This post is in collaboration with Bangkok Cuisine.
Last week, I visited Bangkok Cuisine for one of the most beautiful Thai meals. Bangkok Cuisine is a family business with Chef Tee Siriprakaisak making magic in the kitchen, while his sons Hap and Hop manage their two restaurants. When I visited the Upper East Side location for a press meal, I couldn’t decide if I was more impressed by the vegan-friendly menu or the elegant Thai palace-esque space.
New York’s got a lot of Thai restaurants, and after a while, many of them blur together in your mind because they look, feel, and taste the same. Bangkok Cuisine is not one of those places. Here, the interior is white and bright with gold embellishments, crystal chandeliers, and ornate wallpaper. There’s a soothing water feature near the entrance, but the most impressive part of the decor is the emerald buddha centerpiece that represents Bangkok.
We started our evening with two cocktails that the staff recommended to us: the Kee Noo apple chili martini ($11) and the Ko Samui Sand lychee refresher ($12). The chili infused vodka was not as spicy as I expected, but a sip of either one of these tropical concoctions will transport you to the beach. After our first taste of the cocktails, John and I looked at each other and said almost in unison, “I feel like I’m on a beach!”
Later in the evening, we enjoyed the Pink Pulp lychee martini ($10) and Phi Phi Hammock kiwi caipiroska ($12). The lychee martini is a romantic blush pink color with sweet notes of lychee, while the kiwi caipiroska is a refreshing option for kiwi fans. It’s easy to forget that there’s alcohol in these as they’re so colorful and fruit-focused.
But enough about the booze, let’s move on to the food. At Bangkok Cuisine, they take great pride in making everything fresh and from scratch. Whatever Thai dish you’re craving, whether it’s traditional Thai cuisine or modernized Thai fusion, they’ve got it. There’s a small 100% vegan section on the menu, but don’t hesitant to ask if they can veganize other dishes. In fact, everything we tasted was not from the “official” vegan section. Many thanks to the chef for veganizing these Thai classics!
First up, the emerald vegetable dumplings ($7), one of their most popular meatless appetizers. Such delicate green wrappers with veggies inside the pouches. Very fresh and almost juicy. Don’t they look pretty?
Spring rolls ($6) are not a particularly unique dish, but you get a good sense of the caliber of a restaurant based on this appetizer. These were light and crispy, packed with glass noodles and mixed veggies with a sweet plum dipping sauce. Very enjoyable.
Next, we enjoyed the mango avocado salad ($8). It’s a little spicy, but the heat is balanced by the veggies. Shredded mango, avocado slices, scallions, red onions, tomatoes, cashews, and a tasty tamarind dressing. A nice refresher before the entrees.
We actually did not order a curry dish, but our server brought out a yellow curry dish so we wouldn’t miss out on this. I love curry, and this was really good stuff. Rich in flavor, but not too heavy. You could almost drink it like a hearty soup. Love how the tofu soaks up the curry. The accompanying roti surprised me too because I was not expecting it to be so flaky. The roti was great with the curry and good on its own too.
Since I’m a noodle lover, I could not pass on the drunken noodles with vegetables and tofu ($11). Flat noodles with onions, bell peppers, broccoli, and carrots in a spicy basil sauce. No fish sauce, no eggs to make it vegan. The noodles were very nice, not mushy. Overall, this was pretty tasty and not greasy. However, I think it might need a little more heat and basil to make up for the flavors that would normally come from fish sauce.
Being the cashew fans that we are, we ordered the roasted cashew nuts entree with mock duck ($14). A colorful medley of cashews, mock duck, sweet onions, bell peppers, carrots, scallions, zucchini, pineapple, and chili paste. Very delicious, with perfectly cooked veggies and just the right amount of chili paste. I enjoyed the mock duck a lot, and I think even meat eaters would like it as it has a good color and texture.
Note: This post is in collaboration with Bangkok Cuisine. I was invited as a guest to this establishment and received a complimentary meal. This was not in exchange for a positive review and all opinions expressed here are my own.
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