Lotus of Siam
24 5th Ave., Greenwich Village, NY
We don’t know about you, but our trips to Vegas aren’t usually for the food. I actually think the most memorable meal I’ve had there was a hot dog I ate while slow floating in the Mandalay Bay lazy river. That was a pretty good hot dog. But apparently one of the best Thai restaurants in the country is in a Las Vegas strip mall. Lotus of Siam has been a cult favorite in the desert for a really long time, and now they’ve opened a loctation on 5th Avenue. Good. It’s about time you gave us something back, Vegas.
As you can imagine, Lotus of Siam coming to New York has some people all kinds of fired up. We’ve never been to the original, but were excited to check the place out. How was it? Allow me to share with you a random list of my inner thoughts as I sat at the table:
Are they finished decorating this place?
Wow, this wine list is expensive. And that sommelier guy was really enthusiastic. Is he coming back? Where did he go?
This conversation with our waiter is very awkward. He really wants us to order, and I am pretty sure we’ve made him angry. At least he’s recommending things.
Oh good, food is here. I am starving. Whoa. Why do my hands look huge? Since when did I have mutant superhero sized hands? No. Wait. I am just holding an incredibly small chicken wing.
Where’s that plate of crispy rice we ordered? There it is. Thought that was a coffee saucer. Let me just scrape a few dozen grains on my plate and pass it on. This is “family style” after all.
Is that James Cameron at that table over there? If I had Avatar money I definitely would have ordered another entree. Actually, everyone in here looks like James Cameron.
Holy sh*t, who just yelled, “That’s my favorite drink on the menu!” at me? Was that the sommelier? Yep, it was him. Why is he running?
This green curry is pretty tasty. And the pad-see-ew too. I really hope I didn’t take too much, because this is adds up to one spoonful of food each for the four of us. I am definitely not going to feel so guilty next time I order twenty dollars worth of Thai delivery.
I’d like to leave now. No thanks, we’ll just take the check. Why is she bringing us spoons? Oh, that’s nice of them to send out a dessert. Nope, I still don’t like tapioca, and that one tasted like Mandalay Bay smells. I don’t feel good.
Impressed? We weren’t either. Guess it’s time to go back to Vegas.
Food Rundown:
Fried Chicken Wings with Chili Garlic Sauce
Let’s be honest. You can put chili garlic sauce on anything and it will taste awesome. These have great flavor, but the wings are smaller than your average parakeet’s.
Nam Kao Tod Crispy Rice
A popular dish at Lotus of Siam, this is a bowl of crunchy rice grains – like Thai rice crispies with meat in it. Our table had mixed feelings on this one, but it’s an interesting dish. There’s just not all that much of it.
Green Papaya Salad
A really tasty salad of green papaya, and well, other stuff. You should order it, but know that it really only serves one or two.
Pad See-Ew
One of our favorite Thai noodle dishes, and this one is good.
Kang Khiao Wan Green Curry
Very well balanced and generally delicious, but not light years better than green curries we’ve had from no-name Midtown Thai restaurants.
Chilean Seabass Drunken Noodle
We would have liked this wide noodle dish a whole lot better if the seabass wasn’t deep fried. Go for the drunken noodles with soft shell crab instead.
try instead
Kin Shop
West Village,
NY
Aburiya Kinnosuke
Midtown East,
NY
Nyonya
Chinatown,
NY
Le Colonial
Midtown East,
NY
