Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

There are many Thai restaurants in Hell's Kitchen and, when I go to one, I am always curious to see what would make it different from the others. Thai cuisine is often associated with cheap lunch menu and Thai Select is no different, with a lunch special served everyday for less than $9, where you get a salad, an appetizer and a main dish. Pretty good deal! No, what makes this place different is the menu: yes you will get the basic dishes like that Pad See-Ew that was delicious or the Massaman curry that I have tried with chicken, that had a nice kick, but was not over spicy. More surprising are the wide choices of appetizers, some of them being a bit unusual like the crab croquettes that are some sort of crispy wonton stuffed with crab meat and...cream cheese. We will see later how our meal was, but first, let's talk about the restaurant itself: I must admit that I was a bit surprised by the size of the place, that is quite big and narrow. I love the mix of modern furniture with the exposed brick that give a sort of rustic feel, but also warmth to the place. Amazing also is the circle gong hanging on the wall at the entrance, as well as the statues in the back that still have the export tags on them. And for sure, the room in the back with the back-lit photo cannot be missed.

After we sat, we ordered some beverages. On my side, I went for aThai iced tea, a drink that I love and always go for at a Thai restaurant. Jodi decided to have a green tea, the weather being very cold.

We then ordered several dishes, some of them new to our palates. For appetizers, we chose:

Chives pancakes, served with a sweet soy sauce:

Chives pancakes at Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

I admit that I was expecting something, similar to the scallion pancakes, these two pieces looking more like a beignet. Anyway, it was very good, with a nice texture and a delightful greasiness that made these comforting.

Then, the other appetizers came presented like a sampler, with quantities divided by two so we could taste several. I should mention that they do propose samplers, like the seafood or dumpling one: a good idea when people want to try various things from the menu.

Our sampler, made by us, had:

Vegetarian Spring rolls, made with glass noodles, cabbage, carrots and shiitake mushrooms. It was served with a sweet chili sauce.

Shrimp blanket, an interpretation I guess of pig in a blanket, where the shrimp is wrapped in a rice sheet and fried. It was served with a sweet chili sauce.

Shrimp blanket at Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

The last one was the crab croquettes that I mentioned earlier, made with crab meat and cream cheese and served with a plum sauce.

Crab croquettes at Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

All these appetizers were delicious and not too greasy. I love the shrimp blanket where I could really taste the shrimp, as well as the crab croquettes that were surprising, delightfully crispy and the cream cheese giving some freshness to it.

Then, we got two classics: the Pad See-Ew, these sauteed flat noodles prepared with tofu, egg and broccoli in a soy bean sauce.

Pad See-Ew at Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

I skipped the broccoli and really enjoyed the tofu that was quite tasty, as well as these sublime noodles. I truly appreciated the fact that it was not too salty.

The second dish was the Chicken Massaman curry, served with white rice.

Chicken Massaman curry at Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

White rice at Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

This curry, prepared with potato, onion and cashew nut was very good and had a nice kick.

However, a dish I really liked was the honey duck, a crispy duck served with a honey mustard sauce. I love duck, so, even if it was a bit overcooked for my taste, I really liked the dish, from the crispiness of the duck skin to the overall flavors.

Honey duck at Thai Select in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

Last was dessert. We tried:

Sweet sticky rice with green tea ice cream:

Delicious dessert, different from the usual mango sticky rice. I loved it when the ice cream started to melt on the rice and mingle with it. And that ice cream was creamy and not bitter at all, that happens sometimes with green tea ice cream. The other ice cream that was delicious was the coconut one that came with fried banana.

Our meal at Thai Select was delicious and some of the dishes quite surprising. I like the atmosphere and the decor and noticed that lots of regulars were there, a good sign for a restaurant. Would I go back to Thai Select? Definitely and I will for sure try another duck dish there!

Enjoy (I did)!

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