Klong - Review

Intro
Klong - Recommended
7 Saint Marks Pl, New York 10003
Btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave
Phone: 212-505-9955

After the bad meal (particularly a bad Asian Meal) at Chow Bar, we wanted some solid Asian food the next night. Wanted to go to Yakitori Taisho since we were already in the East Village area, but as usual it was packed. Checked out Klong instead since it was next door and surprisingly it was decent. Overall, I give the restaurant a 74/100.

My Menu

1) Taro Spring Rolls – Recommended
2) Jade Dumpling - Not Recommended
3) Pad Thai – Recommended
4) Soft Shell Crab with basil sauce (special) - Recommended
5) Tom Yum Martini - Recommended

Dish Comments
1) Crispy spring rolls with a side sweet sauce. Similar to the ones we had at Chow Bar, but for half the price. Didn't really taste any taro though.
2) Veggie dumplings that had a side of black bean sauce. Not really bad, but not that flavorful, so I'm assuming there's a better app on the menu.
3) Good pad thai. Not the best I've ever had, but pretty satisfying. Noodles cooked well, sauce was good, and the beef was tender.
4) Love me some soft shell crab and this was decent. The sauce however was really fun. Classic thai sauce with basil, onions, red peppers and that sweet, spicy thing going on. Went perfectly with the side of white rice.
5) Very fun martini filled with lemongrass and I think kaffir lime leaf. Decent amount of alcohol. Only thing, is there are plenty of floaty things in the drinks you can't drink - maybe pieces of lemongrass. Wasn't so upset though since I don't chug martini's - you sip them, so you can filter this stuff out.

Overall Restaurant Experience (73/100)

• Food 7.5/10 – Love Thai food and Klong was decent, nothing spectacular though. I think it's definitely muted for the non-Thai customers since no food was that spicy and I've had some great Thai food that was ridiculously spicy. Surprising, since this place supposedly has a Thai chef which is quite rare.
• Service 6.0/10 – Hostess was nice and so were the majority of the servers. Ours was a little bitchy, but the food came out on time. However, the person bringing out the food sucked. He ended up spilling some sauce on a chair and my friend's sweater while she was away. Then, they brought out all of the entrees without clearing any of the plates - which sucked since the tables are a little tiny. The manager needs to resolve this issue.
• Atmosphere 7.5/10 – Trendy looking place that is pretty dark inside. Crowd is a mix of couples and groups of girls. The place was packed on Saturday at 7:45pm, but we were lucky and got seated right away. Good bar scene and lots of people were there just chillin with their martinis.
• Price 7.5/10 – Prices were reasonable (around $10-15 per entree) and such a contrast with Chow Bar - food is actually good and worth the price.

Closing Comments
Usually, I would be pretty pissed at the sauce spilling incident, but we were having such a good time talking and laughing - I didn't mind so much. Surprisngly, it's pretty hard to find good Thai food in Manhattan (Lemongrass Grill and Pongsri Thai are pretty sub par), so I would check this place out again. If you want real Thai food, Sripraphai in Woodside, Queens is a must visit.