My colleague who went with me to the Primavera Pub last month asked me if I wanted to go to lunch today. He suggested the King & I Thai Kitchen on Park Street in the Parkville section of Hartford (right across the street from L'Estrella Bakery). It didn't take me long to say yes as I had been there once before with him.
For many years Parkville was known for its large Portuguese community and you can still find many Portuguese restuarants and other businesses (you can tell which ones they are by the large Portuguese flags they tend to display). The neighborhood, however, is much more Hispanic now, with a large dose of Brazilian immigrants (you can tell the Brazilian businesses by the large Brazilian flags they tend to display, often right next to the Portuguese flags of their next door neighbors). Somehow in this Iberian/New World mix the K&I took up shop in an old house on the south side of Park Street just west of the intersection with South Whitney.
There is nothing fancy about K&I; it's a neighborhood place, not a fine dining establishment. It also has the brickerbrack and tackiness you (or at least I) would associate with a business run by immigrants or first generation Americans. All of these, of course, are good signs, because it means you are probably going to have some tasty, authentic, food at a very reasonable price, which is definitely the case with the K&I, and we even had the added bonus of listening to what sounded like Thai soft rock or easy listening.
Today my colleague and I split a couple of appetizers and entrees. We started with an order of the friend chicken dumplings ($4.95) and and order Thai egg rolls ($3.99). The dumplings contained a very generous portion of chicken (the menu says "stuffed with chicken" and it is true) fried in a nice dumpling. The outside was crispy and brown and the inside steaming hot, soft, and tasty (:>). The egg rolls were filled with vegetables, taro and sweet corn, deep fried until golden and served with pineapple sauce. They were good, but the pineapple sauce was outstanding and provided a sweet shot of flavor to contrast with the vegetables.
For the main course we had the yellow curry with pork ($7.95) and the wild boar basil ($11.95). The yellow curry with pork was good. I would rate it as medium spicy and the flavor was good. I do wish it had been a little thicker, however. Still, it was a very solid choice and we weren't disappointed.
The wild boar basil was just excellent. The meal consists of sliced pork simmered in coconut milk with string beans, red bell pepper, and basil leaves. The menu describes the pork as "tender" and it was. The coconut milk and red bell pepper was a great contrast of flavors, heats, and textures. What I really liked most, however, was that the flavors were not overdone, which allowed you to really appreciate the taste of the pork, which was quite good.
One of the nice thing about the K&I is that the menu is extensive, with a variety of entrees, curries, noodle dishes, and Lao specialities. It will take you a while to work your way through this menu if you are so inclined, but you are likely to enjoy each stop along the way (:>).
K&I also offers several delicious sounding deserts, but we had to get back to the office (:<). Parking is often a pain in the *ss when you go to the many little restaurants and shops along Park Street. K&I, however, has a lot big enough for half a dozen cars, which must have been the front yard of the house in which K&I now resides. There are a bunch of Thai restaurants in the area, including some very good ones (the East/West Grill on New Park Ave in West Hartford and Tamarind Grill on Pratt St. in Hartford come to mind) but the K&I is right up there in terms of quality, and it is very affordable. You can't go wrong with that, especially for a quick weekday lunch.
Here's a link to the K&I's website - http://kingandikitchen.com/
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