Foodie Chat (6): Khe-Yo

The beauty of NYC dining is more or less in its diversity. Cheap or exquisite, east or west, one can always find something that appeals to him, with very rare exceptions. With the opening of Khe-Yo, the one and only Laotian (老挝) dine-in restaurant in the city, one more exception is eliminated with elegance.

Khe-Yo is by no means cheap or crappy. The brick walls of this quaint Tribeca establishment are decorated with ivy pots here and there. The carefully distressed tables look absolutely south east Asia under the dim light. Even on a sunny afternoon, the minute you step into Khe-Yo, you have the illusion of entering the bustling Bangkok night market. No wonder it has soon grown into one of the truly trendy restaurants in this neighborhood.

Sticky rice was served free, in place of bread. The bang bang sauce coming with it was fiery hot, and at the same time, amazingly pure and airy. I couldn't stop eating it. Make sure that you don't pour bang bang sauce profusely on your rice. It's far beyond Sichuan spiciness. Use caution and treat it as Indonesian chili sauce or habanero sauce.

The appetizers on the menu seemed so tempting that we ordered three. The Smashed Green Papaya Salad (as shown in the picture) was spicy, crunchy and airy. I loved it. The Bamboo Grilled Ginger Quail was impeccable in both texture and flavor. Strongly recommended. We also ordered Grilled Laos Style Sausage. Dry and chewy, very flavorful, maybe a little too strong for me. The serving size of the sausage was really small.

For the entree, we ordered Pork Curry Noodles, one of the signature dishes in that region, including Thailand, Burma and Yunnan of China. It came with thick curry broth with pork, eggs, and rice noodles. The vegetables and herbs came on the side. So I put them in the soup and mixed it. Compared to similar noodles in Thai and Yunnan restaurants, this was definitely on the more pungent side. Thick, oily, and with multiple layers of spices. I could see my cholesterol soaring with every sip of the soup...happily!

To offset that, we ordered a bottle of red wine...Kinda lame, isn't it? Khe-Yo does offer some interesting cocktails with a touch of south east Asia, such as Lao Lao Pineapple Infused Cognac, Cucumber Thai-chili Vodka, Ginger Mimosa with Tamarind. If I come again in summer, I might not be able to resist one.

Address: 157 Duane St
Telephone: 212 587 1089