With a few new places to try at the Columbus Circle Holiday Market, my first choice was the Red Basil Thai Kitchen. For one thing, it had the most activity, but the menu looked good too.
The menu had nine appetizers, three soups and a couple of hot teas (ginger and lemongrass). There are several vegetarian options too. You can see both sides of the menu here and here.
There were only two choices for lunch, but with some options on types of meat. They have red curry with jasmine rice that you can get with shrimp ($8) or chicken or veggies ($7 each).
The guy in front of me ordered the other entree, grilled chicken breast over yellow rice with peanut sauce (above) and a Thai salad for $8. This looked right up my alley, so I ordered it for Today’s Lunch.
The first thing that was apparent were the grill marks on the chicken. It had obviously been grilled over flames, not on a flat top grill (like at most food carts). Nothing like that flame-broiled flavor.
The other thing I noticed was they gave me 3(!) small chicken breasts over rice, then spooned on a light, mild yellow curry sauce. The peanut sauce was the orange colored sauce provided in a separate container.
The chicken was very tasty, especially when I dipped pieces in the peanut sauce. The peanut sauce had a little heat, and I added some chili paste which gave it even more. Both chili paste and sriracha sauce were on the counter with little takeaway containers if you wanted them.
The chicken was good by itself, better with the peanut sauce, and best with peanut sauce and a little chili paste. Although each chicken breast was small by itself, three of them made for a substantial lunch.
The yellow rice was fine, but nothing special. When the sauces dripped onto the rice, it helped make the rice a little tastier.
The Thai salad was a nice way to end the meal. Crisp lettuce and sliced carrots with what tasted like a honey ginger salad dressing.
Today’s Lunch from Red Basil Thai Kitchen at the Columbus Circle Holiday Market was very enjoyable. The food was good and the portion was large. Just how I like it.
If you’re into hot soup on a cold day, I saw several people getting the Thai soups. I may have to try one of those next time.
