Time to Tuk In

Second Bite Review, May 2011

When Tuk Tuk Thai first opened over three years ago, we were underwhelmed by the food and the décor. But when we heard that there had been major improvements since then, we decided to give the place another go. The décor’s still humble (imagine a yellow-colored version of Purple Haze’s Gongti branch, with grottier bathrooms), but the food stands out as some of the best Thai we’ve had in the city.

The shrimp vermicelli salad (¥38), which we once derided as “mushy,” is now so excellent we’re still thinking about it days after our meal. The glass noodles are cooked perfectly, and the dish bursts with cooling cilantro flavor. The Vietnamese spring rolls with shrimp (¥32) are also very refreshing—a good choice for summer. The steamed perch with lime (¥88), the restaurant’s most popular dish, is large, very garlicky, and cooked just right. The tom yum goong (¥48 for two-person portion) doesn’t scrimp on shrimp and boasts fantastic sour, spicy flavor. It’s definitely a new contender for our favorite in the city, even though the shrimp, with shells, heads and tails still on, are awkward to eat. Pad Thai (¥32) is the only dish we thought could be improved. The portion is huge, and we love the addition of tofu to the mix, but something seemed missing: we’d experiment with more lemon or salt to maximize the flavor.

The menu—bilingual and with good photos—offers a better selection of vegetarian options than one usually finds in Thai restaurants, and there’s also a decent range of wines, most for under ¥200. With prices that are generally lower than the average for Beijing and significantly improved flavors, Tuk Tuk Thai could actually lure us out to the somewhat desolate New Town SOHO neighborhood for dinner.

Sienna Parulis-Cook