ever order: Pad Thai. Why? I don't know, it just happened. I really don't know what came over me, but I sort of panicked and blurted out pad thai when, now, as I am perusing the menu in the privacy of my own home, I see that there are some tasty sounding options like
Kow Ka Moo: Stewed pork leg and steamed kana over rice. What's kana? Chinese broccoli, if the internets are to be trusted. Or any of the flat noodle dishes. Or the
Pork Chop Garlic: Grilled marinated Pork Chop with Thai herb in garlic sauce. Why was I so hasty in my choices when I could have said "pork chop garlic" out loud? Oh well. I ordered a pad thai and a green curry. Shrimp and chicken, in that order. Green curry is my first Thai love, so at least that made sense. I asked the man who took my order what his favorite appetizers were. He was sort of surprised by the question and mentioned spring rolls and
kyo koong tod, a fried wonton with shrimp filling. I asked for both. Again, not sure why. I think I'll blame it on not having left the house since Tuesday. The food was ready quickly, and I walked out of there and up to the train, remembering to crack open the containers with the fried apps so they wouldn't get soggy on the way home. Pro: heat radiated up from the bag keeping my left side warm. Con: I smelled like shrimp. Also, why was the Flushing bound 7 packed at 12:20 on a Friday afternoon? Anyway, here's the loot.
Spring Rolls were still crispy. Otherwise, just regular old spring rolls.
These were crispy too. Very light. Lots of wonton and very little filling, but that was ok with me.
The curry, a full pint of it, plus rice. A reverse of the wontons, much more chicken and veg than liquid. As far as green curries go, it was on the water-y side, with very little spice. Lots of bamboos shoots, which I love. Not as complex a flavor as a curry that you could get, say, in Woodside, a few stops down.
The pad thai. Still not sure why I ordered it. If the perfect plate of Thai noodles should hit the sweet, salty, spicy and sour notes, this one was more sweet than anything else. For $8 it was a good deal - four wontons as an app, and a container full of noodles topped with four nice-sized shrimp.
This is me still wondering why I ordered pad thai. And enjoying my tea. I didn't go in expecting to be wowed, I was just looking for a lunch deal and that's what I got, and for just under $15 for 2 two-course meals, I'm not complaining. Dee Thai definitely deserves another trip, eaten there, and with some better ordering. But there are more Thai restaurants on the route, so I got to keep on moving.
Dee Thai
46-17 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside
Spring Rolls were still crispy. Otherwise, just regular old spring rolls.
These were crispy too. Very light. Lots of wonton and very little filling, but that was ok with me.
The curry, a full pint of it, plus rice. A reverse of the wontons, much more chicken and veg than liquid. As far as green curries go, it was on the water-y side, with very little spice. Lots of bamboos shoots, which I love. Not as complex a flavor as a curry that you could get, say, in Woodside, a few stops down.
The pad thai. Still not sure why I ordered it. If the perfect plate of Thai noodles should hit the sweet, salty, spicy and sour notes, this one was more sweet than anything else. For $8 it was a good deal - four wontons as an app, and a container full of noodles topped with four nice-sized shrimp.
This is me still wondering why I ordered pad thai. And enjoying my tea. I didn't go in expecting to be wowed, I was just looking for a lunch deal and that's what I got, and for just under $15 for 2 two-course meals, I'm not complaining. Dee Thai definitely deserves another trip, eaten there, and with some better ordering. But there are more Thai restaurants on the route, so I got to keep on moving.
actually, i live pretty close to dee and it's mediocre at best. for non-srip thai in the nabe, i find that i am thai is the best choice.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Dee is the first Thai place I've come across on my route, but I'm planning on visiting as many as I can. Unfortunately for me, there aren't many directly under the train, but I will have to make a trip to I am to check it out. Thanks so much for reading!
ReplyDeleteI used to think pad thai was just a white person dish at a thai restaurant, but no, it's a popular dish for real, live thai people. It's just the preparations that are different. I still have a hard time ordering it though, it probably has something to do with pride or being defensive.
ReplyDeleteand you've got more than a few great thai on your way... zabb2x, arunee, rice ave, you can even cut over 1 block for center point and srip or 1 block south to ayada, and one on bway, not far from roos.
That's what I'm excited about, what's to come. It's not like I have an aversion to pad thai or anything, I just never order it, so it was a strange out of body sort of day. Love your comments!
ReplyDelete