Khao Kang

Khao kang means curry over rice, and the name is the whole format: a steam table of trays, a counter, and a staff who will spoon two or three of them over jasmine rice while you point. It is the way much of southern Thailand eats lunch, and chef-owner Sopon "Tor" Kosalanan has run it this way on Woodside Avenue for more than a decade. Most of the trays are fixtures; a few change every day.

The heat is real. Look for the southern sour curry with fish and bamboo shoots, a tai pla curry with mackerel, kai pa lo with pork belly and egg, and ka pao moo. Whatever else you choose, get the garlic black pepper pork, glazed and nearly candied at the edges. In 2026 the New York Times ranked this cafeteria counter among the twenty best restaurants in the city.