Thai restaurant Hungry Thirsty in Carroll Gardens will soon have a sibling spot out in Chelsea. The Manhattan restaurant is a follow-up from former Ugly Baby employees — Angie Ruangphung, Phoorikun Ruangphung, and chef Prasert Kanghae — but this location
promises to serve spicier dishes than its Brooklyn counterpart. Hungry Spicy at 114 Eighth Avenue, near West 16th Street, opens on Thursday, July 23.
Angie Ruangphung tells Eater that Hungry Spicy will explore Thailand’s various regions (the Brooklyn restaurant focuses only on Southern Thai cuisine). “We’re going to keep it real hot and spicy,” she says, noting that, like with Hungry Thirsty, they’ll hand-make their curry paste. Dishes will use a mess of fiery chiles, including Thai bird’s-eye, jinda, prik kariang, and dried varieties.
Hungry Spicy’s table-service menu warns that spice levels can’t be adjusted. The kua kling is a stir-fried beef dish with the restaurant’s Southern curry paste, described as “brutally spicy.” Then there’s the “burning hot” spare ribs and stinky beans; the “super spicy” Super Colossal crab curry with betel leaves; the yum kai pla, a “lowkey spicy” salmon roe salad; and the not-spicy-at-all pla tod kamin, crispy fried branzino with fresh turmeric and garlic.
While Hungry Spicy doesn’t have its beer license yet, they’ll serve a Thai tea slushie in those same cute cartoon mugs, including one from the Care Bears.
For the Brooklyn team, opening in Manhattan made sense. “We want to expand more because a lot of people were still craving real spicy and real hot food,” Angie Ruangphung says. “We wanted a second location that’s convenient to a lot of people.”
The day after the restaurant opens, on Friday, July 24, the team is hosting a spice challenge: Participants have to finish three dishes at varying spice levels within 15, 20, or 15 minutes to win gift cards. While the $35 entry is currently sold out, the team is adding more openings soon.
Hungry Spicy’s hours are from 5 to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Book reservations on OpenTable.
