May Kaidee NYC

From starting a street food cart in Bangkok in 1988 to operating six restaurants at a time, Sommay Jaijong is now in the process of rebooting her East Broadway restaurant May Kaidee to provide indoor dining at a higher capacity. The menu offers a combination of flavors ranging from the Isaan province, Central Thailand, and Southern Thailand. If you like curries as much as I do, order the panang curry with a side of brown rice and a hot Thai tea. The coconut milk in the curry pairs nicely with the makrut lime leaf, and while it has a bit of a kick to it, it’s manageable when eating spoonfuls of rice with the peppers and carrots and washing it down with a mug of milky homemade Thai tea. I also love the drunken noodle dish, which is a mountain of wide rice noodles sauteed with Thai chili, black soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, bell peppers, and baby corn on a large plate shareable for two.