In an informal taste test, Wondee's Thai food beats Bangkok Garden

Compare Som Thum, a fresh green papaya salad, at Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles on Main Street in Hackensack, above, and a takeout version from rival Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant on the next block, below.

The strands of papaya are thinner in the Bangkok Garden salad, and the taste doesn't match that of Wondee's salad.

Wondee's Thom Yum Koong, a spicy soup, above, has more shrimp and mushrooms than Bangkok Garden's takeout version, and the broth tastes cleaner. 

Bangkok Garden says it was the first Thai restaurant in Bergen County when it opened 25 years ago in January. Today, the dining room, compared to Wondee's, is beautifully decorated and in beautiful shape, above. The restaurant also has a full bar. 

Wondee's is a BYO that opened in 1997, and its dining room is much smaller than Bangkok Garden's, and in poor shape, with torn carpet and an uneven floor raised above pipes. This summer, fresh paint on the walls and ceiling helped a little, but the restaurant is in desperate need of a complete makeover.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The waitress at Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant asked me to sit at an empty table while I was waiting for my takeout order on Saturday afternoon.

I looked at the polished wood floor, the tablecloths and the elaborate Thai decorations, and then thought of the shabby interior of Wondee's on the next block, where I've enjoyed wonderful Thai meals for more than a dozen years.

But when I got the two dishes home and tasted them, I knew why I was the kind of customer who doesn't judge a restaurant by its decor.

Bangkok Garden's green papaya salad seemed to have all of the right ingredients, but the portion was smaller and the taste was off.

The broth of the shrimp-and-mushroom soup, made with lemon juice and chili paste, also tasted odd, as if it had been sweetened. 

The soup also didn't have as much shrimp or mushrooms as Wondee's version, which I order every time I eat there.

Bangkok Garden's prices also are higher than Wondee's.

Like I said, you can't eat the wallpaper.


Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 1-201-883-1700. BYO, rear parking lot. Closed Mondays.

Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant, 261 Main St., Hackensack; 1-201-487-2620. Full bar, rear parking in metered lot. Open 7 days.

Arirang Kimchi welcomes customers before official opening

The bright color, the bold flavor, the crunch -- Arirang Kimchi has it all. Today, I brought home a jar of cabbage kimchi from Arirang's new store in Ridgefield.  

Editor's note: Today, I discuss the long-awaited opening of Arirang Kimchi in a new location, and an American Express promotion that offers $30 in statement credits when you shop at small businesses.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

For devotees of Arirang Kimchi, the wait is over.

Today, co-owner Kyung S. Oh welcomed the handful of customers who have gotten the word Arirang Kimchi is finally open in Ridgefield -- about 14 months after the family closed its Englewood location.

The official opening of Arirang's store in the H&Y Marketplace shopping center is set for Dec. 18.

But Mrs. Oh says customers are welcome to stop in before then. She expects to open the store every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This afternoon, two employees of H&Y, a Korean supermarket, came over with a small plate and asked Mrs. Oh for some kimchi to go with their lunches.

She gladly accommodated them. 

The Oh family's handmade kimchi is preservative- and MSG-free, and the best commercial product available in North Jersey.

"Arirang" is the Korean word for "spring." The business was located in Hackensack and then Englewood for a total of 32 years.

There is no substitute for Arirang Kimchi.

 The unadorned storefront in the H&Y Marketplace at 1 Remsen Place in Ridgefield.

Bags of kimchi greet customers. One special is a 5-pound bag of kimchi for $7.99.

Arirang Kimchi's raw ingredients include baby radish, front, and Napa Cabbage.

H&Y Marketplace, a Korean supermarket, is part of the Small Business Saturday promotion from American Express.

Spend $10, get $10

American Express is offering up t0 $30 in statement credits, if you use your registered card to make purchases during Small Business Saturday.

Today, I spent $10 or more at three small businesses to qualify for a credit of $30.

At Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, I bought a 2.2-pound bag of coffee beans from Italy for $9.99, and a half-liter bottle of Ponti Balsamic Vinegar for $1.99.

At H&Y Marketplace in Ridgefeld, I bought two items on sale, a tray of 12 Sharoni-brand Persimmons from Spain ($11.99), and a 16-portion box of Shin Ramyun Noodle Soup ($10.99).

At Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant in Hackensack, I ordered takeout: 

Green Papaya Salad ($8.95), and Tom Yum Goong, a spicy soup with shrimp and mushrooms ($4.50).

The dining room at Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant, 261 Main St., Hackensack.

The Green Papaya Salad in its takeout container.

Great Thai food in a familiar -- but worn -- setting close to home

At Wondee's in Hackensack, Pla Ning is a steamed whole fish smothered in mushrooms, ginger, celery, onion and pickled mustard greens, all served on a hot plate ($18).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The dining room at Wondee's in Hackensack got a little fresh paint this summer, but other problems with the dated decor remain at what I consider the best Thai restaurant in North Jersey.

Chef Wandee Suwangbutra is still at the top of her game, as the great food shows, and her prices can't be beat. 

Wondee's charges $18 for a whole fish that would cost well north of $20 anywhere else.

Down the street at Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant, a whole fish is listed online for $28.95. 

Wondee's is a BYO, Bangkok Thai has a liquor license. 

My favorite seafood dish at Wondee's is Ocean of Garlic ($18). The beautifully fried shrimp, squid, scallops and mussels are tender, grease-less and studded with garlic. Cutting the richness of the dish is a crunchy salad of pickled cabbage and carrots, and there is lettuce for wrapping the seafood, if that's how you want to eat it.

Torn carpet, uneven floor

On Saturday night, we were seated at a table on the raised floor, which apparently covers pipes, near the kitchen doors.

I had to be careful in placing my chair's rear legs away from a ramp that meets the floor in the front part of the dining room.

The dining room is clean, but the carpet is torn in places and patched with tape, and I noticed that one of the seats at a table across the way was stained.

Loyal customers who use the rear parking lot know enough to step up onto the raised floor when they enter and down when they leave.

Wandee rents the space she calls Wondee's (she spells her name with an "a").

Then food arrived

But when the food began to arrive, I stopped thinking about the decor, poured the Guinness Draught I brought with me and dug in.

First, I enjoyed a bracing soup with chili paste, lemon juice, mushrooms and crunchy shrimp called Thome Yum Koong.

My entree was Ocean of Garlic, which has become my favorite seafood dish at Wondee's.

Other members of the family had wonton soup, and shared a whole sea bass and Pineapple Fried Rice.

Pineapple Fried Rice includes shrimp, chicken and Thai sausage ($11).

I used a spoon to bring up shrimp and mushrooms from Thome Yum Koong, a spicy soup made with lemon juice, chili paste, kaffir lime leaves, galanga and lemongrass ($4 for a small bowl).

The meat eaters in the family always order Geuw Nam or wonton soup with roasted pork and vegetables ($3.50).

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700. BYO, parking lot in rear. Closed Mondays, no delivery.

At Wondee's: A little fresh paint, same great food

Ocean of Garlic is a wonderful marriage of tender seafood, minced garlic and a crunchy cabbage salad at Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles in Hackensack ($18).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the more than three months since our last visit, I've missed the wonderfully exotic Thai food at Wondee's in Hackensack.

On Saturday night, I dove into an Ocean of Garlic and made good use of a cloth napkin to cope with my reaction to the spicy, fresh green-papaya salad and shrimp-and-mushroom soup.

The meat eaters in my family enjoyed Geuw Nam, wonton soup with roast pork and vegetables ($3.50); Thai Fried Rice, and Ka-Na Moo Grob, stir-fried crispy pork belly with Chinese broccoli.

No meal at Wondee's would be complete without two spicy dishes, Som Thum, a fresh, crunchy green-papaya salad ($8), above, and Thome Yum Koong, a shrimp soup with mushrooms ($4), below.

Beautifully fried seafood

Ocean of Garlic contains plump mussels, tender bay scallops, shrimp and squid, all beautifully fried and coated with minced fresh garlic and black pepper.

The grease-less seafood was served on top of red-leaf lettuce leaves and accompanied by a crunchy cabbage salad in a tart dressing. Just perfect.

I wanted to finish the dish, and didn't have any white rice.

Thai Fried Rice includes shrimp, pork, egg and onion ($10.50).

Ka-Na Moo Grob is stir-fried crispy pork belly with Chinese broccoli ($11).

Sweetened coconut juice is served with fresh coconut meat.

Dessert is available.

Some of the walls in the restaurant were brightly painted and the drop ceiling was done over in black. The dining room of rival Bangkok Garden in Hackensack is fancier, but the prices are higher and the food isn't the equal of the dishes turned out by Chef Wandee Suwangbutra.

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700. BYO, metered street parking until 6 p.m., except Sundays, and rear parking lot off of Camden Street. Closed Mondays.

Wrong choice for Thai food in Hackensack

Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant in Hackensack was awarded two and a half stars today by restaurant reviewer Elisa Ung of The Record, but lovers of Thai food know the only place to go in River City is Wondee's Fine Thai Food & Noodles.


Wondee's is only a couple of blocks from its white-tablecloth competitor on Main Street. Chef Wandee Suwangbutra turns out dish after dish with sparkling flavors, and her food is a better value. You'll save even more by bringing your own wine or beer; Bangkok Garden has a liquor license.

Wandee told me in an interview in 2005 that she especially got a kick out of how her homemade curries and other dishes have made loyal customers of of workers from competing Thai restaurants. I ate at Bangkok Garden only one time several years ago, but never went back.

The rating of Bangkok Garden -- between good and excellent -- also calls into question the reviewer's judgment. She gives it only a half star more than Bahama Breeze, the faux Caribbean chain restaurant in Wayne she reviewed in September. In the Thai review, Ung lists one of her recommended dishes incorrectly. It's green papaya salad, not papaya salad.

Each time I taste Wondee's green papaya salad, it reminds me of  "The Scent of Green Papaya" (1993), a beautiful but heart-breaking movie set in Vietnam.