Pam's Real Thai Food

[Suvir Saran]

Tommy I see you mention it in another thread.

Is it really one of t he best in the city?

Never heard of it.  I love Thai food.

[tommy]

try it. you'll probably like it.  byob.

click me for the citysearch reviews...

[anil]

It's fine, since it is walking distance close to us  

Try whole fish with ginger and spices. Yes, you'd have to struggle with the bones. IT is a BYOB place

[tommy]

It's fine, since it is walking distance close to us  

anil, don't you think it's something special though?  to me, it blows away the other midtown, and by extension, downtown thai places when it comes to freshness, brightness, and all-around goodness.  and it's byob, so i don't have to drink some cr*ppy chardonnay with my thai for once!  there is a wine store on 9th ave about 2 blocks south on the west side of the street that has some decent chilled whites, including new zealand SB, rieslings, gewurtz, chenin blancs, etc.

[foodgeek]

can you guys make a bunch of recommendations for me? I plan on going to Pam's with a group (of maybe 10-12 people). I know I'll have to call ahead.

Is it family style? Thanks

[tommy]

can you guys make a bunch of recommendations for me? I plan on going to Pam's with a group (of maybe 10-12 people). I know I'll have to call ahead.

Is it family style? Thanks

it's family style in the sense that most thai/vietnamese/malaysian/etc. restaurants are "family style".  you generally share dishes.

i haven't been in a while, so i can't think of specifics.  i remember one of their whole fish selections was rather good.  good pad thai as well.

[Eric_Malson]

With the sole exception of Sripraphai, every Thai restaurant I've ever tried in NYC has left me so underwhelmed as to completely quell any desire to return. As Sripraphai is a little far for a Manhattanite to visit with any regularity, I'm happy to report this state of affairs changed for me this evening.

I had been hearing good reports about this place for several months, but it has the bad luck to be just around the corner from Grand Sichuan, so whenever I've been in the mood for spicy food and thought maybe I'd try this joint, my feet somehow just took me to Grand Sichuan instead. Luckily, tonight was different and my resolve remained firm.

We started with a couple of appetizers--one standard and one not so. A pair of fried curry puffs--flaky pastry turnovers filled with a curried potato and ground chicken mixture--were beautifully done, accompanied by a nice little dish of cucumber salad. The "chive dumplings" were really extraordinary. Two cakes of dough filled with chopped chives, which were first steamed, then grilled, accompanied by a tamarind-chili dipping sauce. I've never tasted anything like these before...utterly delicious. There was also a fairly ordinary but perfectly fine tom kha kai (the hot-and-sour chicken and coconut milk soup).

I dutifully picked up a take-out menu on the way out as an aide-memoire, and wouldn't you know this next dish isn't on it, so I can't tell you what it's called! But it's the last entry (C-8) under the curry section of the menu, and is described as a curry from Southern Thailand seasoned with fermented fish kidneys. This information alone immediately clinched it as my first-choice main dish of the evening (it also says something about "hottest curry", and "only one in NYC".... something like that). When I ordered it, the very sweet waitress looked at me kind of funny and said, "You want to try THAT??" She then said, "It's non-returnable!" I must have looked quite bemused, because she then offered the information, "It's kind of stinky!" My response, naturally, was "Bring it on!" All curries can be ordered with chicken, beef or pork--we got this one with chicken. And........ it was delicious. It's very similar to jungle curry, the main difference probably being the vegetables used and the fermented fish kidneys. It was hot....but not ridiculously so (I should have asked for hotter, actually). There are several dishes at Grand Sichuan far hotter than this one. And stinky? I guess, but again, not overwhelming at all. Put it this way: any cheese that's LESS stinky than this curry I'm probably not interested in.

We also had pad kra prow, a stir-fry of beef, onion, peppers in a chili and garlic sauce--very nice. Fresh ingredients and clear textures and flavors all around.

After all this, I was still hungry (suprise, surprise), so I ordered some noodles, leaving for our waitress to choose . She brought a pad khi mao with chicken--chow fun noodles (the wide, flat rice ones) with chili, garlic and basil. It was wonderful, and the chicken pieces were done perfectly--juicy and tender. The may sound minor, but so often chicken pieces in noodle dishes like this are overcooked and dry.

No dessert for us, but for you durian fans out there, I hear you can usually get a durian dessert here.

Most dishes are under ten bucks, and this avalanche of food for two came to (with tax, before tip) under $40.

They have a good, not-just-the-norm selection of appetizers here, and a wide variety of yum (salads), including larb (also a substantial vegetarian selection). And it's BYOB.

I look forward to eating my way through the menu here!

Pam Real Thai Food

404 W. 49th St. (near 9th Ave.)

212-333-7500

Open daily until 11:00

[ophelie]

Wow, thanks Eric!

I have been underwhelmed by much of the NYC Thai food for quite some time and have been searching for something that meets my standards. I will give this one a try the next time I am in the neighborhood.

-Ophelie

[slkinsey]

Eric... I can't freakin' believe you went there without me!!

I have been dying to try this place ever since I heard about it. You must go back there with me immediately, immediately, immediately! How am I ever going to get Kathleen to try a dish containing fermented fish kidneys?

[Stone]

What's atmosphere like? Sriphaphai-spartan?

[bpearis]

I'm a longtime fan of PRT (Well, summer of 2001, anyway). Their menu has grown more ambitious and authentic over the last year, though the take-out menu has stayed the same. You know they're different from most other places right away when they actually offer pork as an option on almost all the dishes.

My first experience with jungle curry was there. Pam's version tastes different than what you get at Sripraphai or anywhere else. Maybe it's because I had it first, but I like her's the best. It's a little more savory than others.

I've had that curry with the fermented fish livers and can't say it was to my tastes.

I order delivery lunch from there at least once a week. When you get your bill, you'll notice little astericks by the items which indicates spicyness. Whenever I ask for them to make something "very very spicy" it's always three asterisks. Three stars spicy comes absolutely swimming in those flecks of chili and it is as spicy as I can take (I'm no wimp). I figured the spicy scale went to four stars. But I just found out it goes to five! I can't imagine how hot that would be.

But that's the easy way to get your food spicy at Pam Real Thai. Just say how many star spicy you want it. They may ask "are you sure?" but they'll give it to you. You've been warned.

[bpearis]

What's atmosphere like? Sriphaphai-spartan

Pretty much. I haven't eaten in the restaurant in a while, but in the main dining room they used to have a desk with a shelf stereo system and a computer on it. It was like they had nowhere else to put it. Always nice flowers on the tables, though.

Some people swear Wondee Siam is the real deal (there's a seperate menu for Thais, I'm told) but I've always found Pam a million times better. I had thier squid salad for the first time on Monday. It's off the hook.

edited for quoting correct person.

Edited February 18, 2004 by bpearis (log)

[jogoode]

Sounds good. Do they deliver? I'm in delivery range of GS, so if Pam's delivers, I could be swimming in kidneys within minutes!

[bpearis]

Sounds good. Do they deliver? I'm in delivery range of GS, so if Pam's delivers, I could be swimming in kidneys within minutes!

They deliver, but that particular curry isn't on the pared-down delivery menu. But if you ask them about it, they'll do it. Here's the delivery menu.

[Eric_Malson]

They do deliver, but it's not clear how far. My take-out menu says: "Free delivery (Minimum $10.00 within 5 blocks)". If you pay 'em, will they deliver 7 blocks away??

It's not exactly loaded with atmosphere, but at least the lighting is not "bare-flourescent-bulb" harsh like Sripraphai.

I have to say I enjoyed my meal at Pam more than the one (and only one, so far) I had at Sripraphai, but I didn't have any of the same dishes--I happened to order dishes I ended up liking better at Pam.

So Sam and Kathleen, I'm obviously ready to go back at the drop of a hat....name it. The fermented fish kidneys dish is essentially non-scary enough, I think we can get Kathleen to try a taste. Personally, I'm looking forward to sampling all those appetizers.

[bpearis]

They do deliver, but it's not clear how far. My take-out menu says: "Free delivery (Minimum $10.00 within 5 blocks)". If you pay 'em, will they deliver 7 blocks away??

They're a bit more lax than the takeout menu says. I used to work in Rockefeller Center and they delivered there and I now work on 42nd street and 7th ave and they deliver there too. That's definitely out of their supposed range.

[jogoode]

Sounds good. Do they deliver? I'm in delivery range of GS, so if Pam's delivers, I could be swimming in kidneys within minutes!

They deliver, but that particular curry isn't on the pared-down delivery menu. But if you ask them about it, they'll do it. Here's the delivery menu.

Thanks for the menu.

sour curry the most famous weight watcher

Awesome.

Thai salads and panang curry are the dishes I usually order to test a Thai restaurant, just because I've had the most experience with them, and because the divide between good panang and bad panang is so great and so apparent.

[herbacidal]

containing fermented fish kidneys?

Fish have kidneys?

[slkinsey]

containing fermented fish kidneys?

Fish have kidneys?

Um... yea, they do.

Edited to fix link.

Edited February 18, 2004 by slkinsey (log)

[phaelon56]

I appear to be in the minority on this place - my experiences were mixed. It's a just a step above formica table Chinese restaurant style in decor but pleasant enough. The service was adequate. Two entrees, two soups and a Thai iced coffee on the first visit. All were good but no better than what I can get at either of the two places in Hackensack and IMHO no better than what I've had at Royal Siam (somewhere on 9th or 10th Ave in the 40's IIRC - there are two but this is the one in the 40's on the east side of the street).

Second visit we had four people and two of the four entrees were mediocre. ONe of the curries had almost zero curry flavor. It wasn't just lacking spiciness - it was almost like thin yellow gravy. There were plenty of potato chunks and almost no chicken at all. Disappointing and have not been back but it may have been an off night for them - many other people have raved about it.

[tommy]

i've always liked this place overall. i do, however, stay away from the pad thai, which tastes of sweet ketchup.

the BYO aspect is key here, as most other thai restaurants, especially in midtown, seem to offer two types of wine: horrible and shitty.

[Eric_Malson]

IMHO no better than what I've had at Royal Siam (somewhere on 9th or 10th Ave in the 40's IIRC - there are two but this is the one in the 40's on the east side of the street).

Funny, I walked past that place just last week (I believe it's on 10th Ave., between 42nd and 43rd Sts.), and remarked to whomever I was walking with that that was one of the many utterly mediocre Thai restaurants in this town. I haven't been in almost 10 years, but the meal I had was so utterly generic I never considered going back. This could have changed in the intervening time.

As it appears the food at Pam may have done....I'm getting the idea that their food has improved in the last year or so. When was your last visit?

[bpearis]

I ONe of the curries had almost zero curry flavor. It wasn't just lacking spiciness - it was almost like thin yellow gravy. There were plenty of potato chunks and almost no chicken at all. Disappointing and have not been back but it may have been an off night for them - many other people have raved about it.

yellow curry and massamun curry have never done anything for me. both contain potatoes. it always sounds like a good idea, hearty and all. and i keep trying them in places where i like everything else, hoping that i'll like it. but it's always rather flavorless.

[Eric_Malson]

Had another good meal here tonight, and couldn't resist posting about what has become my favorite dish here: the crispy duck with chili sauce. Slices of duck, skin, fat and all, fried until the skin and fat are--you guessed it!--very crisp (the meat stays tender, somehow) and stir-fried with a superb red chili sauce and lime leaves. It is sensational.

Those chive dumplings sure are delish, too.

[phaelon56]

yellow curry and massamun curry have never done anything for me. both contain potatoes. it always sounds like a good idea, hearty and all. and i keep trying them in places where i like everything else, hoping that i'll like it. but it's always rather flavorless.

I don't routinely order either of those dishes but have tried them when others did and shared. The yellow curry at Pam's really sucked relative to the yellow curry I've tried in two other places. My entree was some sort of "jungle curry" if I recall correctly. It' was a sort of peasant dish that is native to a highlands region of Thailand. It was okay but not great. Again.... I admit that I may just have been there on an off night but that makes two visits for me, neither of which was overly impressive.