"There's no shortage of excellent Thai food in Queens these days, but SriPraPhai is the pioneer that paved the way. More than three decades on, you can still count on the Woodside restaurant's bold yet balanced flavors, like an incredibly bright pork larb that rings through your head as if someone struck a tuning fork. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte Sripraphai Tipmanee, originally a nurse, opened her Woodside restaurant in 1990 to serve fellow Thai immigrants. She soon found a broader fanbase for her green curry with perfectly firm eggplant and lightly fried soft shell crabs. SriPraPhai has since expanded into a bigger space with a beautiful back garden and refrigerators of sweets up front, and opened a second location on Long Island. It’s no longer cash-only, and now has a whole bar (you can still BYOB with a corkage fee)—and it’s still one of the city’s great Thai restaurants. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte At 38 pages, the spiral-bound menu is as thick as an iPhone and features dishes from all over, from the northern signature khao soi, to a particularly great version of the street-food classic pork leg over rice. Order widely, but plan on coming back for more, especially in summer when you can sit in the courtyard and feast on roasted duck salad or beef tendon soup. Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Papaya Salad This salad delivers on every level, including some pretty strong heat that sneaks up while you’re busy admiring just how crisp and crunchy the strands of papaya are. SriPraPhai’s version is especially heavy on dried shrimp and roasted peanuts, for an irresistible pungent crunch. photo credit: Kate Previte Pork Larb Between the tender minced pork, fistfuls of fresh herbs, a generous squeeze of lime juice, and some sneaky slivered chilis, every bite of the laab is different and exciting. photo credit: Kate Previte Roasted Duck Green Curry Some bites of the duck are on the dry side, but the green curry itself is worth an order. It’s rich with coconut milk, making it velvety and lightly sweet (without neutralizing the considerable green-chili spice), and fragrant with cilantro and lemongrass. Extra points to the juicy little tomatoes and sweet-tart hunks of pineapple. photo credit: Kate Previte Pork Leg Over Rice This lovely, comforting braise, a street-food staple, might be our very favorite thing here (we have so many more things to try). The sweet sauce with warm star anise notes is balanced by the tang of pickled mustard greens. photo credit: Kate Previte Drunken Noodles The drunken noodles are easy to overlook, given that there are other dishes on the menu that you might not find at your local Thai spot, but this is a great rendition, with fresh, bouncy noodles. Get it with beef. Green Tea Ice Cream A refreshing way to soothe your tongue after a chili-heavy meal." - Molly Fitzpatrick
