ELMHURST, QUEENS
Hug Esan
A tiny Woodside Avenue room for Isan cooking — papaya salads, grilled tilapia and pork-blood noodle soup.
A few doors down Woodside Avenue from Zaab Zaab, this tiny, brightly decorated room cooks the food of Isan, the northeast, the way it is eaten at home: with the fingers, a basket of sticky rice, and a lot of lime and chili. The tables are close and few, so it rewards a small group that can order widely and share.
Start with a papaya salad — there are many versions — then add the grilled chicken livers and crisp frog legs. A whole tilapia, grilled or fried, anchors the table. Khao piak sen, a meaty noodle soup thickened with pork blood, and spicy mee ka tee are the bowls to know. Crispy rice salad tossed with sour pork sausage, ginger and peanuts is the house signature.
Editor’s tip
Bring three or four people, order a papaya salad, the whole tilapia and the crispy rice salad, and eat it all with sticky rice.
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Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 13, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.