Boda

Sitting at the bar with my older sister at Boda and enjoying creative cocktails with Thai tapas, as rain outside mists the streets of Portland, Maine, is an excellent way to begin any evening. Especially when those cocktails involve Thai Basil and ginger, and the cuisine entails oysters, quail eggs, fiddleheads, pork belly, and quail.

I ordered the Thai Basil Tom Collins, which was light with citrus flavors and dancing with just bit of spiciness and anise flavor from the Thai Basil. Sonya sipped on a ginger cocktail, the exact ingredients unknown to me, alas. In any case, I can vouch for the tastiness of the drink. Both of these cocktails made lovely pairings for the Thai food we’d soon be devouring.

First up were oysters served raw with chili-lime dressing and fried shallots. Each oyster not only delivered the quintessential Atlantic Ocean brininess, but also surprised the taste buds with spicy chili and citrusy lime. The fried shallots were a little over the top but still pretty good. If the flavor of the oysters is overpowered by the shallots then you can always take some off, but the crispiness added an interesting texture when juxtaposed with the raw, slippery oysters. The delightful sea flavor of the raw oysters doesn’t really come through until after the initial flavors of the garnishes wanes. It’s an interesting experience with waves of flavor and texture, but in my opinion plain raw oysters are still the way to go if you want to really be at one with the oyster.

We ate the oysters alongside a dish called Kanom-Krok that consisted of quail eggs seasoned with soy sauce and scallions. A little poking around on the Internet reveals that Kanom-Krok is typically a dessert dish of little, round coconut-rice puddings. They look quite appealing, actually, but I have to imagine that Boda is using the term to refer to the cooking process where the individual eggs are cooked in the shallow, round indents of a cast-iron pan. These hot little quail eggs had a very nice saltiness due to the soy sauce, and the rich flavor really exploded when the egg yolk breaks in the mouth. 

We ordered one of the special appetizers—a fiddlehead salad with rice noodles and shrimp. This distinctive salad had an enjoyable spicy element to it, and the seasonal fiddleheads were beautiful to look at in all their spiraled glory and were cooked perfectly. 

We also couldn’t resist the pork belly skewers marinated with salt and sprinkled with chopped scallion. Need I elaborate? No, I think not. I’ll just throw some adjectives at you: Unctuous. Delectable. Savory. Awesome.

For our final dish we shared some quail served with a spicy sauce. There’s something about crunching down on a little bird that is so satisfying. I thoroughly enjoy gnawing the crispy skin and flavorful flesh of quail while snapping teeny, tiny birdie bones. It might sound primitive, but to me it is joy. Bliss. Unfortunately this picture in no way does justice to this dish.

Anyplace that serves tapas or small plates is perfect for sampling lots of dishes, and Boda is no exception. Whether you’re out with a bunch of friends or just catching up with one of your favorite people, Boda is a great restaurant to try out a variety of superb and satisfying Thai cuisine.

Land Thai Kitchen

Looking for some good Thai delivery in the city? Land Thai Kitchen has an awesome prix fixe lunch with a ton of tasty options. For eight bucks you get a choice of appetizer and entree. On the West Side they deliver from Central Park West to Riverside Drive and West 69th Street to West 96th Street; on the East Side they deliver from East End Avenue to Fifth Avenue and East 56th Street to East 98th Street.

Here's a sampling of the delicious lunch we had delivered from Land Thai Kitchen:

Steamed Chicken Dumplings with Green Peas, Water Chestnuts, Ginger, and Chili Soy Sauce

 

Root Vegetable Spring Rolls

with Parsnip, Carrot, Beet, Lotus Root, Glass Noodles, and Plum Sauce

Spicy Beef Salad:

Grilled Skirt Steak, Watercress, Green Apple, Dried Chili, Toasted Rice, and Lime Juice

 Pea Tendrils:

Stir-Fried Snow Pea Shoots and Roasted Garlic Sauce

 Shrimp Lemongrass Soup

with Shrimp-Lemongrass Broth, Kaffir Lime Leaf, and Wild Mushrooms

 Wok Basil with Beef:

Long Bean, Long Hot Chili, Onion, Chili-Garlic Puree, and Thai Basil Sauce

Drunken Noodle with Chicken:

Wheat Noodle, Tomato, Thai Basil, Snow Peas, Water Chestnut, Bok Choy, and Chili Puree

Pad Thai Noodle with Shrimp:

Thin Rice Noodle, Egg, Bean Sprout, Scallion, Tofu, Chopped Peanut, and Tamarind Sauce

Taste of Thai

If you’re looking for some tasty Thai food in Ithaca, I recommend checking out Taste of Thai. Located on the Ithaca Commons, Taste of Thai offers a variety of delicious Thai dishes.

To start off I ordered a Thai iced tea. These drinks are one of my weaknesses, and they are the perfect accompaniment to spicy Thai dishes. The sweet tea and the creamy milk cool down the palate, getting you ready for the next bite.

Lara and I decided to share a couple appetizers and an entrée. First up was Poh Pia Tod—Thai spring rolls. They had a nice, crispy exterior and were filled with vegetables and glass noodles. They came with a sweet chili dipping sauce.

We also shared Yum Nua—a spicy beef salad with grilled slices of flank steak with onion, cucumber, and tomato in a spicy lime dressing. Taste of Thai has a spiciness rating from one to five on any spicy dishes. Lara said her limit was a two, based off her former experiences with their curry dishes. But the two for the beef salad was still pretty mild—both of us could have gone spicier, but we still enjoyed the salad.

For the entrée we went for a classic Pad Thai. It was served with thin rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, chives, and bean sprouts. We added a nice squeeze of lime and some crushed peanuts and devoured this tasty noodle dish.

Taste of Thai was a wonderful dining experience. For great Thai food in Ithaca, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Thai Market

The best type of boyfriend is one that treats his girlfriend’s sister to dinner every once in a while. I’m a lucky girl—I get to be that girlfriend’s sister. Remain single and still get my dinner and drinks paid for? Yes, please.

So while Sonya cultured herself at a friend’s dance recital, Pat and I ventured up the Upper West Side to 960 Amsterdam Avenue to dine at Thai Market. He raved about it all day essentially since we left ’ino earlier, and I couldn’t wait to try out some delicious Thai food.

The décor of Thai Market was pretty interesting—definitely not what I expected for a Thai restaurant. It was very modern with sleek tabletops and just enough dim lighting that Pat could hide his phone and watch the game on it while we ate.

We started off with a couple of Singha beers (a Thai lager) and ordered some appetizers to share. One of the items Pat insisted we try was the Loog Chin Ping—Thai meatballs with a tamarind chili glaze. They were the perfect item for sharing. The cute, little meatballs came split in half and impaled on toothpicks and drizzled with the tamarind chili glaze offering a bit of sweetness and spiciness. I couldn’t wait to get my mouth around those balls. 

Next up was Yum Yum Thai spicy salad. We ordered the Yum Neau, which came with grilled skirt steak, mint, red onion, watercress, and roasted rice. The salad was my favorite part of the meal. Don’t get me wrong—everything else was fantastic, but that salad was something else. Pat asked them to go really spicy, and they delivered. There’s something about really spicy food that, once you get over that initial burn, you can’t seem to stop eating. It’s almost as if you think if you keep eating it the next bite will cool off your tongue. But it doesn’t. The flavors of the salad were so delicious I couldn’t stop, and the alternation between delicious flavors and intense spiciness is like a little dance of pain and pleasure on the tongue. I definitely need to learn how make this salad at home.

We also opted for one of the items on the specials menu—crispy shrimp pancakes. Just imagine a latke but even crispier and with shrimp incorporated into it. Delicious. And the dipping sauce that came it was one of the best I’d tried. It was light, sweet, and spicy, and it was the perfect accompaniment for the crispy saltiness of the shrimp pancakes.

For the entrée Pat ordered the Amber Shrimp dish, which came with shrimp, Chinese celery, onion, egg, and long hot pepper that was sautéed with yellow curry. I only tried a couple of bites but it was amazing and had a nice heat from the pepper and curry.

I ordered the Kow Moo Dang with roasted pork, Thai pork sausage, boiled egg, and moo dang sauce, served over rice. Sometimes I like to order what I know for sure will be good, and sometimes I take a risk—this night I took a risk. I was very curious was Thai pork sausage would taste like and was surprised to find that it was very sweet. The dish was sort of a yin and yang. On one side were slices of savory roast pork and on the other was the sweet Thai pork sausage, all brought into balance with the boiled egg in the center. The Kow Moo Dang sauce was also very sweet with almost an essence of maple syrup in it. While the sauce was quite tasty I needed some heat and tried it out with all the various hot peppers that served as condiments. Delicious.

 

Thai Market was a great place for dinner. The dishes were all high quality and authentic and yet the prices were not New York City prices—everything on the menu is completely reasonable. They don’t have a Web site, but you can check out the menu online. I highly recommend Thai Market to anyone in the city who is looking for a good place to enjoy some tasty, authentic Thai food.

Thanksgiving Eve at New World

The night before Thanksgiving the fam got together and we all headed to New World Bistro Bar for a delicious dinner. New World is probably my favorite restaurant in Albany. I've reviewed it before, so I'll just give you the highlights of the meal and entertain you with some photographs to titillate your visual taste buds.

I finally got to try an Italian Greyhound--a drink composed of grapefruit vodka, grapefruit juice, soda, campari, and a sprig of fresh rosemary--which I'd read about on the New World Web site weeks ago and have been dying to try. It was a fantastic cocktail--light, refreshing, and loaded with liquor. 

I also ventured into the Forbidden Pleasures section of the menu and tasted roasted beef marrowbones with apple butter, sel gris de mer, and rye toast for the first time. They were phenomenal. The luscious marrow spread beautifully on the toast and the apple butter added just enough of a light sweetness to complement the fatty, savory marrow. It definitely qualifies as a forbidden pleasure.

For an entree I ordered the Thai-Italian Love--paparedelle with panang bolognese made with local, free-range beef, panang curry, tomato, lime leaves, and coconut. This dish had tempted me since I first saw it on the menu, but I had resisted and always ordered something else. I'm so glad I gave in and tried it this time. The fusion between Thai and Italian cuisines was done absolutely perfectly. It had the heartiness of a rich bolognese with the refreshing spiciness of a Thai curry. And those noodles! They were thick, beautiful, and cooked just right. 

If you live in the Capital Region and haven't treated yourself to a dinner at New World Bistro Bar yet, I highly recommend you get your ass there pronto. I promise it will be worth it.

 

Italian Greyhound:

Grapefruit Vodka, Grapefruit Juice, Soda, Campari, 

and a Sprig of Fresh Rosemary

 

Luscious Olive Oil with Balsamic Vinegar and Tasty Bread

 

A Festive Casuela of Warm Olives

Saigon Street Style Fried Calamari with Cuke Noodles, Peanut-Tamarind, and Chile Sauce

Korean BBQ Pork Belly with Daikon Kim Chee

Roasted Beef Marrowbones with Apple Butter, Sel Gris de Mer, 

and Rye Toast

New World Jerk Chicken:

Free Bird Half Bird (Marinated, Grilled, and Finished in the Oven), Plated with Coconut Peas and Rice, Island Yams, Greens, and Plaintains

Yellow Curry Shrimp and Fat Noodles 

with Crisp Veggies and Fresh Basil

Thai-Italian Love:

Papardelle with Panang Bolognese, made with Local, Free-Range Beef, Aromatic Panang Curry, Tomato, Lime Leaves, and Coconut

Thai BBQ Ahi Steak Glazed with a Lime and Garlic Dressing, with Peanut Slaw, Organic Brown Rice, and Greens

Arugula Salad with Local Pears, Beets, Slivered Almonds, Manchego, and Truffle-Moscato Vinaigrette

Espresso

Cardamom Creme Brulee

Dessert Tapas Trio

Nutella and Mascarpone Mousse

Chocolate Chevre Truffle Rolled in Chile and Cinnamon

A Shot of Yates Street Lemon Curd with Berry Compote

Be sure to check out my other posts on New World Bistro Bar:
New World Bistro Bar
New World Oysters
Thalamus Anyone?