Let's Do Lunch! at Zaab Zaab

Milling About

Let's Do Lunch! visitsZaab Zaab, a taste of authentic Thai cuisine, and semi-finalists of the 2024 James Beard Awards. With locations in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, owners Pei Wei and Bryan offer wonderful hospitality and a delectable menu of Northeastern Thai delicacies. When you enter the main dining room you are greeted by Perry, the prawn hanging from the ceiling, surrounded by a mural of sea creatures. Come with an appetite as the portions are shareable. Some of their classic signature dishes include Larb, minced duck or catfish with roasted rice lime leaves, roasted chili, mint, cilantro, and lime juice served with house greens to cut the heat, and roasted peanuts. Make it a combination with Larb Ped Udon. Their selection of whole fish features a salt-encrusted tilapia, Mieng Pia pow, marinated in cumin garlic and white pepper, stuffed with pandan and lemongrass, and charcoal roasted served with rice noodles. You'll want to suck out the head where some of the herbs and spices are hidden. Their Som Tum offerings feature Tum Ko Lat, a combination of Isan and Thai flavors of sour spicy shredded green papaya, fermented fish with roasted peanuts, and sun-dried shrimp. Don't forget to order a cocktail before you eat; some of which have just the right amount of spicey kick. The Old Siam Fashioned is smoky but tangy with smoked Phraya rum, orange bitter, star anise, and cinnamon. When it arrives at the table, a plume of smoke is literally seeping out of the top. Try their sticky rice served in tiny colorful bamboo holders, but a warning, it is addicting. So much so that they serve it as a dessert underneath juicy slices of mango.