Ra-Kang Thai Cuisine review
From top left clockwise, shrimp pad Thai, Panang duck, som tom green papaya salad, and beef noodle soup are served at Ra-Kang Thai Cuisine in Long Beach. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
On one of those evenings when summer drifts gently into fall, the doors and windows of Ra-Kang are flung open, bringing the outdoors in. And that feels about right in a neighborhood known for its vibrant sidewalk scene. Vibrancy also plays into the dining at this attractive Thai newcomer.
As does a large degree of authenticity. Credit married co-owners Houng Inthavixay and Shane Suvitayawat, both born in Thailand, for bringing together a team of three skilled Thai chefs. Their kitchen cred comes through in a shrimp tom yum soup showcasing the classic Thai interplay of spicy-sweet-sour-salty. Running a close second is the chicken coconut soup, nuanced and complex.
A martini glass holds four shrimp-basil rolls, the shellfish enrobed, first, in a Thai basil leaf, then in a crisp spring-roll wrapper. Each bite unleashes a surge of flavor. Pot stickers — fried, unconventionally, on both sides — are stuffed with a savory chicken-cabbage mixture. They're hard to resist, as are curry puffs, flaky little chicken-stuffed pastries that disappear all too quickly.
A certain sharpness underlies the larb gai, a salad with warm chili-fired minced chicken. It's a dish that might not appeal to everyone. The opposite holds true of the entree-size duck-noodle soup, a fragrant, steaming broth with tender sliced duck, bean sprouts and lots of thin rice noodles. Flat rice noodles, stir-fried with Chinese broccoli and egg, comprise the comforting dish called pad see-ew, to be ordered with the protein or vegetable of your choice. Pork, while flavorsome, turns out to be a bit chewy.
On the other hand, the shrimp in a red curry are plump and succulent, served in a vegetable-studded sauce that presents a lovely layering of flavors. A knockout Penang curry (the curry also works well with duck) is ordered with vegetables that turn up beautifully cut, ideally crisp-tender. Making the mouth tingle is chicken with green peppercorns — whole strings of them — for those who like things hot.
You may want to finish with the surprisingly good chocolate lava cake, brought in from an outside source and topped with green tea ice cream for a pretty presentation. Or fried banana, a cliche that somehow works here.
And raise a glass of Thai iced tea to a restaurant that raises the culinary bar in the neighborhood.
Most Popular
Top Stories
