Thai food has become something of a staple in New York City. Everyone’s got their favorite local place or lunch spot. In some facets, it’s encroached on the territory that Americanized Chinese food had held strong for nearly a decade as a solid lunch option or a good order-in dinner. At least for me, that’s what it has become. Sabai Thai is one of those Thai places that are on the other end of the spectrum. It comes from owner Karan Daryanani and is a Central-Thai-inspired restaurant nestled in the heart of the trendy Flatiron District. The kitchen is helmed by Executive Chef Mingmitr Amnuaypanich, renowned for his work at PONGsri and the celebrated Kelly & Ping, the restaurant unveils a menu where cherished Thai dishes are infused with a sophisticated Western twist.
I am rarely if ever surprised by Thai food as most places love to dwell in the realm of simple mediocrity. But Sabai Thai does not. I went recently with my girlfriend and we started off with the Sabai Sampler in order to get a proper tasting of what these folks can do. This came with spring rolls, curry puffs, calamari, chicken satay, and thung thong (chicken dumplings). The spring rolls were straight forwad, along with the chicken satay and thunh thong, however the curry puffs and calamari were something else. The former was flaky, crunchy, soft, and perfectly packaged for a wonderful tasting experience. The latter, being the calamari, was strangely enough some of the best calamari I’ve ever had. The texture of the batter was crispy yet semi-uniform in a way only great tempura is, while the calamari itself was tender, soft, and thick.
As for the main courses, I had the Pineapple Duck curry while my girlfriend had the Prawn Pad Thai. The pineapple duck curry was one of the more interesting Thai curries that I’ve ever had. Centered perfectly in a pool of golden curry was a perfectly cooked duck breast with perfectly rendered fatted tucked on top. The curry was almost too sweet while also being savory. It was the perfect complement to the perfectly cooked duck breasts which was much better than it needed to be. When covering something up with sauce, many take liberties with how well the underlying meat is cooked, but not here. Everything was great. The concoction of flavors was certainly something I’d like to try again and something I’d recommend. As for the prawn pad thai, the prawn was lightly battered and the meat was juicy and succulent while remaining tender. The noodles had a nice chew to them and were pleasantly savory, tangy, and sweet all at once. The noodles were wrapped in a nice, thin layer of egg and it felt like digging up a treasure, cutting into the egg to uncover more of the noodles.
There are several other highlights on the menu that are worth a try but that I couldn’t get to. The Massaman Curry, a choice of chicken or beef flank with onions, potatoes, and peanuts, served with roti canai bread. The Pla Nueng Manow (Branzino) is a whole steamed branzino with garlic lime sauce served with jasmine rice. Cocktails, by Demetrius Butler, feature the Koh Pha Ngan, a mix of Roku house-infused raspberry gin, Aperol, rosemary syrup, lime, and egg white, as well as the fan-favorite Pink Lychee Martini, Haku vodka, lychee and lemon.
Next time you’re thinking of a date night dinner idea or a more interesting take on what has become a more boring genre of food, take a look at Sabai Thai.