Pam Real Thai Food

After reading some of the rave reviews (and some not so) I went last night because I was seeing a play in the area. We started with the chive dumplings steamed - three balls of gloppy, sticky, tasteless mess. Then I ordered the Masaman curry, and they brought me a bowl filled only with onions and about 8 pieces of chicken in a watery, overly salty broth. It didn't care for it at all, so I ordered Penang curry, which was also a watery mess of chicken with a few peppers thrown in. The chicken tasted off... very gamey, so I did not eat it either. Although each dish was $7, it wasn't much of a value given that I spent $14 to eat only a bowl of rice that came with the entrees. They were not very accomodating and the service was spotty. They do not understand the patrons and seem very confused. There is much better Thai in Manhattan.

Although the atmosphere is a little less than appealing and one can easily miss it walking down the avenue, the food is wonderful and the service aims to please. The pork larb, coconut milk soup and pad thai are staples for my visits. The value for these delicious dishes is amazing. Enjoy!

I have not really had bad luck here with the food! My ex and I have tried a lot of thai restaurants in NYC and in Flushing, Queens, and this is pretty good! The curries are great and I am in love with the Squid Salad, very fresh and flavorful. They also finally got a liquour license, so no more byob. I'm not sure if you can bring in your own wine or whatever though...Pam is certainly worth a try!

I ate here on a Friday evening. Like the other reviews said, it can get pretty crowded. The line was out the door but we were able to get a table within 10 minutes. For appetizer, we had the Tom Yum Goong soup and fried calamari. The soup which is a standard at any Thai restaurant was decent, though a bit too spicy for my taste. The calamari was good for the first couple of bites but felt too oily and heavy towards the end. I ordered the ox tail soup for my entree thinking that I couldn't go wrong since it was "NY Times recommended". Instead I couldn't be more disappointed. The soup was overly spicy and had a very thick layer of oil on the surface. My girlfriend ordered the salted fish and chinese broccoli and was satisfied but not won over. For dessert we shared the taro ball in coconut cream. I'm not sure if the dessert is suppose to be slightly savory and onion tasting but nevertheless it wasn't what i expected. Perhaps I am not familiar with the taste of "authentic" Thai cuisine. Based on reading reviews, I had high expectations of this restaurant and may give it a second chance in the future. However, it might be a while since our first encounter definitely left a bad taste in our mouths.

My mother was the queen of thai cooking. I have been to thailand many many times. I speak thai. So here is the real deal. Pam's is not perfect by any means. If you want the most authentic thai food possible in New York City you will have to go to Queens (there are three there that are amazing-Sripraphai, Arharn Thai, and Arunee). However, Pam's is the most authentic thai food you will get in manhattan. This is what I recommend. The lard na noodles (hard to find on many thai menus), the rice mixed with fish paste (if you're thai you know this superb dish is impossible to find at most places), the basil chicken (if you want it authentic tell them to chop up the chicken very finely), the beef pad nam prik pow, the drunken noodles, the coconut chicken soup, and the chicken or pork larb. If you want it spicy, ASK FOR IT SPICY. They will always assume you want it mild. When I go, I speak to them in thai and even then I explicitly tell them I want it super hot. If something is slightly too sweet, ask for fish sauce (it's used like salt in any western cuisine), you wouldn't fault any other restaurant just cuz you had to add a bit of salt, would you?

When I went over to Pam's for dinner on Tuesday night the 13th, it turns out that it was their first official day they started serving beer. It's no longer BYO, but hey who cares right? They have the right for customers to consume a little alchohol with the great food.

I love Thai food, and I eat them everywhere I go in the world. This is not that good. Well it is about a dollar cheaper than other places around, but come on, do we really care about that $1?