Since today was the second last day of Summerlicious, S and I decided to go for lunch. Initially we were planning on going to T|Bar, but it turned out that they don't do Summerlicious lunch on weekends (same with Cafe La Gaffe, which C and I had originally tried for before ending up at Midi Bistro last weekend), so we walked over to Matagali, which was closed altogether. Ultimately we ended up at Bangkok Garden (18 Elm St.) - which, ironically, my roommate at the time and I had tried to check out last year for Summerlicious on a Sunday, and they'd been closed.
We both started with the Mango Salad to start with (mango, shallots, coriander, red pepper, mint, fish sauce and peanuts). I was a little surprised upon tasting peanuts in the salad, and S made fun of me for ordering by only looking at the titles, and not actually reading the menu. In my defence, I was hungry, okay. Luckily all the courses arrived in a very timely fashion. Then we both had the Basil Beef Stir-Fry as the main (flat-iron beef, vegetables, chili garlic & oyster sauce, served with jasmine rice). Before ordering, we'd been joking around about how tears may or may not be involved, depending on how spicy the food was; it didn't end up being spicy at all (I'd asked for mine to be mild, not sure if both had been made such though).
On dessert we finally diverged - he went for the Coconut Tapioca and I went for the Banana Fritters. Both were pretty good. Overall, the food was decent; it wasn't spectacular or anything, but good enough to fill you up.
The decor was probably the coolest part though. The restaurant doesn't look that big from the outside, but once you get in, it's actually quite large. There are two primary dining areas: the front half is airy and bright, very appropriate for brunch. The back half is actually separated into two floors, a ground level and an upstairs balcony area, which is a bit more Thai regal in terms of decor and has ambient lighting. (Which is also why the photos above weren't captured in the greatest light.) Interesting atmosphere for sure, and with all the plants in front of the ceiling-level windows and the rain outside as a backdrop today, there was definitely a bit of a Thai jungle vibe going on.