PAM Real Thai

PAM Real Thai is a little eat-in restaurant at the corner of West 49th Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan. MM did not have too high expectations, but I was raving about it. Cheap, Tasty, and Fast. A triple play!

They have an extensive meat and fish menu for the non-vegetarians and a separate veg menu for the vegetarians. Unlike many restaurants, vegetarians actually have a choice of items instead of the token one or two dishes.

Ok, here is the verdict. We got two dishes.

The first - Tofu and Sprouts.
MM: The sprouts were really good, but the tofu was a bit rubbery. The dish overall was pretty tasty.
Me: This is not a dish that I would typically order. Bean sprouts to me are something that just go over pad thai, not a main dish. But I was pleasantly surprised. The dish was tasty. The tofu was good as well but there was not enough of it. Overall, glad I tried it and something I would order again.

The second dish - Vegetarian Duck in Basil Sauce.
MM: IMHO, the dish was a little over the top. They tried a bit too hard, YKWIM. The veggie duck was pretty good, the capsicum was really good though. The sauce was very heavy, but KM says she likes to drizzle it over rice.
Me: This is my favorite dish at Pam, which I always get. It is very tasty, with garlic, onions and basil. It is a bit saucy but I don't mind that. I usually get it very spicy which kicks it up another notch. A must try for any vegetarian. I could eat this for dinner everyday and for $6 it would not break my bank!

The price of the meal (with one Thai iced tea) and tip was $17. Ok, even I have to admit that is a good deal in NYC.

404 W 49th St.Between 9th and 10th Ave.
212 333 7500
http://www.pamrealthai.com/

Earle Swensen's at Vivo City

My colleagues and I had lunch at Earle Swensen's at Vivo City today. I had originally thought it would be just like any other Swensen's, but no - it is supposed to be a "high class" Swensen's, and guess what, "high class" Swensen's doesn't have anything vegetarian on the menu! Oops, sorry, gotta take that back - forgot about the fries, and the ice cream...

Check it out for yourself - Earle Swensen's has its menu online!

The only saving grace was that it has a lovely salad bar, with nice & fresh produce. Trust me, I have been to salad bars in Singapore where the lettuce look pathetic! But not here. I loved the corn, and the Waldorf salad, and a ton of other greens they had in there.

Oh and I forgot to mention that, for lunch on weekdays, they have a set menu which is quite reasonably priced, that actually has one dish I could get - vegetable spaghetti!! Woohoo! That comes with the salad bar, coffee/tea and ice cream, all for $15.90++. Of course the spaghetti portion was also reasonably suited to the price, but I'm not complaining, as I actually already filled myself on the salad before the spaghetti was served.

My first attempt at Char Kuay Teow

This evening, I suddenly had the urge to try making char kuay teow. I had no recipe, just a packet of fresh kuay teow I bought from the Sheng Shiong supermarket, and some imagination. I sort of had to make do with whatever I had in my fridge, and here's how it turned out:


In case anyone is interested, here's how I did it:
Ingredients:
    a handful of Kuay Teow
    a handful of bean sprouts
    1/2 piece tau kwa
    1/4 an onion
    1/4 yellow bell pepper
    3 stalks spinach
    1 egg (optional)
    1/2 teaspoon chilli black bean paste
    2 teaspoon soy sauce
    oil (sufficient for frying)

- Fry the tau kwa until golden-brown. Set aside.
- Brown the onions, then add bell pepper and bean sprouts.
- Add the tau kwa, and chilli black bean paste and soy sauce.
- Add kuay teow and spinach.
- Make a space in the center of the wok, break the egg in and fry.

Well, it tasted pretty good, but wasn't spicy enough - gotta put more chilli bean paste next time!

Vegetarian Bak Kut Teh

I made Vegetarian Bak Kut Teh last night.

"How do you make bak kut teh without the bak?", my sister asked.

Well, I used mock meat, chinese mushrooms, tau kwa, and tau pok. Ok, I did not make the spices from scratch - I used the pre-packet spice, which made it easier.

Today, I found a recipe in The Star Online - Kuali. I wish I had also thought of putting in beancurd sticks and cabbage! And of frying the mock meat before...

Still my concoction came out quite tasty. Will experiment with other ingredients another day.