Our first impression of the upscale SoHo Thai restaurant Kittichai when we randomly found ourselves there a few years back: a dimly-lit gimmick that would impress a midlife crisis mistress, or that special someone you met on the NY Post bus tour. But it's been almost ten years since Kittichai opened on the ground floor of the 60 Thompson Hotel, so perhaps they're doing something right. It certainly is a sexy place—the centerpiece of the dining room is a reflecting pool with a hypnotic procession of floating candles, and you could imagine Bruce Wayne's dates skinny-dipping there. Last month Kittichai hired a new executive chef, Angus An, who is French-trained, Taiwanese by birth, and grew up in Vancouver. He's got the fusion thing down to a subtle science, but not in an overbearing trying-too-hard-1980s-American Psycho way.
An's known for his acclaimed Vancouver restaurant Gastropod, which was later recreated as the award-winning Thai restaurant Maenam. At Kittichai, An's taken the restaurant to a new level with his progressive but respectful interpretation of Thai food; his menu is traditional with tastefully imaginative accents. In particular, the Grilled Arctic Char with tamarind coconut broth, hot and sour cracker and saw tooth coriander is a Thai classic that tastes fresh and new in An's delicate hands. And the spicy Papaya Salad is among the best in town. But during a recent press preview, we were most impressed with the Nantucket Bay scallops with cucumber-galangal espuma, cilantro pearls and Nahm Jim sauce ($12). File that under "must have."
The appetizer serves as a low-risk entry point to Chef An's style, and it's worth a visit to Kittichai, paired with one of the restaurant's fastidious cocktails (try the Pomelo Martini, with house-infused pomelo gin, "kitchen vermouth", lemon juice and simple syrup). The dish is a ceviche, and the scallops are cured by the Nahm Jim sauce, which consists of lime juice, fish sauce, chilies, galangal. We're told it's a very popular dish in Thailand, and chef Ang says he "echoed the galangal flavor with cucumber into an espuma [foam] to help cleanse the palette," which is the secret to its refreshing flavor. It's also garnished with cucumber caviar, pepper dice, trout roe and cilantro pearls. And it might very well blow your mind.
60 Thompson Street // (212) 219-2000
