The Tyger — Restaurant in New York

Interestingly, The Tyger wasn't my first choice for a meetup. My companion called an audible and suggested the place. Absolved from culpability for choosing a subpar venue, I obliged and I'm glad I did!

I arrived 15 minutes early for the reservation and my companion wasn't with yet I was seated immediately. My waiter was over my shoulder right away asking if I wanted anything while I waited. Being early, I got to take a look around at the setup especially the outdoor seating. I was seated in an area they refer to as the "Greenhouse" which is open to air and has heating elements built in. The spacing laterally, separating the two-person tables from the four-person tables seemed adequate but longitudinally, I would've maybe preferred another foot or two between the two-person tables. As we were in the open air, I was ok with it though. The tables also had hand sanitizer available (which a striking few restaurants seem to have).

Anyways, you guys probably want to hear more about the food, which was great! We got a couple of the small plates. The Charred Baby Octopus was really good. The seaweed it came with was surprisingly textured (Thin and chip-like). There was also more Octopus than I expected. The Fried Fingerling potatoes with sweet chili jam were literally sweet, good but sweet. So consider another veggie dish if you want to keep things savory.

For mains, we ordered the Australian Tyger Prawns. This was the hit of the night! the flavors with the sauce... Chefs Kiss. The dish came with some bread buns to sop the sauce with (the sauce literally is finger-licking-good). I ordered the Crispy Lamb ribs which were glazed with a rich sauce as well. My companion didn't like lamb which was fine (all the more for me ;-D)!

We both ordered two cocktails each. I had the "Secret Smiles" (Suntory Haku Vodka, Lychee, Yuzu) which was a perfect, light drink to start with. It was a cross between a Lychee Martini and Lemonade (I'm sure mixologists would give a better explanation than that, but this is the best I can do). I also had the "The Tyger Strype Slushee" (Volcan Blanco Tequila, Shoumei White Tea, Peach, Lemon, Smoke layered with Volcan Blanco Tequila, Mango, Lemon, Honey, Cardamon). In hindsight, it wasn't the best drink for a cool night but I liked the sound of the ingredients. It was excellent and probably hits perfectly on a summer night.

The bottom line is that I really liked the place I recommend that you go. However, I have to mention that I almost took a star away for the service. It's hard to explain why but I'll give it a shot: It was extremely attentive which is great considering how often I visit a place where the staff forget about you once you have food. That gift can also be a curse, if it becomes obtrusive. During the latter parts of our visit, we were interrupted four (4) times in a short time span. Both my companion and I felt it was a noticeable nuisance. We were vibing and wanted to connect more on our own and the interruptions weren't helping. There's a way to suggest more drinks/dessert, take-home-boxes and clearing of finished items etc. without being so obtrusive (e.g. lower voice tone, slower body movements as you approach the table, slower speech cadence, handling multiple issues in one interruption etc). Take all of that with a grain of salt and judge for yourself (some of you might like or love that). Regardless, the place is definitely...

The Tyger is a Southeast Asian restaurant that serves seafood and a variety of meat options, including duck. I was in NYC for work this week. My colleagues and I had dinner here after a long day of collaborating. Here’s my experience and some of their comments:

Location: convenient location and easy to get to from Canal St Station. This is NYC, so obviously I wouldn’t recommend driving.

Reservation: Yes! Definitely make a reservation. It was busy!

Ambiance: Beautiful decor, wonderful and warm ambiance. The background music was pleasant but not too loud that we couldn’t have a conversation. Outdoor patio option available.

Server: Our server was attentive, kind, on time and knew his stuff! He made recommendations on how to order, and what was most popular. He recommended family-sharing style and so that’s what we did.

Food: Saving the best review for last! We ordered the chicken skewers, salmon crude (aka salmon tartar), papaya salad, tofu stir fried veggies, crab fried rice, steak skirt, and the sea bass. The food was to die for! Everything was cooked to perfection. The tofu looked like little marshmallows, so cute but definitely tasty! The steak was cooked medium, and while I don’t eat red meat, my colleagues assured me it was delicious. The sea bass was perfect and just melted in your mouth. The crab fried rice had a kick to it!

For dessert, we ordered the Vietnamese coffee tart which is kind of like a crème brûlée tart, the coconut vegan ice cream (sorbet) and the banana split. Our take on which dessert is the best in order: The Vietnamese coffee tart takes the win! It was creamy but not too heavy. Delightful crispy crust and a lovely coffee/sugar top brûlée.

The coconut ice cream was so light and delightful! I wish there could have been more ice cream and less whipped cream though. A lovely touch with the shredded coconut and caramel at the bottom.

We all agreed the banana split was ok, but there was a lot of flavours that we just didn’t feel went well together. I would have preferred the ice cream without the banana.

As always, my photos don’t do the food justice. You’ll have to take my...

We try to come to NYC at least 1-2x a year. This is my second time I've gone to The Tyger and I am telling you that it is I'll not be my last.

To note: it's not just the food that makes it 5 stars. But the service as well! Spencer our server was the one of the best we have ever had. To note that we went to Carbone the day before and honestly felt that the experience was soooo much better at Tyger.

Anyways - shout out to Spencer! You are truly one of a kind :)

If you want the must order items... keep reading.

Order the fried chicken small plate. Order 2. Have a hot date. Order 2 for yourself and one for them. Trust me, it's the dreamiest crispy yet spicy dish and I could eat this everyday.

Crab fried rice, crispy, flavorful and well spiced. Who doesn't love a good crab fried rice.

I'm not for l expensive food, but my goodness the tempura red snapper was so unexpected and sooooooo good! Crispy, not overly battered. When we looked at Yelp photos, it looked like a whole fish, when we got it the pieces were all cut up and each one was separately fried, it looks almost like a popcorn ish style. But don't think that way at all. It was light, super moist and out of this world! I added green bird eye chop chilis and fresh lime squeeze for extra spice and earthiness and you just can't go wrong. It comes with this great dipping sauce.

The green beans. Game changer, think crispy garlic green beans with a hint of spice, but like garlic girl garlic. You just make sure every green bean is fully coated in garlic mess and it's just delicious. I love it!

The coconut dessert, peanut brittle, whipped cream and ice cream in a coconut shell, amazing, fresh and it just made the meal. It made me really happy.

If you need to choose one, go for the fried chicken and request Spencer as your server, you can't go wrong!

10/10 in my top 5 fave restaurants in NY.

Pro tip* they have a sister restaurant called Chinese Tuxedo. It's Chinese food in an old opera house! That's my next stop when I'm...