Zabb Kitchen
(Thai)
244 E. 13th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues (East Village)
NY, NY 10003
(212) 529 8770
4/5/6 trains to 14th Street – Union Square, L train to 1st Avenue

If you’re that person who traveled through Thailand, ate the most delicious foods along your journey, then came home to be flat-out disappointed with Thai food in the States, I have a solution for you. However, you must be a) living in New York City or b) willing to trek to New York City for a meal.

Zabb Kitchen doesn’t have just one name. To be honest, I’m not sure whether to call it Zabb Kitchen, Cha Cha Tea House (as written on the door), the restaurant formerly known as Pat Pong, or G&G (as it reads on its awning). I arrived at the restaurant thinking the East Village Thai restaurant Pat Pong had changed locations. To my surprise, I found a complete gem of a restaurant. A complete gem of a BYO restaurant, that is!

For the table of 10 I hosted at Zabb, we ordered pork and vegetable dumplings, summer rolls, and grilled beef salad to start. The vegetable summer rolls were as expected and the dumplings were not special and a bit soggy. I was hardly worried though because I could tell that those stand-bys were hardly going to be the focus of the meal. The beef salad with wonderful accents of Thai basil, ever-so-slightly minty, and rice shavings, toasty and tasty, was excellent. This is a must-order on any trip to Zabb. The portions are not large, so you may be happier ordering two for a party of 6 or more.

We continued with beef Massaman curry, tofu red curry, chicken pad thai, and spicy vegetable noodles with basil. The curries were exceptional – authentically spicy with a brilliant combination of flavors with each mouthful. You cannot go wrong with ordering curries with either beef or tofu. A great spin on Zabb’s red curry includes the use of Asian cabbage which you may mistake for kimchee. It adds a great, crisp freshness to the curry while absorbing some of the intense spiciness of the dish. The chicken pad thai was fine but much too boring for the splendid dishes that Zabb creates. The spicy basil noodles were thick noodles, cooked perfectly and seasoned perfectly, as well.

Desserts at Kabb were also great. The black sticky rice with mango is not to be missed. It is served exactly as you would expect in Thailand with perfectly ripened mangoes and a luscious, creamy coconut milk. We also tried the banana sticky rice which was good but too light on the banana taste in relation to the starchiness of the rice. The homemade ice creams were good, but one we had which was entitled something on the lines of “Love” was much too fragrant. It almost tasted like perfume. I’d skip the ice cream and go with mangoes with black sticky rice, one for each person at the table. It’s so delicious, you won’t want to share.

In addition to the splendid food, the prices are reasonable – curries and noodle dishes are under $10 each while appetizers hovered in the $5-$8 range. The proprietor, who is from Northern Thailand, is extremely friendly and willing to make recommendations while not dumbing down the flavors of the dishes in an attempt to protect meek tongues. The restaurant is fully BYO and fits about 30. You will absolutely love the grilled beef salad, curries, and the mangoes with black sticky rice. This restaurant gets an A from me, my highest rating thus far, enjoy!