Rain Thai is Another Solid Option in Midtown East

Today my weekly Thai food craving struck. Having just come off a gluttonous holiday weekend, I decided to forgo my usual noodle grease bomb and try something a little lighter. As I was perusing menus for places in my neighborhood, I came across Rain Thai, a relatively new addition to the ethnic food enclave on 53rd between 2nd and 3rd. I was particularly struck by the delicious sounding and amusingly named item Grilled Moo Yang: marinated pork served with spicy chili and sticky rice ($10).

Now I’m not familiar with Moo Yang so I can’t speak to authenticity, but this was one yummy pork dish. The meat was tender, charred in places from the grill, and the flavors in the sweet marinade were great. It was served on bed of steamed vegetables with a side of slightly sweet sticky rice. The chili sauce wasn’t the sickly sweet chili sauce I was expecting (you know the stuff), this was vinegar based and actually very spicy. It balanced out the sweetness of the meat and made my nose run, awesome. The lunch special came with a choice of appetizer but unfortunately my gyoza (not Thai, I know) were in my belly before I realized I forgot to snap a photo.

This dish is definitely a solid option for midtown east-ers looking for some Thai flavors without the heaviness of a noodle or curry dish, although Rain does have some good offerings in these categories as well. Most lunch specials will run you $8.50 ($9 with shrimp, squid, or beef), with a few of the ‘Specialty’ lunch specials priced at $10.

Rain Thai, 220 E. 53rd St (Btw. 3+2nd Aves), 212-752-3333

4 Comments

  • Good to know. I’ll have to check them out. I was a happy girl when I found out that Wondee Siam delivered to my office, but only because I’ve not found another good option around me.

  • “the flavors in the sweet marinade were great”
    What were the flavors? The fact that you thought its flavors were “great” tells me nothing, especially since I’ve never heard of Moo Yang either. Please describe. Thank you.

  • I had them twice and was not terribly impressed (staples pad thai and pad see yew), but I may have to go back to try this one.

  • I tried the Moo Yang last week and really liked it. The pork had a clean but charred flavor. I also loved the sticky rice that came with it. I want to go back for Pad See Yew which is my favorite Thai meal.

Leave a Reply

You must log in or register to post a comment.