Wondee Siam GB's Birthday Lunch! 06-24-2009

Location: 792 9th Ave.
Time: 1pm
People: Sa-Sha, AP, Jaye & Hubbie, Be-Be, PeeWee, Karen, Birthday Girl GB, and myself

Feelings: Happy Birthday GB! GB's friend, Jaye, arranged a birthday lunch for GB at midtown Thai spot, Wondee Siam. She mentioned they had a "Secret Menu that is only written in Thai," which made us very excited. What an enticing adventure for a foodblogger. Jaye even had a note written in Thai so we can order these mysterious secret Thai dishes. It turned out the secret menu was not to secret! The Menu, labeled "Secret Menu" sat on each table alongside the cocktail list. Not very secret. Perhaps something was lost in the translation. AP said frustratedly, "I thought we were getting something special!"

Our group ordered the crispy duck salad, whole fish with mango salad, pork with watercress and octopus from this not-so-secret-but-special menu. Sa-Sha liked the texture of the crispy duck salad and thought the whole fish was prepared very well. GB enjoyed her food and thought it was a bit more adventurous than ordering her usual red curry/drunken noodles. She said, "I expected it to be spicier, but I enjoyed the complexity of flavour, especially with the duck salad and the mango fish. I find often Thai food in New York can be monotone, so it's nice to have layers of many different tastes." Sa-Sha and I both thought Sripraphai was better when it comes to authenticity, but they were very good for Manhattan Thai joint. GB thought perhaps they water down the spiciness for a midtown flavor palette.

Karen's chicken red curry should have been called "bamboo shoots red curry with chicken." So loaded with bamboo shoots, and I had mistaken them for noodles. However, she enjoyed the presentation and its reasonable price. ($6.95 with salad)

PeeWee and I both ordered noodles. we both agreed that it was a bit too sweet and not spicy enough. BeBe, the self proclaimed Spice Wimp, thought her Rama chicken was too spicy, so they leveled out our spicy preferences. That's midtown for you--They level out the flavor and aim the middle so everyone will be happy. It might not be as adventurous as what Queens or Brooklyn may have to offer, but it sure can provide lovely birthday Thai lunch.