Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant
261 Main St.
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Tel: 201-487-2620
$10-20

A friend recommended a Thai restaurant on Main St. in Hackensack but he had forgotten the name of the place. There are at least 2 or 3 Thai restaurants on Main St. so after reading a NY Times article on Bangkok Garden I thought I had found the right one.

I went to Bangkok Garden with my partner and his family from California. We were large group of 8 but the restaurant had no problem accommodating us. The white tablecloth and dinner napkins made the place seem nicer than some of the surrounding restaurants and in the area.

The waitress who took our order seemed annoyed that she got stuck with a large party and was rather curt with us. We ordered several things on the menu including Tom Yum Soup, Gang Keow Wan, Pla Jearn, Thai Bar-B-Q Beef, Bangkok Lemon Chicken, and Pad Thai.

Both Chicken and Shrimp Tom Yum Soup were very good. Although we requested mild, the soup left a burning sensation on everyone's upperlip. The Gang Keow Wan which is beef cooked in coconut milk, green curry, basil, bamboo shoot, and green pepper was not up to par. The flavors were too tame for a spicy, curry dish. Even worse was the Thai Bar-B-Q Beef. The meat was very dry and was definatly not barbequed. It had a funny, sour taste that reminded me of spoil meat; I immediately moved on to the next dish.

The Bangkok Lemon Chicken was pretty good. The citrus tenderized the chicken breast and the sauce was both sweet and sour. The Pad Thai was ordinary. Pla Jearn, a whole deep-fried fish with a ginger sauce and topped with canned vegetables. I would put it slightly above the Gang Keow Wan.

Maybe I am being to critical. How can I compare this place to the authentic restaurants in Thailand or even the cute Thai restaurants in NY? (My favorite is Boyd on Thompson St.)

Here is my suggestion to Bangkok Garden: Simplify your menu! Concentrate on mastering maybe 10-20 great dishes and expand your menu from there.

Rating
Food: 2
Value: 2
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2