A few weeks ago, our friend Ernie took Michele and I to SLA, a Thai restaurant near his home in Montclair, New Jersey. Ernie often speaks about this restaurant as one of his favorites and told us that it was very special because the owner and founder, Meiji Pattamasinghchai was taught to cook by a Thai food expert, her own mother who is a well known restaurateur in northern Thailand. In fact, the King of Thailand visits her restaurant whenever he is in the North of the country.
Today, Meiji’s brother Yanin and husband Paul, who are both trained chefs work together in the kitchen and devise their menu and daily special dishes. They pride themselves on sourcing the finest and freshest ingredients in the market every day.
SLA, which stands for Simple,Love, Authentic first opened in a nearby location about 6 years ago,
We started with some appetizers.
Gai Tod–Thai chicken wings with sweet chili sauce. The wings were irresistible coated in a sweet and spicy sauce.
Kanom jeeb–Thai steamed chicken and shrimp dumplings served with soy sauce
Gui Chai–Asian chive pancakes served with soy vinaigrette
Next, we moved on to some main courses.
One Nam Thok Pla Tod–Crispy fried whole fish (or fillet) with issan dressing, bell pepper, herbs, diced scallion, lemongrass and roasted rice powder
Duck with Green Noodles
Pad See Ew-Flat noodles with chicken, black sweet sauce, and Asian broccoli
Ernie suggested we drink the Falanghina from Donnachiara. He always has a case or two on hand. It was the perfect combination with the food.
Beneventano Falanghina IGT Donnachiara made from 100% Falanghina The vineyard is the Torre Cuso, the best location for Falanghina. The soil is volcanic, chalky clay, the vines are 16 years old, the training system is guyot and there are 2,500 vines per hectare. The grapes are not destemmed or crushed before pressing. Cold fermentation is in stainless steel and there is extended maceration. This is a crisp white wine with citrus fruit aromas and flavors, nice acidity and good minerality.
Dessert was beautiful, and something I had never tried before.
Home made Purple Sweet Potato Ice Cream, topped with coconut sauce and fruits. Not only was it good to look at, it was also delicious.
Charles Scicolone on Wine 