Kai Yang — Restaurant in Montclair

Food: 5/5 Drinks: BYOB, although their beverage list for teas and sorts looked very good. The people around me seemed very satisfied with them especially. Service: 5/5 Hostess: None. Expect to be greeted by a server and/or other member of staff. College -Student friendly? : I would say so. It's not crazy expensive, but certainly wouldn't count as a cheap meal. Atmosphere, service, and portion size of cuisine make up for this greatly. Covid-19 standards: 5/5. Be ready to have your temperature checked.

This spot is dimly lit with a glowing red rooster as it's mascot just above the food window. A gorgeous (albeit small) and cozy Thai spot where you can enjoy the scene without intrusive or invading themes or bright lights.

The beginning: I walked inside and asked if I had could have a table for one. A polite young gentleman said "No problem." He then checked my temperature before generously seating me in a communal table for four (which gave me a lot of space to feel comfortable.)

My server: His name was Alex. He instructed me on how to observe the menu and afterwards I was brought some tap water by another young lady who appeared to be a second server. Alex was very informative about the menu, extremely accommodating, and very polite and patient about answering all my questions regarding the food. He has a very professional but casual charm to his personality that allows the guest to feel at home and confident with diving into the menu options.

The food: I started with two appetizers. Chicken Satay, and chicken curry puffs. Followed by a "Royal Duck" entree and "Fried Banana" dessert with vanilla ice cream. While I'm not familiar enough with Thai food to say if it was authentic - it was certainly delicious. All of the ingredients, from the garnishes, to the sauces, to the main proteins were packed with flavor and satisfying freshness. The pastry on the curry puffs was cooked to perfection with a well seasoned filling and fresh cold topping with sauce on the side. The Duck, I mean cmo'n ? I've had duck a hundred times over and the way this duck was prepared was incredible. It was boneless, it was crispy, it was saucy, and so well balanced that I didn't even want to add spicy sauce to it even though I had initially requested it. Whoever is working back there is putting out some real quality food and the recipes are both appealing and worth their weight. Excellent job all around.

Experience: This place is a culinary experience of humble pie in all the best ways. The service performs their job well, and really give that cherry on top of a wonderful experience after you've tried the food. I knew this location when it was a Korean-Texas BBQ fusion with subpar food. No better concept could've taken over this space. Wonderful work guys, keep it up! I'll be...

We went there before a dance party in Montclair. This place has been on my list for a while so I was glad to try it out. I was able to make reservations through Google Assistant online which made the process much easier. We ordered a bunch of appetizers that our waitress recommended. We got the wings, roti with curry, shrimp with chili sauce, papaya and mango salads to start with. The wings were very flavorful. We got them with penang curry. The shrimp dish was okay but the sauce was yummy. The roti and the curry were delicious. My favorite were the two salads. They were very well spiced and very well balanced. We then ordered the fried whole fish with the basil and tamarind sauce. The extra sauce was an extra $7. The fish was room temperature by the time it arrived but the sauces were hot so I guess we were supposed to pour the sauces on top of the fish. I think the fish should have been hotter. We also ordered the whole chicken that came with its own sauces. Very good! I think I really enjoyed their sauces. We ordered two noodle dishes which could have had more flavor. But overall it was a great experience! I would highly recommend this place. I will definitely come back. The service was very friendly and helpful! Oh and they are BYOB which is always...

It's tough to rate Service and Atmosphere since I did takeout.

I'm very disappointed to share that the food was terrible. I ordered takeout from this restaurant based on its 4.6-star rating, but I have no idea who considers this food good or even edible. I usually refrain from writing reviews unless the experience is this bad. We managed to eat some of it since we had no other option, but the rest is going in the trash. The only dish that might have been salvageable was the pad Thai noodles, without the overcooked, soggy vegetables. The basil chicken was drowned in a brown gravy, and I couldn't tell if they were aiming for a Thai or Chinese flavor. It's difficult to describe the taste or the complete lack thereof. I honestly wish I had called them after trying the food, taken it back, and requested a refund. That would have been my first time, but it was so late. I recommend going to all SLA, KorKai, Sukhumvit, or anything else. This is by far the worst restaurant I have eaten at in Montclair. Since I picked up the food, I can't comment on the service. I will...