A Perfect Marriage: Qi & Bouchon

So, I know this post is a little bit late but I hadn't eaten at any restaurants that were particularly cute or delicious because of upcoming finals and work. However, I have had plans to meet up with my aunt, before I left for winter break, and so I decided to wait and write a blog on the newest restaurant that she would introduce me to. I'm so glad I decided to wait, because I want to tell every single person about Qi, and if they already know of this Thai Heaven, then I want to relive every delicious moment with them!

 Qi Bangkok Eatery (there is also a Qi Asian Eatery on 31 W. 14th St.) is located on 8th Ave. between 42nd and 43rd and it will take you about 2 minutes to get there after getting off the E/F train at 42nd St. Walking into the restaurant will literally make you say, "Wow." Not only did I say it, but my friend did as well, and I heard many other Qi first-timer's share their amazement. The white and silver decor is very modern but elegant at the same time. The very long table running down the center of the restaurant (left) uses chandeliers, decorated with ornaments for the holiday season (right), to separate and give privacy to the different groups of diners. The decor is just absolutely gorgeous!

Now, on to my favorite part: the food! First of all, the service is great and we didn't have to wait long at all for our fresh, delicious dishes to come. We decided to split our dishes instead of just having our individual plates to ourselves. From my previous posts you can probably tell that I have an obsession with Tom Kha soup (a distinct flavor of southern Thailand’s coconut soup with mushrooms, seasoned with galangal, chili and
lime juice), so obviously there was an order of that, ours with shrimp. We also ordered the Spicy Beef Mango Salad (grilled herb-marinated beef, lemongrass, roasted jasmine rice, scallions, cilantro and mint leaves
with tamarind dressing), Pad Thai with tofu (stir-fried Thai rice noodles w/ brown tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, scallions and crushed peanuts), Sesame Crusted Salmon and brown rice (served with corn and spinach and a light sesame sauce), and Thai Iced Tea, one of my absolute favorite drinks (the picture on the left shows the Tom Kha soup and the Spicy Beef Mango Salad). I was starving, this being my only meal of the day, and I made sure to definitely get my fill of this amazingness!

 After dinner, we did quite a bit of walking: we viewed the Rockefeller tree, the projection show on the 50th St. building across from the tree, did some shopping (both window and actual), looked at the beautiful window displays (my favorite was Tiffany&Co. with their carousel theme), and went to see the light display in Time Warner Center (left picture). We decided to have a small sweet treat to cap off the night, so we headed to Bouchon Bakery for their famous macarons, peppermint and chocolate hazelnut (right picture), and a little Chocolate Bouchon. After trying these amazing French desserts, I realized why the line is always so long whenever I pass one.

I was a very, very happy girl tonight with a full belly and I got to finish quite a bit of my Christmas-y sight-seeing before I left the Big Apple to go home. I suggest that if anyone has the time or just wants to take a break from work and/or finals, to check out these wonderful eaterys!