By Steve Cooper
The Foodie Foursome
Steve Cooper
Our Foodie Foursome travels have brought us to different styles and regional culinary treats within 10 to 15 miles of the greater Milford/Orange area. With Asian restaurants taking on increased popularity in our region, we ventured into Stratford to visit Queen Bee Thai Kitchen.
While the building seems to be hiding in plain sight, it is easy to get to and has its own off-street parking. The inside is inviting, and the staff welcoming and friendly. The dining area is light and airy with both high-top and dining room tables, as well as a nice-sized horseshoe bar that helps define the open feeling of the dining room. This restaurant is sure to become a neighborhood favorite.
As we were shown to our table, it was obvious that Queen Bee already has a brisk takeout clientele. This most likely stems from their food truck, Queen Bee Cuisine. Now that they have a sit-down restaurant the truck is used for private events or catering.
Belinda and Javier Martinez, the owners and chefs, are an integral part of the vibrant personality of Queen Bee Thai Kitchen. They not only cook every meal selection, they personally hand-select all of their produce.
On this night Cindy and I were joined by our good friend Mike and our nephew Cooper, visiting from LA.
We started with an awesome selection of appetizers. First out were the fried chicken wings. These meaty wings had a wonderful crispy coating, half tossed in a Korean spicy sauce and the rest in sweet chili sauce. My favorite was the sweet chili, but our guests loved the tasty heat of the Korean sauce (Cooper had recently returned from South Korea).
The chicken teriyaki dumplings had an impressive savory filling and gently fried to be tender with nice crispy edges. We then tried a martini flight that featured four tasty libations of their own concoctions. The “angry dragon” had a definite kick to it with slices of jalapeno. The “midnight butterfly,” a tasty spirit, and the hibiscus and passion fruit drinks were uniquely fruity but not overly sweet. It was a wonderful way to try a variety of different martinis.
Next was the coconut shrimp. The extra-large, butterflied shrimp were coated in a coconut breading and expertly fried to a golden crispy exterior encasing the succulent shrimp.
Our last appetizer was the spring rolls. This might seem a pedestrian choice, these were among the best we have tried anywhere. They were a little larger than many spring rolls, perfectly crispy yet not greasy, and filled with a scrumptious combination of ground cabbage, carrot and vermicelli noodles.
Queen Bee features family recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Their broths are fresh-made, the rice noodles hand-pulled and the curry paste is ground fresh daily. We had to try a couple of soups. The khao peak sen chicken is a signature dish, and rightfully so. The homemade noodles in chicken broth with fresh bean sprouts, scallions and cilantro did not disappoint. Neither did another fan favorite: the beef ramen noodle soup had an abundance of tender beef brisket with ramen noodles, boiled egg, bok choy and scallions in a rich beef broth.
Our last choice before the entrees was a papaya salad. The fresh shredded green papaya with green beans, tomatoes and garlic dressed in fish sauce, tamarind, lime and chili was a nice transitional dish.
If I am going to a new pizza establishment, I always try a plain mozzarella and sauce first. It gives me a baseline. For Thai so my baseline is pad Thai and drunken noodles. The stir-fried rice noodles with egg, bean sprouts and scallions in the tamarind sauce, palm sugar and shallot was impressive. For our pad Thai we added the chicken as our protein, which was extremely tender. The drunken noodles featured fresh flat (wide) rice noodles that were stir-fried with onions, bell peppers and basil leaves in a spicy basil sauce. The sauce had an ideal viscosity, allowing it to adhere to the noodles and slices of beef, making each bite a treat.
We next went with a vegetarian option. The red curry was incredibly flavorful with its coconut milk, bamboo shoots, pumpkin, bell pepper, eggplant and basil in their house-made red curry paste.
The last two menu choices were basil fried rice with shrimp and egg fried rice with veggies. The basil fried rice featured jasmine rice stir fried with egg, onions, bell peppers and basil in a spicy chili sauce with extra-large shrimp. The egg fried rice was created with jasmine rice, stir-fried, with egg, garlic, carrots and scallions in a savory sauce.
While we each had our favorites, there was not a dish I would not order again. The balance of authentic flavors and spices were spot on, the service friendly and generous portions at a reasonable price.
Queen Bee Thai Kitchen is a true hidden gem. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday starting at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner. It is located at 1212 Stratford Ave. You can call for a reservation or order for pickup at 475-282-9318.
Steve Cooper is a local, national and international award-winning photographer, culinary influencer and executive director of the Milford Performance Center. Contact him at 203-723-3672.