Kittichai Dinner & Munny Zipper Pulls

After experiencing lots of misses and disappointments last restaurant week, I let my friend choose a restaurant that had the normal menu on it- not the generic steak, salmon or chicken recipe created for restaurant week by most restaurants. We went to Kittichai located near Soho; I had brunch there before.

The bad thing about that location is, as you walk from the N train station which is the Prince street station, you pass by Kidrobot and I have this small addiction of walking in inconspicuously, heading towards the mysterious Munny zipper pull up boxes, shaking the boxes and listening to the sound and attempting to get a figurine instead of a cute little lightning bolt. The zipper pulls could come in handy; but actually they’re for a friend who loves to decorate Munny (Here’s the link in case your interested/curious:
http://www.kidrobot.com/ShopAll/DesignerToys/ZipperPullsKeychains/MUNNYWORLDZipperPulls1Incheach.html”)

So far, I had bought 3 boxes and was able to get the purple Munny zipper pull!

Anyway, straying from the main story, let’s focus on Kittichai.

Thai ice tea- comes with liquid syrup on the side and milk- tea is not sweeten so it is to taste. Standard Thai ice tea with a cute presentation.

Barbeque baby back ribs, spiced tamarind glaze, fried basil (from website)- ribs is so tender, it falls off the bone. Sweet and full of savory spices with a very light basil taste, really enjoy this dish.

Thai organic chicken, Maitake mushrooms, sesame-soy, poached egg (from website)- to be honest, I don’t really remember this dish. The chicken was a bit dry.

Grilled hanger steak, Thai hollandaise, roasted beets, sweet sesame soy dressing (from website)- Savory and flavorful, steak is juicy and delicious.

Coconut creme caramel with a coconut tuile (from web site) – tuile is a wafer made with dough or cheese (from wiki). I think it was a bit hard and the coconuts were too dried. Coconut creme caramel tasted like your standard flan. Not that special.

I like the service at Kittichai. They don’t treat you like inferiors even though you are there for restaurant week menu and did not order any alcoholic beverage. The waitress was friendly and warned me the flavors of the braised pork cheeks were similar to the ribs. If I go again, I would just do appetizer and skip entree & dessert. Portions is a bit small. It’s a cute place for the ambiance and Thai fusion explosions of flavors. And next time I will try to take an alternative route; There are too many goodies at Kidrobot.

Little Basil

With a cute name like Little Basil, this Thai restaurant is located in Kips Bay on East 26th Street between 3rd and Lexington. The restaurant itself is not very spacious.

Buddha Relief as deco

Mini Bar

Flower in water

Duck Spring roll with Tomato chili sauce- Sauce is not spicy at all; a bit sour but mostly sweet- tasted a lot like plum sauce. Spring rolls are crispy and savory. Not too special in flavoring; duck meat is scarce.

Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and vinegar sauce- Chicken is a bit dry and lacks in flavors but peanut sauce can save anything; sweet and savory combination can make any meat taste good.

Chicken Pad Thai- Your standard pad thai with thin noodles dried bean curds, eggs, bean sprouts, and ground peanuts. Pad thai is a bit sour with salty savoriness.

Pad Kapraw (Basil sauce)
Beef with holy basil leaves, onion, and chili pepper (description from their website)- Standard stir fry.

Little Basil is a restaurant I would go with friends who are not too adventurous. They serve dishes that are standard and safe although a glance at its decor may promise something different. On a rainy and cold- no nonsense day, this may be a good choice. Space is tight, don’t bring a huge party, 4 max.

Ajna Bar

Located in the meat packing district with its hidden entrance and dramatic lighting is Ajna Bar. Ajna bar is separated into two areas; a lounge that only serves appetizers and drinks and a dining table area that serves full meals and, of course, drinks. They have a live DJ there. Food served there is fusion; Thai and French- it’s a weird combination. I don’t think France had ever conquered Thailand or Thailand had ever conquered France (yeah…history buffs will jump me for making that comment because of the improbability of it).

Upon further research, the French and Thai were actually involved in a war, not in their native lands however. Franco Thai war happened in 1940-1941 in which Thailand and France were fighting over an area of French Indochina.

There are lines of buddhas to your right and left as you enter the walkway before you meet the hostess. Upon passing the hostess, you come across dramatic lightings and high ceiling, the used of strong red and black as contrasting colors are very impressive. As you look up in the ceiling you can see the night sky because the glass above you is clear.

Lounge Area- We waited at the lounge because we did not make a reservation.

Lounge Area only has appetizers and Drinks so we ordered Thai Chili Spicy Tuna- Tastes like your standard spicy tuna roll- very overpriced- for 6 pieces it was $13! Side note, lounge waitress was very nice! She helped us check with the hostess to see if our table was ready a couple of times.

Dusk Rose- “Nolet Gin, Lime, Cucumber, Rose Water, Marashchino Liqour” (Description from Web site)- Very strong and the taste hits you afterwards, it’s not very delicate as one would expect from Rose water. Mostly gin, I suspect.

Dining area- Glass ceilings

Seating area, Red cushions against black pillars with chinese characters carved.

Restaurant Week menu

Lobster Tempura Roll- Baby Arugula/Orange ginger dressing (Description from Ajna Website) Friend said it was good but nothing too special.

Butternut Squash soup- It tasted like curry; further research notes that Vaudouvan is a French curry- but I really don’t think butternut squash goes with curry. Curry is more like a sauce and definitely overpowers the squash taste. Lemon grass cream just tastes like a milder version of sour cream. Did not like this that much.

Roasted lemon grass chicken with sweet potato puree & garlic pea tendrils (quoted from website)- had a piece of the chicken and it tasted dry…

Miso Glazed Scottish Salmon- Charred Pineapple & Avocado Salad/Watercress (quoted from website)- Salmon was standard; the sweetness of miso compliments it and salmon is seared on exterior and internally a bit raw and juicy. The salad is a mess; I tasted a jumble mumble of spiciness from jalapeno and sweetness from pineapples, vinegar dressing and bitterness of watercress- I usually clean my plate but I really could not bear to finish this.

Molten Chocolate cake with salted caramel ice cream- Love the salted caramel ice cream because it was super smooth and creamy; however the molten chocolate cake was not warm enough- appreciate the dark chocolate taste.

Bruleed Banana Pudding Vol au vent- Like the concept of putting pudding in a pastry shell- however the pastry shell was too hard and not flakey enough (like a good croissant!). There was not enough pudding as the whipped cream (chantilly) dominated the dish. I wish they put it to the side because I felt like the dish should be called pastry chantilly instead of banana pudding since it is obviously not the main character. The bruleed bananas are good in concept but way too sweet in reality. Didn’t finish this either.

Notes without pictures
Black Buddha drink is recommended for those who like Cosmos or mojito; it is sweet and delicious! (And red!)

Overall, I recommend going to Ajna for the lounge/bar experience but skip the dinner. If it weren’t for restaurant week I would not dish out $30+ for less than mediocre entrees.

Side story, but I was really freaked out when I went to wash my hands in the ladies’ restroom. The sink area is connected for the men’s and women’s restroom; there is a wall separating the two from ceiling, however, there is a small opening area of maybe 3 inches that is shared so that water from the faucets fall through the same drainage. There was a guy on the other side saying “the water was cold.” That scared me a little bit!!

Kittichai

Located in a hotel on the ground floor, this chic Thai fusion restaurant is a nice place to go to escape the hustle bustle of touristy soho nearby. The interior decor is quite a scene with curtains and mirrors, hinting at the illusion the restaurant might be bigger than it looks. Friend looked at one of the mirrors and said she thought it was another section of the restaurant. Main reason for this is because the mirrors are hidden behind floating curtains so you feel like you’re peeking outside or into another room of the restaurant.

The center is the infamous pond with lotus and floating candle holders; candles lit and floating freely around the pond. Hanging above the ceiling of the pond are flowers, thoughtfully hung at different lengths like musical notes, dancing in the air.

We requested to sit next to the pond and executed our touristy acts of takings tons of pictures right away which probably scared the regulars but oh well- somebody has to do it.

Beyond decor, how was the food?

Egg Benedict

Savory and filling. My friend really liked her dish. I liked the mash potato on the side covered with fresh herbs.

Thai Coffee came in a cute little milk jar. It is mixed with condensed milk already so it’s already sweeten. Smooth and sweet, missing the caffeine kick, typical of Thai style drinks. Not for strong coffee drinkers.

Asian 5 spice toast

The raspberry syrup adds a nice touch to the french toast, adding a tanginess to it. However, I think my french toast were slightly burnt (wasn’t sure so didn’t ask for exchange), so I can barely taste the spices.  It tasted more like plain french toast. Fruit in syrup was guiltily good but how can fruit in syrup possibly go wrong?

Overall, I think Kittichai is a good place for experiencing a new kind of indoor outdoor and splendor vivid color decor. In terms of food, it is really mediocre at best for brunch. There is no new flavor combination that is impressive enough to draw me back. Maybe we did not order the right dishes -a fine excuse to feast on the decor next time!