Bangkok Garden in HackensackUNG: Bangkok Garden in Hackensack
Friday, October 9, 2009
By ELISA UNG
RESTAURANT REVIEWER
Vivid flavors of Thailand right in the neighborhood
Like many of us, Suramitr "Sammy" Suwanarusk was tired of driving around. He was a supervisor for a group of 10 convenience stores and got to thinking that life would be simpler if he had a job closer to his Hackensack home and to his wife, Yupin, who worked at their beauty salon on Main Street.
As it happened, his sister-in-law, Chureerat Lolak, was a cook to be reckoned with.
"Come on, let's open a restaurant," she proposed back then. "This way, everyone will be working in one place." So they remodeled a former French restaurant that had sat vacant for a few years, turning it into the family business, Bangkok Garden.
It opened in January 1990 and will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary as a special Bergen County institution — a restaurant still owned and operated by the family that opened it, still run out of the same Main Street location and still having the same work ethic that finds Suwanarusk regularly shopping for fish and vegetables himself at the New Fulton Fish Market and other spots in Hunt's Point in the Bronx.
Over the years, Bangkok Garden has evolved from one of the few Thai restaurants in the region into a popular, ideal neighborhood restaurant — one with solid food, polite staff and plenty of room to handle groups (the main dining room and newly remodeled back room together seat 95). And for those who like it spicy, there is the restaurant's well-known spice system: zero is no spice, 10 is the hottest. On average, customers go for 7. (One customer once requested 30, which the kitchen served but did not taste beforehand; it turned out that the customer used to grow chilis in his back yard.)
A warning: Except for the massamon, curry dishes cannot be ordered at zero because they have a chili base. And the foundation of all of Bangkok Garden's curries is canned and imported from Thailand — though the deep flavor of our panang curry with coconut milk seemed no worse for the wear. We ordered it over a whole striped bass ($24.95), deep-fried to crispy, yet still light.
A special of "three flavor duck" ($20.95) — a half duck, roasted then deep-fried — was topped with a sauce that rang with clear chili, garlic and tamarind notes. And salads and soup were where we found some of the most vivid flavors — a papaya salad ($7.95) countered the chilis with cool shreds of fresh papaya, and a roasted duck salad ($11.95) was a deft combination of crispy bright and spicy with orange slices, cashews and shreds of ginger, along with chili and coriander. Tom kah gai ($4.50 for a small), the classic, soothing coconut milk soup, was gently flavored with kaffir lime and cilantro. And spicy fried rice ($9.95), with distinct fresh ground chili and Thai basil flavors, is an excellent complement to the meal.
We did encounter a few duds. "Thai bar-b-q beef" ($10.95), one of the many items called "famous" on the menu, was bland and stringy, pad Thai ($9.95) came with overcooked shrimp and the "Bangkok combination" appetizer plate ($12.95) was a collection of unnotable fried items.
Dessert is unnecessary, though the classic pairing of very ripe, very sweet mangoes with sticky rice ($4.95) did not disappoint. Fried bananas ($3.95) tasted rather raw and firm; those who prefer less-sweet desserts may enjoy the squares of grainy Thai custard made with mung bean ($2.95). Fragrant jasmine tea is complimentary.
Suwanarusk encourages customers to speak up if something's not to their liking. He'll tell you all about his sister-in-law's initial heavy hand with the sugar — it's long been quelled, but now Suwanarusk has a nephew working on the weekends who he fears may be following suit. Says Suwanarusk in his characteristically cheerful manner: "If you feel the dish is a little different than normal, let us know, we can correct it."
Judging from a recent packed Friday night, you wouldn't know his business has slowed this year, but with food like this, it's bound to pick up again soon.
E-mail: ung@northjersey.com
