It has been a while since Rodney and I had one of our weekday lunches at Yum Yum Bangkok. It’s a pretty far hike from our offices and the weather has been pretty lousy lately. One day, however, we decided to suck it up and make the trek over to 9th Ave., as we couldn’t resist the great lunch specials and tasty Thai food.
As I mentioned in my first post about Yum Yum Bangkok, the lunch special is basically any entree from the menu, which ranges from approximately $6.50 to $8, and comes with your choice of two appetizers from a decently broad list. I decided to try some new appetizers this time around, instead of my usual spring rolls and soup. Rodney and I both opted to start with a Thai salad, which was a pile of iceberg lettuce, some shredded carrot, and one slice each of cucumber and tomato. The salad was topped with a sweet peanut dressing, and it was perfectly fine but nothing special. I think the salads are pre-made and refrigerated though, as they came out almost immediately and were ice cold. But even so, the vegetables were still pretty fresh and crisp.
Thai salad with peanut dressing
I also opted for the steamed dumplings, which came two to the order. The dumplings were similar to Chinese shumai, and featured ground chicken and shrimp in a steamed yellow wrapper. They tasted ok, but texturally, they were kind of mushy.
Steamed dumplings
Rodney stuck with the spring rolls, which I liked better. I think I’ll stick with those the next time. Freshly fried and super crispy, with a sweet and sour dipping sauce, these are pretty hard to beat.
Crispy Thai spring rolls
For my main course, I also deviated from my usual chicken pad thai and went with chicken pad kie mao, which are flat wide noodles stir fried with chicken, broccoli, peppers, onions, and lots of Thai basil. It’s a very flavorful, savory dish, perfect for anyone who likes basil. The slightly licorice flavor permeates throughout, and though it’s slightly greasy, the noodles are perfectly cooked, not too mushy, and the vegetables provide a pleasing crunchy contrast. Just watch out for some of the peppers, as I bit into one thinking it was a bell pepper but it turned out to be super spicy. I’m sure they’d adjust the spice accordingly upon request. I would definitely get this dish again.
Chicken basil noodles (pad kie mao)
Rodney had the chicken pad priew whan, which was chicken in a sweet and sour sauce with onions, tomatoes, and pineapple chunks. It was a dish that reminded me of General Tso’s chicken, but fresher tasting. The sauce wasn’t too sweet or cloying, and the dish was tasty spooned over the accompanying white rice. The chunks of pineapple were a nice touch, and Rodney seemed to enjoy it a lot.
Chicken in sweet and sour sauce (pad priew whan)
As usual, Rodney couldn’t resist a scoop of green tea ice cream, still just $1 as the “summer special.” It might be freezing outside but he always has room for ice cream.
Green tea ice cream
Yum Yum Bangkok is still one of my favorite lunch places, and you really can’t beat the lunch special deal. We always eat tons of food and never spend more than $10 each, including tax and tip. The food is tasty and service is quick and attentive. It’s always packed whenever we go but we never have to wait for a table, so even though it’s a far walk from our office, we can still usually get in and out in less than an hour. I would definitely still recommend this place to anyone looking to get away from work for a bit and have a nice reasonably priced sit down lunch.
Yum Yum Bangkok
650 9th Ave. between 45th and 46th St.
New York, NY
Tags: Dumplings, Lunch, Midtown West, Noodles, Thai