A few months ago, I went to a cooking class at De Gustibus where Leah Cohen presented a menu from her recently opened restaurant, Pig & Khao. Lea is a former Top Chef contestant, where at the time she was more focused on Italian dishes. During the De Gustibus class, she explained to us that after Top Chef, she wanted to go back to her roots, as her mother is originally from the Philippines. She opened Pig & Khao, a small joint in the Lower East Side, which is her way to experiment with South East Asian cuisine. Every year, she makes a one/two month trip to Asia and learns to make authentic new dishes. I was quite blown away by the De Gustibus class and decided to try the restaurant shortly after. It was definitely worth it, and we made a second visit to celebrate Fathers' Day with Alex and the girls.
Pig & Khao is a small, rustic place where you feel immediately at home. If you don't eat pork, I suggest you go somewhere else, as this is definitely pig paradise. We try a number of small plates to share: the green papaya salad, which I had already tasted at De Gustibus, is one of my favorites. It is extremely fresh and tasteful. The pork adobo and sizzling sizzig are also quite amazing.
I would also recommend the large choice of Asian beers, which have interesting bottles (mine, called Lucky Buddha, had the shape of a buddha, and Alex's Pork Slap Pale Ale was quite good, too), and their refreshing taste complement well the fire in the plates.
For dessert, we go for the ricotta donuts and the banana fritters, both delicious.
