#3 – MIANG KANA at PLOY THAI

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

SADLY, PLOY THAI IS NOW CLOSED.

This is the third list item and we’ve already hit a speed bump. It’s a minor speed bump, to be sure, but I sure hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.

We decided to visit Sripraphai in Woodside for some of my favorite Thai food in the city. The crispy watercress salad that Time Out mentioned was one of my favorite dishes there and I was excited to try it again. Well, when we pulled up to the storefront, the lights were out and the gates were down. I know this place is still in operation. What the hickity heck was going on?

Turns out they’re closed on Wednesdays! Who’s closed on Wednesdays?? It was a bit frustrating, but we pressed on. Since we were already hankering for some Thai food, we headed deeper into Queens to Ploy Thai which is just outside the Elmhurst Avenue train station.

Ploy Thai looked like a generic Asian take-out spot and not the glamorous dining hall we were expecting (that was a joke!). When we sat down and were greeted warmly, I scanned the menu for the Miang Kana. This is a salad (which I’m always leery about at Thai restaurants) and was not listed under the salad or appetizer headings on the menu.

I asked the waitress about it and she pointed to a photo on the wall which listed it as a house special. Aha! There it was. We’ll take that, thank you very much.

In addition to the miang kana, we also tried less adventurous Thai dishes like the Tom Yum Goong soup (which was much harsher and more bland than most versions I’ve had), a flavorful version of Pad See-Eiw, and a tender chicken cashew special.

But it was the amazing Miang Kana that left us raving about this place. It is indeed a salad, but a DIY-salad. The plate is surrounded by vibrant green Thai broccoli leaves which act as the wrap to pick up the salad. The dish is composed of unexpected salad ingredients like shredded dried pork, peanuts, ginger, fish sauce, lots of colorful peppers and onions, and lime segments with the rind left on.

These flavors worked like magic together. It was a full-flavor experience of spicy, sweet, tart, and salty. And the textures worked so well together giving it both a refreshing crispness and a more dramatic salty crunch. I was amazed at how successful this was and I even contemplated ordering a second order.

I’ll definitely return here, I just have to double check to see what random day of the week they might be closed.

Would Ploy Thai’s Miang Kana make my Top 100 of the year? I think it just might since I haven’t stopped thing about this since I tasted it, earning it a 9 out of 10.