After we visited one of the real, authentic Thai restaurant in NYC called Uncle Boons (you can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/uncle-boons/), we wanted more of that unique, tasty, delicious, authentic Thai food. So, we went to another very popular spot, Pok Pok in Brooklyn. They offer food from Northern Thailand.
The first thing we saw when we walked in was a full bar, with kind of interesting design. It was blue on the top with red on the bottom. The plates on the bar counter matched the blue ceiling, and also giving some pop of color on the grey bar counter. It was simple but somehow warm and inviting.
Right across from the bar was a small and narrow seating area. Maybe total of four tables. I liked the vibrant table clothes on there. They had a large chalkboard that had Drink Specials on it. At the back of this area is a narrow hallway, leading to a bigger dining area.
The back room was nice and roomy, much more so than the front are. It had a nice amount of natural light coming in from many windows, a perk of having a restaurant at a corner lot. They also had a skylight which was really cool, and it really did brighten up the place even more. The biggest wall was beautiful red brick, holding up a large chalkboard, featuring the specials of the day.
The rest of the walls were covered with wood boards, looked like reclaimed wood (I am not sure if this is the case), with different colors. I liked the look of those walls, bringing out an old “hut” feel to it. One of the wall had a small golden Buddha on the wall with some offerings and decorations. All the tables had the same tablecloth, bright blue with vibrant flower prints.
They also had golden Thai lion statue on the window. I liked all these little touches to bring the Thai atmosphere right here in Brooklyn. The wall closest to the hallway had some hooks for coats, which is very helpful during the cold season. And since it is right there where you can keep an eye on it while you eat (instead of having the coat rack at the entrance of the restaurant), you feel it is a safe spot to hang your jackets.
They had all the necessities ready to go, with spoon, ladle, wet napkins…etc. Then there is the nuts! Instead of offering complimentary bread, they offer complimentary toasted nuts, which I loved. They had some kick to it, pretty addictive…!
They brought out water with metal cups, and the water had some slight color to it. The water tasted kind of nutty and earthy. They flavor their water with Pandanus leaf, as is done often in Northern Thailand. This was super cool! As a result, the water has flavors of toasted rice/vanilla/grassy taste to it. We also ordered Cha Yen ($4) which is a Thai iced tea with evaporated milk. It was quite large, you can see it compared to the metal cups. It was good size to share between the two of us. Very sweet and strong, great accompaniment to spicy food.
Speaking of food, the kind of food they offer are the ones you could find at pubs, restaurants, homes and the streets of Southeast Asia with the majority of the food coming from Northern Thailand. They make them as authentic as they can, not one of those “fusion” type. And they do not serve what we are used to at most Americanized Thai restaurant such as Phat Thai or Penang Curry, which I thought is great. It will force you to become more adventurous and order something you are not familiar with. It is always exciting to have a dish that you have never had in your life!
So, we decided to order one appetizer to share, and two main dish (also to share). We ordered Neua Naam Tok ($18) for appetizer, Spaghetti Phat Hot Laai ($20) and Kaeng Hang Leh ($18) for the main.
Neua Naam Tok is a spicy Isaan flank steak “salad” with fish sauce, lime and chili powder dressing, shallots, lemongrass, mint, cilantro and toasted rice powder. On the menu, it was recommended to get some sticky rice, as it is quite spicy. We certainly followed that recommendation. The steak salad was sooooo good, super fresh, amazing flavor, spicy, and my taste buds had a party in my mouth. It was a really nice size too, not small, good amount to share. It is a cold salad, and it did go perfect with the rice. The beef was so tender and juicy, sliced thin but not too thin, just right. It was the best appetizer ever!!!!
The side of Sticky Rice ($3) came in a cute bamboo basket. When I took the lid off, the rice was in a plastic bag inside the basket. This made total sense when we started to eat the rice, as it was really sticky! They are serious sticky rice… the portion was quite small, I would say just one person portion.
So, we added another side order of Jasmine Rice ($3) which came in a small bowl. Between the two rice orders, we shared the rice and it was ok, but I wanted about twice as much rice than we received…Both sticky and jasmine rice was really good, flavorful, and went perfect with their spicy dishes.
Spaghetti Phat Laai was very interesting item, it is a stir-fried manila clams steamed in pork stock with chiles, galangal, garlic, krachai and Thai basil, served over thick rice vermicelli. It kind of looked like Thai version of Spaghetti Vongole. It had thick vermicelli that looked like regular spaghetti, but softer and more plump texture. The soup was quite spicy, but very flavorful. This dish is not for someone who doesn’t like spicy food… Very comforting on a cold day, really get your blood circulation going and sweat going too! Generous amount of clams, and broth was really yummy with lots of garlic.
It was a nice, large portion, much bitter than I thought it would be. This is how it looked after taking all the clam shells off. Mountain of vermicelli, topped with lots and lots of clams. And this is not a small bowl. It was very satisfying and super filling.
Kaeng Hang Leh is a Northern Thai sweet pork belly and pork shoulder curry with ginger, palm sugar, turmeric, tamarind, Burmese curry powder and pickled garlic. This one was the bomb! It was so rich, packed with flavor, and everything just melt in your mouth. It was spicy but not crazy spicy. It was a bit smaller portion than I expected, I really wanted a huge bowl-full.
And yes, it went great with the rice, especially the jasmine rice. The pork belly and shoulder were so tender, so soft, so juicy, packed with amazingly delicious flavor. Again, it just melt in your mouth… I could have this dish every day and not get tired of it.
Every dish was so incredible, and we were quite full. Since they were all amazing, we wanted to order every item off the menu if we could… But instead, we decided to order one dessert. We ordered Coconut Ice Cream Sandwich ($8). It is made with coconut-jackfruit ice cream served on a soft roll with peanuts, sweet sticky rice, condensed milk and chocolate syrup. It was indicated that this dessert can be found on any Thai street, especially in the market. They know good food…!
When I cut it in half, I could see the sweet sticky rice on the bottom. This was a really cool, interesting dessert. Mixing sticky rice with ice cream and soft roll is something I have never seen, and was very curious. And guess what, it worked so well altogether! All the ingredients that seems like belonging to a completely separate family somehow come together really well, and form a new kind of family with harmony and balance. It had several different texture – soft bun, chewy rice, creamy ice cream, and crunchy nuts – it was so fun to eat, and yes, delicious. If I ever get to travel to Thailand, I would be looking for this dessert on the street! But until then, I can just go to Brooklyn to have their tasty delight anytime.
Their bathrooms are located right by the bar, and have this really funny and cute sign on the door. It is not a big bathroom, but it does the job and it was clean. When it comes to bathroom, cleanliness is more important to me than the size of the bathroom.
We had an amazing brunch here, it was great from the beginning to the end. The waitress was really nice and helpful with ordering. She was knowledgeable about the menu, and gave us good suggestions. I really wanted to try their Thai Wings, but we were way too full. And everything else on the menu looked so good… I would love to go back in a near future to try more of their amazing dishes!!!
Pok Pok NY – 117 Columbia St, Brooklyn, NY 11231