green papaya salad with shrimp
the swan staring at a ball of tender rice
mystery curry nonquiche hor
sticky.yummy.
the highlight of yesterday, besides my habitual seven train stalker photo shoots, was dinner at DEE THAI RESTAURANT, on queens boulevard in beyoutiful sunnyside.
i strutted to the door, with jamie lidell blaring responsibility for my future hearing aides, book in hand, and ready to stop the rumble. it's okay, the new restaurant's modern interior design allows for a little hipster throwback strut.
last week i had my dee thai restaurant induction.
and justin was my welcoming committee...he knows his food.
"get the panang chicken! get the panang chicken," he...exclaimed.
we talked about various things:
-where we work (justin works at b&h),
-what our hobbies are (justin is making a comedic documentary about ladies feet.)
-our nationalities (justin is african american and i am turkish. turkish women have pretty feet. "except if they live in new york," i say with callousness)
-where we live (justin lives two stops away,plus a fifteen minute bus ride.)
and panang chicken, which i absolutely have to get...and the mango sticky rice for dessert...but definitely the chicken panang!
before his car service arrived to take him back to into the inner workings of queens, i ordered the chicken. panang chicken.
...justin was right. that is some damn good chicken.
but i can't write about that chicken because i basically inhaled its steamy deliciousness. no room for mango sticky rice, i'm afraid.
HOWEVER, last night, getting back to the dinner on hand, i went BACK to DEE THAI RESTAURANT.
and i DEE'd it up!
for starters, i had the *shrimp papaya salad, $8
this dish consists of a generous serving of five steamed-to-order shrimp on top of a bed of shredded green papaya and sliced tomato in chili garlic lime juice, and garnished with peanuts. basically, i could drink the lime juice, which was perfectly tinged with garlic, pepper and peanut. plus the freshness of the shrimp and al dente papaya contributed to the flavors and soaked it in as well.
feeling adventurous (i mean, i've already had chicken panang, for god's sake!), i ordered the first dish listed on the Chef's Special section on the menu. verbatim:
hor mok ta lay (don't we all?)
coconut shell stuffed with steamed mixed seafood, cabbage, basil in coconut red curry.
okay, for me, one of those s.o.s. types, this was a really bold move.
the dish, which was presented in swan sculpture tinfoil, was like a red curry quiche. wild stuff. the seafood was fossilized in a bouncy mold. the basil swam boldly throughout the delicate curry flavor, which the seafood (shrimp, seabass, mussels, calamari) absorbed. it wasn't as spicy as the menu claimed, though. but how does a saucy dish end up so quichesque like without eggs?
they explained that because everything is sealed in together and steamed for about ten minuetes, that's what happens. okay, works for me!
i might visit justin at b&h and tell him, "whore...mock...to...lay! but the shoes stay on!"
and THEN...
i had the mango sticky rice (!)
justin, man, i owe you HUGE!
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