By Manos Angelakis
 

Rhong-Tiam
541 LaGuardia Place
(between 3rd St. & Bleecker St.)
New York, NY 10012
Tel: (212) 477-0600

Rhong-Tiam is an unassuming restaurant in Greenwich Village that boasts that it is “the only authentic Thai restaurant in New York” and plays classic jazz music while you dine (Dave Brubeck Quartet's most famous piece “Take Five” was on when we entered, and "Blue Rondo à la Turk" played a short time later). An ambitious boast, but after tasting the first round of appetizers we had to agree that unique dishes, highest quality ingredients and stunning presentation belies the modest décor and gives weight to the claim.

Since my travels to Thailand in the early 1990s, I have become addicted to good Thai food and I make some of the easier recipes in my own kitchen. I can attest that finding some of the ingredients fresh, to make these delicious dishes, can sometimes be a daunting task, and many times an impossibility. I was therefore interested in trying the dishes of Andy Yang, owner and executive chef at Rhong-Tiam, to see how he solves the “fresh ingredient” problem. Well, I should not have worried; Mr. Yang (whose real name is Racapas A. Yangeksakul) grows his vegetables and aromatic ingredients in a greenhouse in Queens, and does not have to depend on the vicissitudes of the market.

The menu presents over 50 selections of regional cuisine from Central and South Thailand, as well as a small number of Chinese and Indian noodle dishes. They offer dishes you cannot get at other, run of the mill, Thai places. Thai cuisine is based on fresh, seasonal, regional ingredients. Not every vegetable grows in every part of the country. Similarly named dishes, because of ingredient availability, taste different depending on whether they are cooked in Bangkok or Chiang Mai.

Now, Thai cuisine, like most South East Asian cuisines, is spicy. Chili pepper is a basic ingredient for practically every dish and the food comes - as is Thailand’s weather – in three versions; hot, hotter, numbingly fiery. We begged the kitchen to keep the spice at a reasonable level and this enabled us to really enjoy the flavors of the variety of dishes we ordered. I used to like very spicy food, but unfortunately, as the years pass by, I am unable to indulge in the more scorching concoctions. Barbara never enjoyed very spicy food. Therefore, we now have to join with thousands of other Americans that require a milder version of Thai food to enjoy the taste without the burn.

We started with three appetizers and one of the fresh salads: Peking Duck in a Steamed Bun, Vegetarian Fresh Rhong-Tiam Roll, Crispy Shrimp Cake, and the ubiquitous Papaya Salad. The Peking Duck Buns were absolutely outstanding; the Vegetarian Rolls had bean-thread, mushroom, tofu and bamboo shoots wrapped in a fresh rice crepe with a Hoisin style dipping sauce; and the Crispy Shrimp Cake was thick, deep fried, shrimp paste patties dipped in fresh chili plum sauce. The Papaya Salad was loaded with shredded green papaya topped with large shrimp in a spicy lime sauce, and we enjoyed the fresh, crunchy, coolness of the green papaya, an ingredient not easily found even in New York’s or New Jersey’s Asian green markets.

Cones of both white and brown rice were brought to the table and, in concert with the Thai custom of moistening the rice with a soup or broth, we ordered the Tom Kha soup, a spicy coconut milk broth with lemongrass, galangal (a root in the ginger family), mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves, and in this case with Gai (cubed chicken). Excellent.

The main courses were a real treat. Andy’s Omelet Special was a fluffy omelet stuffed with lightly spiced eggplant, a rather unusual and tasty dish. The Thai Style BBQ Lemongrass Chicken was the best barbequed chicken I have had for a while. The tender young chicken pieces were dry-rubbed with a blend of cilantro root and seed, turmeric powder and curry powder, and then grilled to perfection and served with two dipping sauces. I have not seen this dish in any other Thai restaurant in the city. The Siam Basil was minced beef covered with wok-seared, crispy, highly aromatic basil leafs, fresh garlic and birdseye chilies. Finally, the Three Season Tamarind Red Snapper was a deep fried fish served as battered fingers of flesh with the head, backbone and tail, also deep-fried, decorating the presentation. Sliced vegetables in a spicy sauce accompanied the fish that was also served with three flavored tamarind sauces for dipping. We also tried a small portion of Penang Curry Seafood and it was very good.

Another point in Andy Yang’s favor is that he uses fresh coconut and fresh coconut milk to prepare his dishes. No canned coconut milk here, a sin to which, unfortunately, many other Thai restaurants succumb.

The coconut/egg custard stuffed in a sweet pumpkin was an exotic desert, especially with the whipped cream and coconut milk, chocolate, and raspberry sauces in a spider web design. Though we were full, we made sure to finish it.

And… three stars just for the pink vintage Vespa at the entrance of the restaurant!

© May 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.