Glenn C.
Yelp
Recommendations- Hoy Joy, Yum Salmon, Som Tum Pla (if you don't mind the taste of Plara/fermented fish sauce)
I was at this unique Thai restaurant a good while ago with one of my larger groups. While most Thai spots concentrate on meat or on certain regions, this place specializes in Thai preparations of fish which is a unique and fun concept. The place itself has a seafood motif from the walls and otherwise and the service was fine. The music was a tad loud especially with us being some of the only customers but they tuned it down. In general, the flavors are on point and the spicy dishes are indeed quite hot though I think this spot would do better closer to Elmhurst than on the border here in Jackson Heights.
The first thing that arrived was one of our favorites which was the Hoy Jor for $14 for four pieces of seasoned deep fried crab meat roll with pork which was served with plum sauce. I've had these in other spots before and apparently it comes from the Thai Chinese and this one was particularly good. Compared to many other places where the crab flavor is a bit lacking due to the oil, there was plenty more crab in here and it had a wonderful sweetness which was combined with the very light batter. The pork added some light richness and fattiness as well with the plum sauce going well with it. This was excellent and as with every other review, I would recommend them pretty heavily.
Soon arriving was the group's other favorite dish which was the Yum Salmon for $18. Yum in said dish refers to a mix while the rest of the dish description listed salmon sashimi, shallots, culantro, and Thai chili. The dish had plenty of plump pieces of raw salmon with the sauce on the bottom having a nice mix of sourness, spiciness, and a touch of sweetness. The heat was there but wasn't overpowering being just a wonderful accompaniment. This was again excellent and the group finished this very quickly and we were very tempted to order another order.
The only other smaller plate and the only dish we got that wasn't seafood based was the Pork BBQ for $12 consisting of grilled pork served with nam jim jaew/Thai Chili dipping sauce. The pork was cooked nicely and it was nice and tender and was overall just a standard good version of Thai BBQ. There was nothing wrong per se but they clearly don't specialize in meat but it's not a throwaway.
The biggest of the remaining dishes was the Som Tum Pla for $18 with green papaya salad Isan style with Thai fermented fish sauce, salted crab, mixed vegetables (bamboo shoot, pickled mustards, long beans, tomatoes, Thai eggplant,) Thai chili, vermicelli noodle, and Vietnamese pork sausage served with a side of fresh beansprouts and pork rice. Yes there was a big description and yes this dish was pretty big though it was not the most appetizing for some of the people as they're not used to the fermented fish flavor coming from Thai fermented fish sauce/Plara. The bits of raw salted crab on top were nice for me though I think other people didn't really enjoy them because they're not used to the texture of raw crab. A pro tip for anyone would be to rip off the legs as the entirety of it is thin enough to bite through which makes it easier and the middle/torso is the tastiest part. The bit of pork sausage and noodles in there were nice as were the mostly crunchy vegetables and the few of us who enjoyed the dish gladly ate the majority of the dish.
There was also the Fillet Catfish With Basil Sauce for $20 with onion, chili, garlic, bell pepper, and basil leaves. This was a more standard dish you will find in many other Thai places and if you're looking for something that doesn't have too much spice or funk, I would recommend it. The catfish was fried but had a good firm texture and the dish had a tad bit of sweetness, a little bit of heat, and some freshness. It was good.
The last was the Crab Noodle for $16 from the Dry Noodle section with dry egg noodles with crab meat, bok choy, beansprouts, scallions, cilantro, garlic, peanut, and crispy wonton skin was good enough. I am more used to the more common version made with pork also called Ba Mee Poo Moo Dang which you can find at a bunch of spots and I kind of missed the red pork in said dish but it was fine. Nice light chewy noodles with a good bit of crab. Nothing super new but it was fine.
Of the 6 dishes, we had 3 excellent ones and even the dishes that were just good were still tasty and clearly well made. I wouldn't stop here for generic Thai grub you can get in other spots like pad kee mao or something but if you're looking to expand your palate order, the excellent Thai seafood here.