Long Island is in the midst of a Thai food renaissance, and another up-and-coming spot has popped up on Freeport's Nautical Mile. Secret Thai Kitchen is part of a series of regional Thai restaurants that have opened in recent weeks, including Chili Baby in Miller Place and Thai Station Cafe in Babylon.
In the space that formerly housed the Crab Shack, Secret Thai Kitchen serves classic Thai cuisine and specialties from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. Owners Armie Karamapichit and his mother, Noki Levy, previously ran Secret Thai Street Food, a steam table spot behind the Latin Market on Steinway Street in Astoria. This hidden gem has a loyal following for its uncompromisingly spicy dishes and big, bubbly Thai wings. Due to rent increases, they relocated to Freeport and opened just three weeks after their last service in Astoria.
“We scoured the Queens and Brooklyn area and randomly ended up at Crab Shack,” he said. “The owner had it up for sale…We felt it was the perfect fit to take it to the next level.”
Secret Thai Kitchen has opened on Freeport's Nautical Mile. Credit: Newsday/Andy Berlin
Their new space is larger, with a full bar and patio, but many of the flourishes left over from the Crab Shack remain, including paintings of crabs and other marine life adorning the ceiling panels.
The menu includes hard-to-find dishes like Laotian papaya salad with a strong fish flavor and Hainanese chicken rice, known as khao man gai in Thailand. You can order it poached ($16.95), fried ($18.95), or combo ($24.95). The menu also boasts a dish called Yum Nam Khao Tod ($24.95), a crunchy rice salad with sweet and sour pork, ginger, and red onions.
Also stand out is the Raab Salad ($24.95), which features ground chicken soaked in fish sauce and punchy lime juice. More restaurants than ever are serving this regional dish from Laos and northeastern Thailand, but at Secret Thai Kitchen, it's infused with toasted rice flour, giving it a nuttier flavor. The staff's recommendation is the Pad Ki Mao (drunken noodles), a spicy, slightly stir-fried flat noodle that will make you addicted to it. But the red curry with duck ($29.95) was the star, with the juiciest chicken I've ever had at a Thai restaurant.
Secret Thai Kitchen, 150 Woodcleft Ave., Freeport, 516-868-6198, instagram.com/secretthaikitchen. Open Wednesdays from 5pm to 10pm, Thursdays to Mondays from noon to 10pm, closed on Tuesdays.
Andy Berlin is from Arizona, but he doesn't know where he's going. But when she gets there, she will find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.
