pok pok: review

We tried Portlander Andy Ricker's Pok Pok Wing in Manhattan a while back. I was not crazy about the wings; they were a little fishy, very sticky, and quite messy to eat. The venue was tiny and and somewhat shabby.

I was glad to finally make it to the Pok Pok flagship restaurant in Brooklyn. They now take reservations. Saturday at lunch was lively but not packed. They seem to seat people with small children in the front of the restaurant, near the bar. Good to know.

Interesting crowd of young people, regulars at the bar, and tourists (cool ones).

The space is surprisingly small though I did not get to see the garden. The main dining room is quite dark, yet cozy with wood, exposed brick, and gorgeous flower arrangements. Colorful plastic tablecloths make sense with the food: it's somewhat hard to eat and mishaps occur.

Menu is impressive though intimidating. It's a great place to share dishes. We ordered:

Tam Kai Yaang, spicy roasted game hen salad with long beans, tomatoes, peanuts, Chinese celery, cilantro, Thai chilies, dry shrimp, garlic, lime, palm sugar, fish sauce. This cold salad included the skin of the game hen; nicely seasoned.

Kung Op Wun Sen: Carolina white prawns baked (and served) in a clay pot with pork belly, lao jiin, soy, ginger, cilantro root, black pepper, Chinese celery and bean-thread noodles. Shrimp were large, fresh and nicely cooked; noodles clear though darkened with soy.

Laap Muu Khua Phrae: spicy hand-minced pork salad with aromatics, spices, herbs, cracklings and crispy fried garlic. Interesting flavors and textures. Labor-intensive recipe, it seems.

Ike's Vietnamese fish sauce wings: fresh Amish natural chicken wings marinated in fish sauce and sugar, deep fried, tossed in caramelized Phu Quoc fish sauce and garlic and served with Vietnamese table salad. Deeply flavorsome and memorable, not fishy.

We had side orders of sticky rice. It comes in a small plastic bag and you're supposed to eat it with your fingers. Next time I'd order the jasmine rice which comes in a bowl. The portions are large and the noodles are filling, so one or two orders of rice would be plenty for four people.

The Thai greens served with these dishes were very impressive: a wide spectrum of colors, shapes and flavors. I could have used more instruction on what was what, but the seating arrangements made it difficult to get too much info from the waitresses. Each dish could have used a Momofuku Ko–like introduction. They are complex and authentic and unfamiliar (to me).

The one special we ordered was a salt-baked whole daurade served with a delicious sauce and sticky white thin noodles. The fish was perfectly cooked and amazingly fresh. I managed to easily avoid any bones.

The iced tea had a familiar flavor we could not put our finger on (bubble tea? plum candy?). Lao beer was too filling...next time I'd go for the (somewhat uninviting) tap wine (white). It's all about the food.

Considering the quality of the food, the prices are a real bargain.

Grade: A

117 Columbia Steet, Brooklyn

718-923-9322


pokny@pokpoknyc.com