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One Star for Kao Soy in Red Hook, Plus Praise for King Bee and a Couple Ramen Spots

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This week, Pete Wells files on Northern Thai food in Red Hook, other critics take on the noodles at Mu Ramen and Ramen Lab, and more.

Ramen Lab
Ramen Lab
Daniel Krieger

Yesterday Robert Sietsema awarded four stars to Fu Ran in Flushing, and Ryan Sutton gave two stars to Andrew Carmellini's Little Park. Now here's a roundup of the rest of the week's reviews:

Pete Wells is charmed by Kao Soy, a Thai restaurant in Red Hook: "The northern Thai dishes are scattered around the menu...Beneath the heading Snack & Salad is a dish called nam prik ong. This is a platter of steamed cauliflower, long beans, strips of fried pork rinds curled like Fritos and long surfboards of romaine lettuce, all meant as garnishes for a dip that's something like a spicy, slightly sweet pork ragù that went for a swim in the ocean." One star. [NYT]

Zachary Feldman dines at Hunger Pang, an Asian/American restaurant in Kensington: "Pang has spent the months since opening fine-tuning his menu, a concise mix of sub-$10 small plates, main courses, and sides, along with a special section for rice dishes. "Misotto" suitably connects Chinese congee and Italian risotto. It's a soupy, hearty bowl of grains amped up with mushrooms, cabbage, a poached egg, and plenty of butter, with a side of pickled ginger to stave off palate fatigue." [VV]

Tejal Rao loves the ramen, but not the crowd at Ramen Lab: "Even if you're not a vegetarian, give [the] vegetarian miso ramen a shot: It's a rich, impossibly creamy, Sapporo-style broth, served extremely hot. The stock is so fortifying that it's hard to believe no bones were boiled to make it. The noodles are thick, compact, and chewy, aged for a few days to firm them up so they can sustain the heat." One star. [Bloomberg]

Stan Sagner loves King Bee, the self-described Acadian (read Canadian/Creole) restaurant in the East Village: "The Duck Fricot ($26)...Glistening, juicy slices of mace-cured breast pair with gloriously sweet caramelized roasted root vegetables. Even more satisfying is the signature Poutine Râpée ($22), a Canadian-style Knish of braised lamb neck stuffed inside a surprisingly light potato dumpling." Four stars [NYDN]

Christina Izzo files on Long Island City's hottest new ramen shop, Mu Ramen: "Built on a broth of oxtail and bone marrow, the house ramen gets some extra-meaty oomph from melting cubes of brisket, which, paired with shredded cabbage and half-sour pickles, toes Jewish deli-novelty without succumbing to kitsch. It would be the city's best new ramen if its temperature were cranked up to a soul-warming scorch. Instead, it loses steam halfway down the bowl." But overall, she still gives the place four stars. [TONY]

Steve Cuozzo loves the prices at Shelly Fireman's new Italian restaurant, Florian: "Like old-time pitchman Crazy Eddie, Florian's prices are in-sane – e.g., a bowl of arrabiata-spicy tomato broth generously laden with fresh lobster, mussels, shrimp and farro for a mere $23. (A similar dish at Trattoria Dell'Arte is $38.)" Two stars [NYP]

THE ELSEWHERE: Amelia Lester visits Stella 34, a "startlingly good" pizzeria in the Herald Square Macy's. Ligaya Mishan dines on West African food in the Bronx at Patina. Gael Greene checks out the scene at Ralph Lauren's Polo Bar. Sarah Zorn dines on old school red sauce Italian at Colandrea New Corner.

THE BLOGS: Andrew Steinthal thinks GG's pizza is good but not great, Restaurant Girl finds great pastas at Masseria Dei Vini, Chopsticks + Marrow digs the noodle soup from Pata Paplean, NYC Foodie loves Shuko, and Chekmark Eats has a great meal at Mission Chinese Food.

Kao Soy

283 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231 (718) 875-1155

King Bee

1906 East 12th Street, , TX 78702 (512) 600-6956 Visit Website

Ramen Lab

70 Kenmare St, New York, NY 10012 (646) 613-7522

Hunger Pang

1021 Church Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11218 (718) 552-2869

Mu Ramen

1209 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 11101 (917) 868-8903