Ah, brunch, my least favorite meal of the day. Its neither here or there, it requires drinking earlier than I’m used to (yes I have rules), and more than half of the days it doesnt even exist. On average I do brunch once every two months or so while for many Manhattanites and Brooklynites its a weekly routine. But as the saying goes, I don’t always do brunch, but when I do, I prefer something interesting like Breakfast by Salt’s Cure, any of these five, and now Pig & Khao.
Pig and Khao is one of those places where I avoided brunch for too long because the dinner menu is just so darn good. But upon further inspection, the current brunch menu includes P&K greatest hits like the best in NYC Sizzling Sisig, and Khao Soi. Not to mention the newest of the classics, the addictive Chili Pan Mee, one of the most satisfying bowl of noodles in NYC today.
Leah Cohen who spent years in the Philippines as a kid, and as an adult can cook Southeast Asian food with the best of them. She owes much of her success to her dad who she lost during the early stages of the pandemic. Being a contestant on Top Chef season 5 helped kick her career that includes a book and numerous Food Network appearances. She opened Pig & Khao in 2012, and Piggyback right before the pandemic.
While I cant make reservations at places like Laser Wolf, I Sodi, Raoul’s, and many more, its a small mystery how easy it is to reserve Pig & Khao. Even though its packed every time I go there. You get a sense that the vast majority of patrons are locals, but there’s an easy way to confirm this. 1400 Google reviews vs 175 Trip Advisor (mainly tourists). Compared to say Joe Allen (950, 1100).
As some of you know, Pig and Khao has been a staple on the Z-List from day one. Probably a top 3 in the entire city for me. But according to EWZ historians I havent written anything about it since December 2018. Not much has changed other than one particular dish elevating itself to the top of the ranking bypassing the awesome Sisig.
That dish is the mentioned Chili Pan Mee. A seemingly simple dry Ramen noodles with a sick pork ‘ragu’. Its incredibly well balanced with just enough pleasant heat. The slow poached egg probably adds more to the dish than the occasional crispy anchovy, but as a whole its pretty perfect. A must among musts.
Another must for brunch is the… wait for it… French Toast. You may be thinking, why would you ever order French Toast at a place like this. The answer is, think of it as dessert. Southeast Asian sweets are much less inspiring than the savory items IMO. We often leave places without trying any or disappointed that the sticky rice with coconut and mango isnt on the same level as Pure Thai Cookhouse. But leave it to the P&K crew to come up with a superb sweet French Toast with caramelized bananas and super addictive salted caramel sauce.
While not an absolute must like the others the Sissling Corned Beef Hash was better than I thought it would be. Once you mix the egg with everything else you get a killer peppery combination. And a good value at $18. With the dishes ranging from $15-20 the whole menu felt like fantastic value in today’s NYC. Stop laughing, Queens residents.
68 Clinton St
Sizzling Sisig – The most celebrated dish here, and perhaps the most famous Sisig in a city not famous for Sisigs. Reason being part taste, part novelty, part Instagram. But it is very good and something I order almost every time. Its not a traditional, but third generation Sisig that includes all pigs head parts (cheeks, snout, etc).
Eating With Ziggy 