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"Welcome toEast Harlem, and one of Manhattan’s quirkiest restaurants, with a bench made of skateboards, a shelf stacked with vintage denim and jackets for sale, and a giant mirror that reflects the poker-faced owner as he bangs pots and pans around behind a counter, cooking your meal to order. Those clangs are generally drowned out by the old Thai pop songs he’s blasting. Sit at a schoolroom-style table, sip yourBYOBdrink, and wait for him to bring you some crunchy fried chicken and a steaming bowl of noodles, swimming in either a light, lime-y broth, or one that’s creamy with coconut and tangy with tamarind." - Sonal Shah