Ember Room - Photo Essay

I love having friends who work in food journalism because I get to go to restaurant menu tasting events. Love it! My friend Will who works with The Daily Meal as a recipe editor and invited me last night to a menu tasting at the Ember Room in Hell's Kitchen, NYC. Chef Pongtawat "Ian" Chalermkittichai invited a few publications to come taste their new menu items. Despite having just arrived back in New York after a visit to Thailand and waking up super early to do a morning show on CBS, Chef Ian was gracious, welcoming and nice enough to by our table a few times to talk about his food and travels. Ember Room is not his first restaurant in the city, his first restaurant, self-titled Kittichai, is actually one of my favorite places in the city so I had high hopes for the food. I certainly wasn't disappointed. 

 Crispy Rock Corn Shrimp - tempura battered shrimp, roasted melting eggplant, sweet tamarind dressing, shredded hard-boiled egg

 Thai Tacos - shredded chicken, bean sprouts, chives, peanut, tofu, coconut, sweet chili sauce

 “Yum Hoi” Pomelo Scallops - seared “diver” scallops, chili jam glaze, pomelo salad, roasted pepper-lime dressing

 Koi Tuna Tartare - fresh tuna, roasted ground rice, crispy tortillas, chili-lime dressing

 Had Yai Volcano Chicken - oven-roasted turmeric-coconut marinated chicken, green chili sauce (IT'S ON FIRE!)

 Korean BBQ-Beef Fried Rice - wok-fried rice, kimchee, bbq beef, topped with raw egg.

 Crispy Whole Striped Bass - whole fish, sweet/sour/spicy sauce, crispy basil 

 Red Curry Crispy Duck - lychee, pineapple, cherry tomato, eggplant

 Mango with Sticky Rice & Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

 Pandan Pot de Crème with Waffle and Pandan Ice Cream