48 new york | august 5–18, 2019
PHOTOGRAPH:SCOTT
HEINS
FOR
NEW
YORK
MAGAZINE
foodEdited by
Rob Patronite and
Robin Raisfeldkey: The rating scale of 0 to 100 reflects our editors’ appraisals of all the tangible and intangible factors that make a restaurant or bar great—or terrible—regardless of price.
the underground gourmet
Anti-Fashion Plates
Vintage clothes and Thai-inspired comfort food
share space in a quirky uptown café.by robin raisfeld and rob patronite
The underground gourmet
likes dining out in untraditional res-
taurant spaces as much as the next
guy, but truth be told, Bangklyn
East Harlem gave us pause. To start, it’s
hard to glean exactly what Bangklyn East
Harlem is. Is it a restaurant with hardly
any customers? Is it a scantily stocked
clothing and skateboard shop? An eccen-
tric artist’s studio? Maybe a piece
of Jennifer Rubell performance
art? The name of the place up on
Second Avenue and 105th Street is
vague, if geographically accurate.
The façade bears a depiction of
what looks like the Brooks Broth-
ers Golden Fleece logo, but here
the woolly lamb suspended by a ribbon
has been replaced by a plucked chicken
dangling from a rope. The back wall is
home to all manner of vintage clothing
and Americana, from a polished pair of
Gokey moccasins to a Beavis and Butt-
head sweatshirt by Stüssy. And behind a
counter, in Gurkha shorts, knee-high
orange socks, and a blue apron of his own
design, is the accidental chef and restaura-
teur Prasong “Pat” Kanhasura, a Thai
native who studied at Parsons and becamea fixture on the international flea-market
circuit before leaving his Bangkok mens-
wear shop (also called Bangklyn, a port-
manteau of Bangkok and Brooklyn) to
open a restaurant in New York.
To hear Kanhasura tell it—and if you
belly up to the dining counter inside this
curiosity shop, you most likely will—his
midlife career change was prompted by
the current sorry state of fashion,
the globalization of production,
the decline of quality materials
and craftsmanship, and social
media’s deleterious effect on the
thrifter’s thrill of the hunt.
Harrummmph!
As the conversation turns to
food, there are a number of things you
learn about Kanhasura’s culinary lean-
ings that might prompt you to begin
strategizing backup dinner plans. While
juggling pots and pans, the chef confesses
that (1) he hates Thai food (this despite
the fact that he serves it at the restaurant
you’re about to eat at, though he disputes
this; more on that later); (2) Chinese food
isn’t much better; (3) most of his tech-
nique was self-taught and based on the
meals he prepared for his two toddlers athome; and, if we’ve heard him correctly,
(4) the purpose of food is to provide sus-
tenance and energy for working, not to
amuse our taste buds or serve as some-
thing from which we derive greedy plea-
sure and enjoyment.
That said, Kanhasura, you soon dis-
cover, can really cook. And after you take a
slurp of his morning market noodles or a
bite of his khao man gai, you begin to won-
der whether he has been putting you on,
lowering your expectations to such an
appalling degree that when the food
arrives, a certain surprise “Wow!” factor is
all but inevitable. This is not incendiary
“Thai spicy” Thai or Isan Thai or cookie-
cutter Thai but purposefully simple, fresh,
and flavorful food that seems as homespun
as the rough-hewn space. Kanhasura calls
it “Southeast Asia Comfort Food.” And in
food, if not in fashion, he strives for anti-
authenticity: “I think of myself as an
American cooking Thai food.”
Maybe this is why the featured attrac-
tion at Bangklyn is what’s listed on the
menu as southern fried chicken, which
can be ordered as a modest-size appetizer
(showered with slivers of fried garlic) or
over ginger rice with a bowl of cilantro-
flecked chicken broth on the side, not to
mention as an optional protein in
noodles, curries, and fried rice. “I’ll tell
you my secret,” says Kanhasura. “I really
want to cook soul food!” He’s not kidding.
The fried-chicken recipe comes from a
1950s cookbook he picked up at the Chel-
sea flea market (“One cup flour, one tea-
spoon salt, one teaspoon black pepper,” he
says, rattling off the recipe), and the(^81) GOOD
Bangklyn
East Harlem
2051 Second Ave.,
nr. 105th St.
646-429-8128
Bangklyn East Harlem
PHOTOGRAPH: STELLA BLACKMON/NEW YORK MAGAZINE
ADVANCED FORM AD
TRANSMITTED
____ COPY DD AD PD EIC
1619STR_Food12_lay [Print]_35541845.indd 48 7/30/19 2:53 PM
48 newyork| august5–18, 2019
PHOTOGRAPH:
SCOTT
HEINS
FOR
NEW
YORK
MAGAZINE
food
Edited by
Rob Patronite and
Robin Raisfeld
key:Theratingscaleof0 to 100 reflectsoureditors’appraisalsofallthetangibleandintangiblefactorsthat make a restaurantorbargreat—orterrible—regardlessofprice.
theundergroundgourmet
Anti-FashionPlates
VintageclothesandThai-inspiredcomfort food
sharespaceina quirkyuptowncafé.
byrobinraisfeldandrobpatronite
T
he underground gourmet
likes dining out in untraditional res-
taurant spaces as much as the next
guy, but truth be told, Bangklyn
East Harlem gave us pause. To start, it’s
hard to glean exactly what Bangklyn East
Harlem is. Is it a restaurant with hardly
any customers? Is it a scantily stocked
clothing and skateboard shop? An eccen-
tric artist’s studio? Maybe a piece
of Jennifer Rubell performance
art? The name of the placeupon
Second Avenue and 105thStreet is
vague, if geographicallyaccurate.
The façade bears a depictionof
what looks like the BrooksBroth-
ers Golden Fleece logo,buthere
the woolly lamb suspendedbya ribbon
has been replaced by apluckedchicken
dangling from a rope. Thebackwallis
home to all manner ofvintageclothing
and Americana, from apolishedpairof
Gokey moccasins to a BeavisandButt-
head sweatshirt by Stüssy.Andbehinda
counter, in Gurkha shorts,knee-high
orange socks, and a blueapronofhisown
design, is the accidental chefandrestaura-
teur Prasong “Pat” Kanhasura,a Thai
native who studied at Parsonsandbecame
a fixtureontheinternationalflea-market
circuit before leaving his Bangkok mens-
wear shop (also called Bangklyn, a port-
manteau of Bangkok and Brooklyn) to
open a restaurant in New York.
To hear Kanhasura tell it—and if you
belly up to the dining counter inside this
curiosity shop, you most likely will—his
midlife career change was prompted by
the current sorry state of fashion,
the globalization of production,
the decline of quality materials
and craftsmanship, and social
media’s deleterious effect on the
thrifter’s thrill of the hunt.
Harrummmph!
As the conversation turns to
food,there are a number of things you
learnabout Kanhasura’s culinary lean-
ingsthat might prompt you to begin
strategizing backup dinner plans. While
juggling pots and pans, the chef confesses
that(1)he hates Thai food (this despite
thefactthat he serves it at the restaurant
you’reabout to eat at, though he disputes
this;more on that later); (2) Chinese food
isn’tmuch better; (3) most of his tech-
niquewas self-taught and based on the
mealshe prepared for his two toddlers at
home;and,if we’veheardhimcorrectly,
(4)thepurposeoffoodis toprovidesus-
tenanceandenergyforworking,not to
amuseourtastebudsorserveassome-
thingfromwhichwederivegreedyplea-
sureandenjoyment.
That said,Kanhasura,yousoondis-
cover, canreallycook.Andafteryoutake a
slurpofhismorningmarket noodlesor a
biteofhiskhaomangai,youbegintowon-
derwhetherhehasbeenputtingyouon,
loweringyourexpectationstosuchan
appalling degreethat when the food
arrives, a certain surprise “Wow!” factor is
all but inevitable. This is not incendiary
“Thai spicy” Thai or Isan Thai or cookie-
cutter Thai but purposefully simple, fresh,
and flavorful food that seems as homespun
as the rough-hewn space. Kanhasura calls
it “Southeast Asia Comfort Food.” And in
food, if not in fashion, he strives for anti-
authenticity: “I think of myself as an
American cooking Thai food.”
Maybe this is why the featured attrac-
tion at Bangklyn is what’s listed on the
menu as southern fried chicken, which
can be ordered as a modest-size appetizer
(showered with slivers of fried garlic) or
over ginger rice with a bowl of cilantro-
flecked chicken broth on the side, not to
mention as an optional protein in
noodles, curries, and fried rice. “I’ll tell
you my secret,” says Kanhasura. “I really
want to cook soul food!” He’s not kidding.
The fried-chicken recipe comes from a
1950s cookbook he picked up at the Chel-
sea flea market (“One cup flour, one tea-
spoon salt, one teaspoon black pepper,” he
says, rattling off the recipe), and the
(^81) GOOD
Bangklyn
East Harlem
2051 Second Ave.,
nr. 105th St.
646-429-8128
Bangklyn East Harlem