A hop, skip, and a jump into Queens is Ayada Thai, a small restaurant with lime green walls and a flawless menu of legit Thai food. I first heard about this place from Ty-lör Boring, who we interviewed back in February.
I am often a scheming diner, guilty of inviting friends who I know will enhance my overall dining experience with their relevant prowess. With this plan of attack, I gathered a table of Thai expats and experts. (Another bonus of being this breed of snob is that they do ALL the ordering for you.)
One papaya salad, three shrimps in mint-and-chili blankets, four salted crab limbs, and six beers soon found their way onto our table (and swiftly into my mouth). After the appetizers, we moved on to drunken noodles, pad Thai (clearly my input), jungle and Massaman curries, grilled fish, crispy duck, and more beers. To top it all off, we ordered the mango and sweet rice, which was almost as sweet as the staff. The authentic flavors (as quoted by my expat pal) coupled with fresh ingredients make this place No.1 in my Thai food little black book!
AYADA THAI
7708 Woodside Avenue
Elmhurst, NY
MAP![]()
Pad Thai
![]()
Grilled fish, complete with a cherry tomato eye
![]()
Table view
![]()
Drunken beef noodles
![]()
Epic fish skeleton in the background
![]()
Crispy duck curry
![]()
Close-up of the curry
![]()
Massaman curry
![]()
Mangos for the Gods (and dessert)
![]()
Sweet sticky rice and mangos
I am often a scheming diner, guilty of inviting friends who I know will enhance my overall dining experience with their relevant prowess. With this plan of attack, I gathered a table of Thai expats and experts. (Another bonus of being this breed of snob is that they do ALL the ordering for you.)
One papaya salad, three shrimps in mint-and-chili blankets, four salted crab limbs, and six beers soon found their way onto our table (and swiftly into my mouth). After the appetizers, we moved on to drunken noodles, pad Thai (clearly my input), jungle and Massaman curries, grilled fish, crispy duck, and more beers. To top it all off, we ordered the mango and sweet rice, which was almost as sweet as the staff. The authentic flavors (as quoted by my expat pal) coupled with fresh ingredients make this place No.1 in my Thai food little black book!
AYADA THAI
7708 Woodside Avenue
Elmhurst, NY
MAP
Pad Thai
Grilled fish, complete with a cherry tomato eye
Table view
Drunken beef noodles
Epic fish skeleton in the background
Crispy duck curry
Close-up of the curry
Massaman curry
Mangos for the Gods (and dessert)
Sweet sticky rice and mangos