Enjoying a great meal in a familiar setting

Steamed Whole Fish with chili pepper at Wondee's in  Hackensack.

Fresh Green Papaya Salad.

"Where do you want to eat tonight? Jamaican? Cuban ...?"

My teenage son surprised me by picking not Jamaican, his favorite, but Wondee's Fine Thai Food & Noodles in Hackensack.

OK. It was no surprise. We've loved Wondee's for years, and often, we go there when we can't reach a consensus on our weekly meal out.

I grabbed a bottle of Dos Equis Mexican dark beer from home and drove to Wondee's on Main Street, parking in a rear lot and entering through the back door.

Wonton Soup with roast pork.

Often, we see Chef Wandee Suwangbutra eating her dinner at a table between the register and kitchen doors, but we arrived about an hour later than usual on Saturday night.

I ordered salad and a whole fish to share with my son, and for him, soup and dessert.

I almost always have Som Thum, the Fresh Green Papaya Salad, which to me is the essence of Thai cuisine -- sweet, sour and spicy with an emphasis on vegetables ($8.50).

I asked Wandee about the dressing, and she listed lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar from the coconut tree.

The salad is crunchy with strands of green papaya,  green beans and ground peanuts, and it's so good, it elevates the iceberg lettuce leaves that embrace it on the plate.

My son had Geuw Nam, Wonton Soup with roast pork and vegetables ($3.50), but I skipped my usual spicy shrimp-and-mushroom soup, Thome Yum Koong.

My son drank coconut juice ($3).

Whole red snapper

We ordered and shared a second favorite dish, Pla Ma Now or Steamed Whole Fish with chili pepper, garlic and lemon juice ($18).

We chose red snapper -- one of three kinds of fish available -- and found it perfectly cooked with firm pieces that easily separated from the bones.

The fish, swimming in a spicy broth, is served in a metal, fish-shaped dish heated from below.

I spooned the wonderful broth over brown rice, but when the bill came, I was surprised to see a charge of $2.50. A bowl of white rice is free.

Still, Wandee recognizes that her food is meant to be shared, and provides serving spoons and, with the whole fish, a serrated knife.

It's maddening how few restaurants do likewise. 

Fried Bananas with Vanilla Ice Cream ($6).

Go for the great food, not the dated interior.

At home, watching a movie on TV, I had a full, satisfied feeling from our meal at Wondee's until I went to sleep.

Wondee's Fine Thai Food & Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700.

BYO. Parking in rear. Closed Mondays. No delivery.

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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.