Wondee Siam II

Wondee Siam is one of the most talked-about Thai restaurants in Hell's Kitchen. There's often a crowd outside (not a Totto Ramen sized crowd but a crowd nonetheless) so we still haven't been there yet. But in the area you can order from Wondee Siam II (a little further north on 9th Avenue) or Wondee Siam III (on 10th Avenue). We order from Wondee III semi-regularly at home, but I haven't ordered from Wondee II at work in some time. Ever since that time a few years ago when they took over 2 hours to deliver a dinner that was supposed to take 30 minutes, I have been hesitant. I tried again today and I'm happy to say that they came right within the delivery estimate so I was quite satisfied. On to the food...

I started with the basil roll ($5.50 for 6 pieces).


The basil roll is basically a skinny summer roll, cut up into 6 pieces and filled with fresh Thai basil, mint, lettuce, steamed shrimp, and rice noodles, served with a tamarind sauce. I was surprised by the size since it cost $5.50. I was expecting something larger/wider like the summer rolls other places offer, which have a diameter the size of the dipping sauce cup. I did appreciate that the skinnier size meant that less of the fillings fell out into the sauce or onto my hand, but it seemed to be a bit of a small portion for the price. The roll was fresh and clean, and the sauce that it came with, the tamarind sauce, was delicious. The menu also said there would be ground peanuts but I didn't see any. I didn't miss them.

Next was the tofu salad ($4.50).

This looked better when it arrived but I forgot to take the photo and ate some of the tofu
This was a salad of lettuce with 3 tomato half-slices, 2 cucumber slices and some skinny carrot pieces, topped with 3 fluffy pieces of soft tofu. Similar to the basil roll, this was fresh and clean. I poured the dressing, their special house dressing, over the salad but it didn't add much flavor. This was odd to me as I had tried the dressing before pouring it and thought it was really good. The salad ingredients must have been so watery that the dressing (which wasn't that thick) got diluted once it hit the tin. Dipping the ingredients turned out to be a much better idea. I didn't finish the salad when it was just lettuce left as it was boring, but the tofu was perfect.

Last, the larb gai salad ($9.95).


The larb gai was described on the menu as "chopped chicken tossed with ground toasted rice, scallions, red onions and hot chili in Thai-style lime vinaigrette." It came with a small container of white rice on the side, just like how it's served in delivery orders from Wondee III. I liked the larb from Wondee III but didn't connect in my head that it would probably be a similar recipe. This was labeled as mildly spicy on the menu, but I think my taste buds are out of practice with spicy food (sadly), so it hit me harder than it should have. The dish was really tasty and I liked it.

I think I generally liked the food at Wondee II but had been shy about ordering after the last wait time debacle. Happy that I took the chance tonight. Very full after dinner, but very satisfied.