Against my better judgment, I tried my luck and ordered lunch from Full Moon Asian/Thai Restaurant. Let's just say, my gamble "crapped out."
This time, someone whose first language is English answered the phone and took my order. I knew I would have trouble when I ordered the fried squid (which was supposed to come w/pineapple, ginger, peanut and sweet chili sauce). I specified twice, nearly thrice, that I wanted the FRIED appetizer.
OVERALL IMPRESSION THUS FAR: DISAPPOINTED; WON'T RECOMMEND TO ANYONE.
I had a reasonable expectation of some squid rings and tentacles to be either lightly battered or merely dusted w/cornstarch and deep fried, not to mention the pineapple et al in the appetizer I ORDERED. You guessed it, the order was INCORRECT, and I ended up with the GRILLED squid appetizer, no pineapple, and was unsettled by the pork patty. There had to have been enough rings and tentacles from two small squids. They were cooked until barely opaque (stay tuned if I get sick from this), and it wasn't as substantial as I hoped. As a result, I had to raid the vending machine here at work.
I also ordered up the Tom Khar Gai, a chicken soup w/coconut milk and fresh lime juice. Flavor wise it was nice enough; the color was murky (as if it were made perhaps YESTERDAY), and despite me asking for it to be "spicy," it was dishwater bland. Tasty, but blandish for tom kha gai. This was the least expensive thing in today's lunch, at $5.
COST: $$: The squid appetizer mix up was $9, not inexpensive for an appetizer. Their spring roll selection is just as pricey--$7 for the least expensive spring roll type appetizer. For $9, I hoped to have gotten a hopper of fried squid deliciousness dripping in chili sauce and studded with pineapple and peanuts; and let's just say I got the antithesis of that.
When asked how business has been their first week since opening, the gal (who rang me up) quipped about business being poor, and suspected it was due to the Jewish New Year holiday. Funny thing is, where the restaurant is located is in the heart of a rather depressed part of White Plains, as it's near: transitional housing, family court & probation, Open Arms men's shelter; a few blocks from the old "drop in center" around the corner, and about two blocks from the projects.
They obviously have not done any market research in: what their projected clientele would be (subtext: predominantly business folks, and city/county/and state workers within walking distance); and they haven't searched out what the market should bear in regards to pricing the items on their menu.
White Plains is not completely without Thai food; as on Broadway we've got Reka's, an established Thai eatery (plus Reka gives instruction via classes thru the local college etc, or HAS in the past), with quality products, good service. I would visit Reka's MORE; however, I'd need to drive to get there from my office.
If I am going to pay $15 (like I did just for this soup & appetizer I had for lunch), I'd just assume to go Reka's for one of their $9.95 COMPLETE lunches (price might be higher, as I have an old menu on hand here), which includes: Soup of the day or Rekka's Green Salad, a main course, dessert of the day, and hot tea or coffee.
Despite their intention to make the restaurant itself really beautiful--and IT IS quite nice to look at while you're in there; the kitchen hasn't gotten its act together.
The only GOOD thing I can say about today's lunch experience is that it got me to take my take out menu out of my file, and I think I'll be going to Reka's this week to enjoy some truly wonderful Thai food, and to rinse the Full Moon disappointment out of my mouth.
On second thought, I think my time and money would be better spent patronizing businesses which are established, respected and present delicious food (and are not affected by constructive criticism). Here are a few spots I will continue to spend my money:
Reka's Thai Restaurant
(914) 949-1440(Thai)
2 Westchester Avenue, White Plains
Siam Orchid Thai Restaurant
(914) 723-9131(Thai)
750 Central Park Avenue, Scarsdale
Swaddee House Of Thai Food
(914) 769-8007 (Thai)
886 Franklin Avenue, Thornwood
Thai House . . . (914) 674-6644(Thai / Vegetarian)
466 Ashford Avenue, Ardsley
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I strongly disagree. Maybe you should try going in for a meal instead of ordering takeout next time. You can't create a bad rep for the place unless you actually go there and eat.
ReplyDeleteWent here recently, and have to say that it's much better than Reka's, which is super bland and overpriced, moreso than this place. Also tom kha gai is not a spicy soup. And it always looks murky, it's made with coconut milk. I think you got it mixed up with tom yum goong which is a spicy soup.
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't get it wrong. I've eaten Thai food from many different places, and tom kha gai is almost always still white from the coconut milk and flecked with red pepper/chili flakes. I've never had it where it looks murky like it sat overnight with the mushrooms in the broth.
ReplyDeleteI'm not creating the bad reputation for this place; it's doing a find job of that on their own.
Thanks for stopping by!
PS: I find it amusing that the first comment links back to a blog for Full Moon restaurant with one solitary post; and the second comment here is for a commenter without a profile. Amusingly transparent ruse.
ReplyDeleteI won't be going back to this restaurant, and I've advised all of my Thai loving co-workers to go to Reka's for their lunch specials.
I totally agree with this review. Went for lunch about two weeks ago with some co-workers and was very disappointed. First of all, there's no pad thai on the menu! How can you claim to be a Thai restaurant and not have the quintessential Thai dish?
ReplyDeleteI ordered a Thai Iced Tea which, while pleasant enough, was a little heavy on the milk for my taste. The Tom Kha Gai was tasty, I will give them that. Then I received my entree, which was one of the chicken lunch specials (everything else was too expensive for my lunch budget). What I received was a boneless chicken breast that seemed to have been marinated in Italian dressing before being grilled. It was bland and not at all "Asian" tasting. There was no sauce served with it, which might have improved the taste. The "sticky rice" appeared to be simply regular white rice. It was almost certainly not traditional short-grain glutinous rice. Again, there was no sauce with this meal, so I was essentially eating plain white rice. Very boring.
I would give this place another try if their prices were lower and they offered more traditional Thai foods (curried chicken, pad thai, noodle dishes that aren't in a broth).
I disagree as well. I've been there for dinner several times as they've never dissapointed. And I love their Tom Khai Gai! I'm a repeat customer at their establishment. I think you should give them another try. They have specials that are awesome! I had lobster green curry the other night and it was divine!
ReplyDeleteHello, btw I don't show my profile because I don't like getting spam et al. And no I don't work for Full Moon. I am not a huge fan of the place personally although I wish it well. I totally agree that their menu really needs retooling (I was disappointed not to find any classic Thai standards like basil kra prow dishes, yum woon sen, etc., and yes pad thai, although they had it as a special once. silly not to have that as a regular staple!) But I found the food very fresh when I went (super-crisp snap peas!), the service good, lovely decor, and I still don't really understand what 'murky with mushrooms sitting in it' means when a soup is made of coconut milk. And I still think Reka's sucks more, worst Thai food I ever had. I personally like Thai House in Ardsley and Little Thai Kitchen in Greenwich CT much better than either.
ReplyDelete