Ayada Thai

The second Thai restaurant (the other is Sripraphai) to make our duck list also happens to be in Woodside, Queens, where there’s a thriving immigrant community.  Like the food at Sripraphai, Ayada Thai’s dishes are as authentic as they are inexpensive.  If you love spice sans the sweetness that often comes with Thai cooking (in America), this will be your happy place.  This quaint eatery, outfitted with photos of the Thai royal family, is like something out of Bangkok.  The menu’s admittedly pork-heavy menu, but there’s also a terrific, crispy duck salad, made with lean, juicy strands of duck, pineapple, cashew in a chili sauce.  Not to mention the Panang Curry, a luscious coconut milk curry with the same delicious, duck meat.