Calling all spice lovers out there, boy, do we have the dish for you. Chef Harold Dieterle, from Top Chef and Alicia Nosenzo have teamed up to open this contempory thai restaurant called the Kin Shop in the West Village. When you walk in you almost feel like you are going for in for a spa day. The colors are very serene and the place is tiny and super clean. The walls are a cool, soothing pale color, with hints of jade in the artwork. It’s pretty relaxing…until you order the spicy duck laab salad. Holy cow, (or duck).
The heat in this dish is pretty unreal. Even with our mouths on fire we couldn’t put the fork down. The dish is well-balanced and although really hot all the other flavors and spices still have room to shine. It’s ground duck, onions and fresh herbs all inside a nice cool crisp piece of lettuce. Almost lettuce wrap-ish. Nice work chef. We know that’s not easy to do. If you’re not a spice person there are some other great options here. For example, fried pork & crispy oyster salad with celery, peanuts, mint & chili-lime vinaigrette. It’s good, really good and we are loving the trending playfulness of combining pork and seafood. Or even the chilled sao nam noodle, which has breakfast radish, jicama, grapefruit, fresh herbs & toasted cashew. This is quite refreshing on a hot summer day.
The real deal here at the Kin Shop is that if something has an asterisk next to it on the menu and says “spicy” believe them. The food is fun and creative and even if it is a little out of Chef Dieterle’s normal style of cuisine its worth a stop for lunch or dinner. It’s a little different than any traditional Thai restaurant you will go to in the city. They add those contemporary twists to every dish, which got us worked up (or maybe it was the fire hot duck). Don’t go in expecting traditional Thai and don’t go in expecting anything, but bold, spicy, delicious flavors. Most dishes range in price from $9-15 for an appetizer and $19-29 for an entrée so factor that into your budget when deciding on a place to eat. We don’t want the prices to Thai you up. Yet, another bad joke. Get to Kin Shop. You kin do it. Ok, we’re done.
Hi! I’m Davina and I have an unquenchable passion for all things food, drink and real estate! I love practical jokes, coffee and my two pups. Follow me on instagram!
