Green Papaya

Under food:

Green Papaya Restaurant
Hackensack, NJ

We were curious about Green Papaya because it bills itself as a fusion Thai/Malaysian place. The menu certainly looked exciting. We ordered a variety of items.

Roti chanai. The chicken curry dip was not as spicy as we would have liked. I liked the roti, which was light and fluffy. DJKung preferred his roti lighter and paper-thin.

Fried calamari, cut in thin strips and fried. It was crispy, but a bit bland.

Crispy fried tofu. Green Papaya touts their tofu made on-site, and we tasted the difference. The tofu was silky and light on the palate. It went well with the brown sauce.

Vegetable pad thai. The noodles had a nicely seared taste, but I found the spice a bit skimpy.

Beef rendang. DJKung found the cut to be rather lean and dry. He also felt that it could have been spicier.

String beans belachan. This was a tasty stir fry with the pungent belachan (dried shrimp paste) sauce.

The owner, Mary, was really warm and friendly. She stopped by our table to say hello. Green Papaya has been open for two years now, and most of the clientele that evening knew her by name.

The menu was indeed promising. From the way the food is prepared, I'm guessing that the kitchen staff is either Chinese-Singaporean or Chinese-Malaysian in origin. However, it seemed that the kitchen toned down the seasoning to cater to a more American palate.