Tong — Restaurant in New York

** Their COVID protocols include a temperature scanner near the entrance. They mounted the thermometer on the wall at a certain height so shorter people might need to tippy toe for the forehead reading. Every employee is wearing masks and tables are placed to promote social distance inside. There is a structure outside with seating for anyone who likes a cool a breeze with their food. Customers are required to fill out a contact sheet per health guidelines. The menu is accessed via a QR code to limit physical contact.

My guest and I got a table in the corner which was nice. Our main server was a very nice lady named Suchasinee (Sucha for short). She checked on us often and made some good entree recommendations. Another employee named Jade came by to make sure we were good even though he may have been busy in the kitchen.

The drink menu was separate and consisted of signature cocktails and some beer options. Each cocktail had a special combination that made it unique. It is not very often that I would participate but some of the drinks sounded very good. Sucha made some recommendations and we decided on Jungle Juice (Mehkong Compari, Cherry Heering, Grapefruit, Passionfruit and Hibiscus Lime) for myself and my guest ordered After A Long Day (Angels Envy, Chrysanthemum, Yellow Chartreuse, St Germain and Dolin) because the name stood out. The Jungle Juice was very tasty and refreshing. The After A Long Day is very strong and is a great drink for HH or winding down literally after a long day. Compliments to the employee Pat who was at the bar as she made all the drinks for us. And of course we had to have classic Thai Ice tea on the side.

Something newer about the menu was the addition of "KUB KLAEM" which they translate on the menu as "small plates" and are perfect for sharing and pairing with drinks. The ones we tried were Goi Neu (Chef's signature dish consisting of Isan style spicy beef tartare, with shallots, toasted rice, cilantro and complemented by taro chips and seasonal vegetables). A FAIR WARNING...this dish is VERY SPICY. Even my guest who loves spcicy food had to take a step back after sampling the beef tartare. I am not a big spice fan and thought she was exaggerating (which she was not). This dish has a kick that will have flames of savory goodness dancing on your tongue while burning your taste buds. I highly recommend it!!

The second dish we tried was the Koor Moo Yang (succulent grilled pork jowl with spicy jaew tamarind dipping sauce. The pork was tender and savory yet I had no issue with the sauce (probably because my taste buds were damaged from the beef tartare. kidding) and we both were fighting for the last piece. I lost that fight btw.

The third "small plate" we tried was called Pla Muk Yang (grilled octopus with cilantro and chili lime sauce). This is considered a favorite after school snack according to the menu. These snacks are definitely fancier than what I am used to eating! The octopus was tender and tasty.

For classic appetizers, we ordered the Chicken Satay with a side of peanut dipping sauce. You cannot go wrong with that.

We wanted to try some entrees and I went with my go to Pad See Ew with Shrimp, Chicken and Beef (I paid extra for the latter as the dish usually only comes with one protein).

My guest has fancy taste and when our server Sucha mentioned Khao Pad Poo (crab meat fried rice with onions, scallion egg) it was ordered on the spot. It was nice to have a rice dish among everything else and this was a very good choice to share.

Sucha recommended one more dish was was a specialty called Pad Cha Talay (stir fry shrimp, squip, scallop mixed with birds eye chili, garlic, green peppercorn, lime leaf, basil and fingeroot) and this certainly lives up to its description. It sounds daunting but the flavors all complement each other.

Check...

My big bro is the only friend I have who can eat as much as me. Whenever we get together the amount of food we consume is biblical.

We have been trying to expand our search for good restaurants outside of our normal stomping grounds, and decided on Tong, as it has been on the Michelin guide list 4 years in a row. 4-peat is crazy. Although, what does the Michelin man really know about food?

We hopped off the L-Train in Bushwick and made the short walk to Tong, through brightly painted warehouses that you can’t tell if they are occupied or empty. Bushwick is so unique.

We arrived ready to EAT. We sat down and deliberated over the menu for longer than I care to admit, and decided on the following:

Beef tartare, Yum Naem, Oysters, Beef Pad See Ew, Crab Curry, Chicken Green Curry, Massaman Brisket, Fried Branzino, and the Fillet Branzino. A laughable amount of food. I don’t know why we thought we could eat all that.

When you sit down, the servers first question is “are you guys okay with spicy food?” Big bro confidently nodded his head with a look of slight disrespect on his face as if to say “do you know who I am?!” Next thing I know he’s running to the bathroom to go splash some water on his face after 1 bite of the crab curry. Food can be SPICY in here so if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.

I normally only highlight one dish to try and keep these reviews short, but this food was sensational, so imma highlight a few. Our favorites were the Fried Branzino, Massaman Brisket, and the Pad See Ew.

The Fried Branzino is really what will bring me back here. It will keep me up at night thinking about how good this was. You get the entire fish seasoned with turmeric, black pepper, fried garlic, and lemongrass. It was the perfect dish.

The owner, Pat, came over to our table to talk to us for a bit. She was such a sweetheart, and so passionate. She also told us that they order the Pad See Ew noodles fresh every single morning from this market close by. Running a restaurant must be so hard, so shout out to Pat.

We pride ourselves on never taking leftovers, but we took a huge L here. We walked out of here like a couple of DORKS with bags of food. I felt like a little kid bringing my lunch to school smh.

Great service, great people, and great food in here. I’ll be back.

IG...

Ok let me just say, excellent.. now that’s over, can you tell me why you haven’t visited here yet? Top notch food and service with plenty of smiles.. Love this place as it is a gem as much as it is a genuine delight.

We showed up late, almost 10 and thought they might have turned us away since they do close at 10:30, nope, nothing but warm smiles and delicious food.

Grilled Octopus is just as beautiful as it is tasty. Not chewy, not dry, not tough, just full of flavor and melts in your mouth

Kang Tai Pla - Fisherman curry fiery hot. Fillet branzino, just wow on the flavors in this soup topped with a grill fish fillet with skin on… out of this world spicy and delicious

Pad Mhee Ko Rad - an extremely flavorful shrimp rice noodle dish that is difficult to stop shoving in your mouth (much like the octopus), little sweet, little spicy, a lot of flavor!!

Crispy Fried Duck - wow, just wow.. crispy outside but perfectly moist and flavorful. Surprisingly well made duck that you will not regret

This was just my last visit and I try to get something different each time.. but I will say the most underrated thing about this place, is how friendly this staff is. I have been here many times and have never felt unwelcome, this wait staff is awesome,,, the bartender is awesome, the cook staff is amazing, the food so far has been nothing...