Modern Thai at Kin Shop

Whenever I crave Thai food, I either go somewhere casual like Pure Thai Chophouse or Rhong Tiam or I venture to Kin Shop in West Village.  The food at Kin Shop is Thai in flavor but at the same time sophisticated.  The restaurant itself is modern and clean, very much a reflection of the food as well.

On a recent trip, I sampled one of the house specialties, a pan roasted tile fish in a chu chee curry.  Tile fish, as I learned from having it for the first time, is a flaky yet firm white fish.  The filet was beautifully seared and the curry was mildly creamy, studded with crayfish and vegetables.  It was hard not to lap up the curry even when the fish was gone.

Kin Shop offered a “fried” rice the night I visited as a special.  This might sound simple but it was as complex as the tile fish.  Each kernel of rice was flavored thoroughly and there were generous portions of mussels mixed in with vegetables.  The poached egg yolk and sriracha sauce created a deliciously spicy sauce.

The stir fried aquatic vegetables always make for a great side dish with its crunchy mixture of watercress, water spinach and water chestnut.  And as I discovered that night, so does the sticky rice.  A little package of sticky rice, cooked with coconut milk and fish sauce, was hidden away inside a pandanus leaf.  The rice was both slightly sweet and savory, pairing well with the creamy curry.

Finally, we wrapped the meal with a large slice of fluffy creamy coconut dream cake.  The light cream was flavored with kaffir lime syrup and the cake was as light as Angel’s Food cake.  It was a nice sweet ending to another wonderful meal at Kin Shop.

Kin Shop | 469 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10011 | http://www.kinshopnyc.com