NY Thai Food: Yum Yum Queens and Aceluck Thai Cuisine

In a continuation of the last post on the blog about New York foods, this post is about the Thai food which was eaten on my trip. I ended up at two Thai restaurants while in the area. The first was called Yum Yum Queens in Sunnyside.

I visited the restaurant at lunchtime and had one of their lunch specials. The meal started with a dumpling appetizer.

I had the Chicken Pad Kie Mao, or Basil Noodles according to the English translation on the menu for my main course. This dish consisted of rice noodles with broccoli, onion, bell pepper, basil, and egg. The huge bowl made the portion look a bit small, but this was plenty to eat.

Next up on my food adventure was Aceluck Thai Cuisine in Hell's Kitchen.

The inside of Aceluck was very green.

We started out by ordering a Duck Wrap appetizer. This consisted of roasted duck, scallion, cucucmbers, and hoisen wrapped in a pancake. I liked the presentation with this appetizer. The wrap was cut and arranged vertically, served next to pools of swirly hoisen/peanut sauce. The duck in the wraps was very tender and was balanced nicely with the rest of the fillings.

I didn't realize it at the time of ordering, but I think I had the same thing at Aceluck as Yum Yum. I ordered the Pad Kee Mao. Rather than Basil Noodles, this dish was subtitled Drunk Man Noodles here. The two dishes at both restaurants were similar but had their differences. The noodles were spicier here. There was more peppers and onions in this version of the dish. The presentation was also very nice with strings of shredded beets and carrots topping the noodles.

NY Pizza: Pronto Pizza, King Umberto, Sunnyside Pizza, and Hyatt House

I went on a trip to New York fairly recently. Like all good trips to New York City, lots of food was consumed at some of the city's countless eating establishments. One food that New York is known for is their pizza. Because of this, I consumed far too much pizza while visiting. This post is my recent NY Pizza highlights:

Pronto Pizza was my least favorite of the slices I tried during this trip. They are located near Bryant Park and may or may not be connected to a larger, nationwide chain also known as Pronto Pizza.

I tried a slice of plain cheese and a white slice topped with spinach. Both were very cheese heavy. The crust was somewhat soggy on both slices. The cheese had a weird, cheap tasting flavor to me for some reason. I don't think I'd get pizza here again.

Sunnyside Pizza was a much better pizza experience compared to Pronto Pizza. Sunnyside Pizza is located in Queens, directly across from a stop on the 7 train.

This tiny restaurant pretty much consisted of their kitchen and a couple tables by the door.

I tried a slice of Grandma pizza and cheese. The grandma was different from what I've had elsewhere. I think all other Grandma pizzas I've experienced up until this point have had thin crust. This particular grandma pizza had a thick, Sicilian-like crust. It was topped with a chunky tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. The cheese slice was nice and thin. The sauce and cheese both had good flavor with a good ratio to one another. I did enjoy the crust on both slices. Sunnyside Pizza put sesame seeds on the edges of the pie, which I do enjoy.

King Umberto in Elmont has been discussed on this blog in the past, but I ended up there again twice during this particular trip to the New York area. I had a stuffed vegetable slice and a fresh mozzarella slice. I do enjoy King Umberto's stuffed slice, filled with spinach, broccoli rabe, and cheese.

The second visit to King Umberto on this trip consisted of a slice of cheese and white. I think I caught Umberto on a bad day because both of these slices were forgettable.

A couple days later I ended up at the Hyatt House Hotel a bit upstate in Fishkill, NY. I was attending an event there, and pizza was involved. I don't think the hotel itself made these pizzas and most likely had them delivered. Regardless of where the pizza came from, these pepperoni slices were tasty. I'd rank them above Pronto Pizza.

I enjoyed eating far too much pizza during the time I was in New York!