Thai Done Right: A review of Penny’s in the Village, a newly opened Thai restaurant

Straying away from my usual Starbucks latte or a Chipotle Burrito when eating in the village is a groundbreaking occurrence for me, but when I heard about the opening of Penny’s, a new Thai restaurant in the village, I was intrigued.

Penny’s is tucked away into a small corner on 71st St. in the village shops.The patio was open and was decorated with tall, green plants around the patio.

When I think of going to the village, I think of a casual run to grab a quick bite to eat, but when I walked into Penny’s I felt very out of place wearing sweats. The restaurant was dimly lit and had green and white glass birds hanging from the ceiling. It was very spacious and there were beautiful assortments of pink and purple flowers surrounding the place, adding an upscaled vibe.

Pork Dumplings: $6 3/5 stars

The first thing I ordered were the traditional pork dumplings. Being a high schooler who doesn’t have a big food budget, I bought them for six dollars off of the happy hour menu. I didn’t have high expectations for them considering that the dumplings I’ve had prior taste the same at every Asian restaurant I’ve been to.

The dumplings came out fairly quickly and the plate was garnished nicely with carrots, lettuce and a purple orchid. The presentation surprised me. A lot of places don’t try super hard with a simple appetizer like dumplings. When I took a bite, the dumplings were just as I expected.

The dumplings were crispy on the outside with seasoned pork on the inside. Served with Thai ponzu sauce on the side boosted the dumplings’ flavor,  these were an enjoyable and simple appetizer before I got to the rest of the meal.

Green Curry with Chicken: $21 4/5 stars

For my main course, I decided to branch out from my usual order of pad-Thai with a Thai iced tea.

I tentatively took a chance and ordered the green curry with chicken, with the medium spice level. The curry was a leafy green color, with a smooth and spicy base.It came with eggplant, red bell peppers and a side of steamed white rice on the side.

I’ve been eyeing the frozen Trader Joe’s version of Thai Green curry, so I was anxious to try this dish. The taste of the curry itself was very rich in spice and flavor, the chicken was perfectly cooked and added depth to the dish and the side of rice balanced the curry perfectly.

This was an enticing main course due to the tender vegetables, earthy flavor and chicken, which gave me high expectations for the end of my meal.

Sweet Sticky Rice and Mango $14: 2/5 stars 

The thing that initially made me want to try Penny’s was the sweet sticky rice and mango. Soft mango with a side of sticky rice and sweetened condensed milk always was my favorite childhood dessert. 

The dish came out looking luxurious—the sticky rice was an appealing violet color, and the plate was topped with yet another purple orchid. The mango was bright orange with crunchy nuts on the top.

As excited as I was to try this, the first bite was disappointing. The mango was a little too soft for my liking, and the rice had a strange salty aftertaste. Nothing was inherently bad about the mango and sticky rice, but it definitely wasn’t the most jaw-dropping dessert I’ve had.

While I probably wouldn’t become a regular at Penny’s, considering the fancy ambiance and price, I would still come back for a date night or a birthday dinner, and I think it’s still worth a try for Thai food lovers.