Pakarang
303 South Main St.
Providence
by Bob Mariani
For almost a dozen years now, Jake Aieskoll’s Thai restaurant, Pakarang, has occupied the ground floor of the beautifully restored old firehouse on South Main Street in Providence. The brick interior is overlaid with a kind of Asian-adobe scrim that simulates a coral reef—which is what "Pakarang" means in Thai. The lighting is soft and functional; there is a full bar and a sushi bar, and the tables are bare, the napkins paper, and if you want chop sticks, you’ll need to ask for them.
During the time Pakarang has been in existence at this location, I have never had anything but a delicious and often exciting dining experience there. The tendency, I think, is to order the more familiar dishes like the classic Pad Thai noodle stir-fry with its seductive peanut and Thai spice sauce. But at Pakarang, it’s worth going a few places you’ve never been before.
For instance, on a recent visit, we had a chance to sample several of their curry dishes. What strikes you immediately is how much thinner and subtler Thai curry is than the traditional curry paste you find at Indian restaurants.
Masaman Curry ($9.50) is a very delicate mixture of tender sweet potato sections, chopped peanuts, onions, and carrot chunks. The curry sauce is mild and sweet but with a gentle flair of heat at the finish. You can specify beef, chicken, shrimp, pork or tofu with any of the curry dishes.
The only things actually "green" in the Green Curry are the crispy string beans, which are sautéed with a semi-hot basil flavored sauce. The other ingredients are pieces of eggplant, red peppers, zucchini and sliced bamboo shoots. It is the basil flavor that subtly dominates here.
The Red Curry, which sounds hot but is really rather mild, is another basil-flavored array of sliced bamboo shoots, peppers, carrots and beans.
Then there’s the Pik King Curry. We had it with some puffy tofu cubes sautéed in a tangy "Pik King sauce," with asparagus, string beans and mushrooms and garnished with pine nuts. It would be hard to choose, but I guess my favorite was the Yellow Curry with its rich sauté of summer squash, onions plum tomatoes and pineapple.
Another classic starter at Pakarang is their Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup. This subtle blend of sweet lemon grass and other exotic spices, with whole baby shrimp and mushrooms, has been declared the "Thai national soup" according to the menu.
We also sampled some appetizers, a plateful of which could be a delightful meal in itself. There was crispy, delicate shrimp spring roll; a golden fried miniature egg roll stuffed with shrimp and crab meat, and minced pork and seasoned with wonderfully aromatic Thai spices. And finally there was the Curry Roll, a small, golden triangle stuffed with minced chicken, potatoes, and other veggies in a slightly thicker curry paste. Of the three, this was our favorite.
Another of Pakarang’s great appetizers is their traditional Satay chicken or beef ($5.95), thin slices of perfectly cooked meats on skewers and sautéed in a bevy of Thai spices. These little Thai "ka-bobs" are accompanied by a choice of peanut dipping sauce and a cucumber relish.
Our main course was the Royal Duck ($14.75). Chunks of roasted duck meat had been cooked thoroughly and then sautéed and caramelized in a rich, brown ginger sauce. The duck was accompanied by carrots, red pepper, black mushrooms, snow peas, baby corn and pineapple slices and topped with cashews. This is an excellent entrée and a good size portion, all of which I could have consumed in one sitting had it not been for the many preceding appetizers we’d been enjoying.
Other main dishes that I can’t wait to return to Pakarang for are their Seafood Volcano with its 3 stars for spicy-ness; the Shrimp Himaparn ($11.50); the Dancing Squid ($10.50) with basil peppers, mushrooms and onions; The Honey Pork ($10.25): the Shrimp in the Garden; and the Salmon Ginger. We finished our meal, each with a simple, delicious dish of pallet-clearing ice cream—ginger flavored and coconut flavored.
So much of what is served at Pakarang sounds, and in fact is, exotic and yet it’s all very taste-bud-friendly. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, they’ve also got a Sushi bar of some repute. Unfortunately, starting next week, the bar will be closed while its specialized staff takes some time off.
They’re open for lunch Tuesday through Friday and on Saturday from noon to 3 pm; and for dinner Sunday through Thursday, and Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 10:30pm. For more information call 453-3660.
Bob Mariani is a Southeastern New England freelance author. Besides his "Table for Two" restaurant reviews found here, he also writes jazz articles on allaboutjazz.com.
