Jackson Heights Life

Hi all,

I know there have been scattered posts about this previously, but I would love to hear what people's current Thai restaurant favorites are in Elmhurst/Jackson Heights. A friend of mine recently wanted to come visit and experience the local offerings- I took her to Paet Rio, because it had been on my list to try for awhile, but it was unfortunately kind of mediocre. Should have probably gone to Chao Thai, although we wanted a place where we could sit and have a beer or two with dinner, and Paet Rio has a nice interior for this. We did get drinks after at Pata Paplean, which was great as always.
My own list:
Khao Khang
Chao Thai
Kitchen 79
Ayada

Am I missing any?

Still huge fans of ayada and 79. They are the obvious go-tos for those in the historic district in the 70's or low 80's.

Ayada's portions for delivery are more generous than 79's..... their catfish salad is ridiculously delicious, their chive dumplings (when fresh eat-in, not delivered) are crispy nuggets of awesome,  they had a special - fillet mignon panang curry! - which was out of this world -  a few weeks ago.  their noodle and curry standards are also excellent. they are  expanding next door to get bigger. I seriously think Ayada is a world class restaurant....certainly the best overall thai I've had in the USA (including thaitown in LA).

79 has delicious draft beer selections, their curries have a great "fresh" taste to them. a truly great local choice (*much* better than the now  sadly sugared, weak-sauce westernized Arunee).

The more elmhurst-y thais are good, but unless there is a particular dish that ayada or 79 does weakly in comparison to these  we generally stick to the more local ones.

Zabb elee's Dark noodle soup is sweet spicy funky and awesome. the other stuff I've had there was good but not as memorable as 79/ayada.

I miss plant love house. And if you want delicious delicious, delicious early onset diabetes, sugar clubs' deserts are great.

I totally agree about Ayada. Their soft shell crab, mango salad, bbq pork, crab roll appetizer--all are fantastic.

There is one unusual vegetable they put in their green curry--I'm not a big fan.  I prefer Kitchen 79's green curry. But otherwise, it's Ayada all the way.

Lalochezia, I didn't know they are expanding.  Are they going to convert the wine store they own next door into part of the restaurant?

Still huge fans of ayada and 79. They are the obvious go-tos for those in the historic district in the 70's or low 80's.

Ayada's portions for delivery are more generous than 79's..... their catfish salad is ridiculously delicious, their chive dumplings (when fresh eat-in, not delivered) are crispy nuggets of awesome,  they had a special - fillet mignon panang curry! - which was out of this world -  a few weeks ago.  their noodle and curry standards are also excellent. they are  expanding next door to get bigger. I seriously think Ayada is a world class restaurant....certainly the best overall thai I've had in the USA (including thaitown in LA).

79 has delicious draft beer selections, their curries have a great "fresh" taste to them. a truly great local choice (*much* better than the now  sadly sugared, weak-sauce westernized Arunee).

The more elmhurst-y thais are good, but unless there is a particular dish that ayada or 79 does weakly in comparison to these  we generally stick to the more local ones.

Zabb elee's Dark noodle soup is sweet spicy funky and awesome. the other stuff I've had there was good but not as memorable as 79/ayada.

I miss plant love house. And if you want delicious delicious, delicious early onset diabetes, sugar clubs' deserts are great.

But otherwise, it's Ayada all the way.

Lalochezia, I didn't know they are expanding.  Are they going to convert the wine store they own next door into part of the restaurant?

Nope. They are taking over the store on the other side (ex barber?) to expand their restauraunt that way.

Zabb Elee is still better than most Thai restaurants in the area.

I felt like the food at Zabb Elee was a bit different and there's a new set of waitstaff. Then I heard a rumor that it's under a new management and the chef moved to Esanation in Hell's Kitchen. I cannot really confirm the news but Zabb is still not a bad choice.

Anyway, its neighbor Playground is not bad either, especially if you want something besides northeastern thai food in Zabb.

We have been into Kitchen 79 lately. 

This place is new, Dek Sen.  It replaced Plant Love House.
It gets pretty good reviews on Yelp. https://www.yelp.com/biz/dek-sen-queens

The food, right now, isn't up to the standards of Plant Love House, but it does have that same sense of whimsy, a similar menu, and a very friendly vibe.