Kin Shop - Dude Grade: C+
469 Avenue of the Americas, New York 10011
Btwn 11th and 12th St
Phone: (212) 675-4295
The wife and I are Top Chef fans and I've always been curious to see how Harold Dieterle's restaurants were (Top Chef Season 1 Winner). I chose to visit Kin Shop since a friend from London was in town and she was requesting spicy, Asian food. Figured why not check out Kin Shop, Harold's take on Thai food - not exactly authentic, but still pretty fun.
Our Menu
Spicy Duck Laab Salad *
toasted rice, ground chili & romaine hearts
A pretty fun dish with textural crunch (rice and romaine) and spicy/savory thing going on with the duck and chilis. Oddly reminded me of PF Chang's chicken lettuce wrap, but obviously much better.
Grilled Prawns *
fresh lime & "phuket style" black pepper sauce
Nice and smokey prawns that was pretty tender and relatively sweet. Fun with the chili and lime dressing. Prawn heads are always fun.
Fried Pork and Crispy Oyster Salad **
celery, peanuts, mint & chili-lime vinaigrette
What's not to love about this dish - crispy oysters and uber tender pork belly. Friggin phenomenal - the oysters and pork had huge flavors and the textures made it pretty damn fun. Celery was a nice bright surprising pop to the dish.
Red: Roasted Duck Breast *
crispy roti, green mango, fresh herbs & tamarind water
Very tender and flavorful duck breast which was great dipped in the sauce (felt like a massaman wannabe). The roti used to wrap the duck was pretty damn buttery and delicious.
Selection Of Grilled Eggplant
rice pearls, fish sauce & mint
Not a big fan of this dish. Tender, but a tad oily. Flavor was decent with the fish sauce and mint though.
Spicy Duck Laab Salad *
toasted rice, ground chili & romaine hearts
A pretty fun dish with textural crunch (rice and romaine) and spicy/savory thing going on with the duck and chilis. Oddly reminded me of PF Chang's chicken lettuce wrap, but obviously much better.
Grilled Prawns *fresh lime & "phuket style" black pepper sauce
Nice and smokey prawns that was pretty tender and relatively sweet. Fun with the chili and lime dressing. Prawn heads are always fun.
Fried Pork and Crispy Oyster Salad **
celery, peanuts, mint & chili-lime vinaigrette
What's not to love about this dish - crispy oysters and uber tender pork belly. Friggin phenomenal - the oysters and pork had huge flavors and the textures made it pretty damn fun. Celery was a nice bright surprising pop to the dish.
Red: Roasted Duck Breast *
crispy roti, green mango, fresh herbs & tamarind water
Very tender and flavorful duck breast which was great dipped in the sauce (felt like a massaman wannabe). The roti used to wrap the duck was pretty damn buttery and delicious.
Selection Of Grilled Eggplant
rice pearls, fish sauce & mint
Not a big fan of this dish. Tender, but a tad oily. Flavor was decent with the fish sauce and mint though.
Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way
Overall Restaurant Experience - Food (C+) – Not Thai food, but Thai style flavorings with food that's generally cooked pretty well.
- Service (B) – Waiter was very friendly and attentive.
- Atmosphere (B) – Was there on a Monday and it was empty around 7pm, but packed afterwards. Even when we left around 9:30, there were people waiting in line. The place definitely had this quaint west village vibe. Open kitchen is interesting to watch, but the good thing is Harold is actually there expediting. He's supposedly looking into his 3rd restaurant, so good to see him still working the pass on a Monday.
- Price (C) – Entrees are around $23, but the portions are relatively small. Not bad for the quality though.
A fun time and the food was decent, but not sure I would go back. If I want either an Asian fusion thing, I'd stop by any Momofuku or if I want Thai style food I'd go to a Thai restaurant near me.
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