CHEAP EATS ALERT!! You can get a hearty bowl of delicious hainanese chicken rice starting at $6.5 in Chinatown. Gai Kitchen offers thai style hainanese chicken rice and appetizers with most items under $10. My boyfriend is a self-proclaimed hainanese chicken expert. He approved their chicken rice and said we should visit more often. Given how affordable and tasty the food was, we'll definitely come back. ＊Roasted Chicken Ginger Rice (L) $9.5* ＊Hainanese Chicken Ginger Rice (L) $9.5* Small starts at $6.5 while large is only $9.5. They don't skimp out on the amount of rice and chicken while keeping it affordable. Their chicken was tender and the sauce on the side further enhanced the flavor. The ginger rice was fragrant and delicious. We added Red Curry ($3.75) to pour on our rice. It wasn't spicy and had a rich coconut milk taste. ＊Chive & Scallion Pancake $4.5* The pancakes came in 6 pieces, served in mini cubes. We didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be our favorite appetizer! It had a crispy and charred outer, while the center was as chewy as mochi. ＊Spicy Wings $10 I am obsessed with thai zabb seasoning so I was excited to try their wings. It was spicy with a hint of citrusy note. The chicken skin was perfectly crispy while the inside was still juicy. ＊Thai Iced Tea $3.95 ＊Pink Milk (Nom Yen) $3.95 Thai iced tea was great here. Made of sala syrup and cold milk, thai pink milk was described to taste like strawberry milk. We thought it looked and tasted like Pepto lol. read more

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Order at the counter and they will call you when your food is ready. You pick your own seat and bus your own table. They do not have a bathroom. We ordered the large roasted chicken and the large steamed chicken meal. The large orders come with soup. The soup is quite peppery, so it has a nice kick. The roasted chicken was more flavorful than the steamed chicken. The sauce it came with was spicy and better than the steamed. The steamed chicken was a little on the dry side. It seems they cut the chicken to early and it was sitting too long, so the juices came out. It was ok for the price, but I don't think I will come back. read more

Gai Kitchen - Roasted chicken and steamed chicken meal , both large - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Rice was slightly undercooked for some parts and a bit clumped together from the moisture. Love the chicken but they can do better with the rice. The Thai iced tea is a bit too milky, not really for me but it could be someone's perfect beverage. Place is like a canteen that's seen better days but for what it is, the eatery is just fine. Lady working at the counter is quick and carry no BS with her fast actions, perfect for the speedy diners! No ambiance really, but you get a nice view of Mott St.? read more

Gai Kitchen - Large chicken order with ginger rice - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

We stopped in and got a small Thai style roasted chicken and a Thai ice tea. The small chicken dish was probably about two cups of rice, two cucumber slices and four small pieces of chicken. If you want rice, come here. The chicken tastes good, but if you want more chicken, go someplace else because you'll just get a taste of it compared to other places that pile it on for the same price. The cash price is $6.50 for a small chicken dish and $4.25 for the Thai tea. read more

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My boyfriend and I were looking for a quick bite to share as we waited to eat dinner and this was the perfect place to go to in Chinatown. The prices are what first drew us in as they were extremely affordable, and were so surprised at how tasty and fresh the food was! We got the small roasted chicken with ginger rice and pink milk. The chicken was so soft and easy to chew into. I've never had ginger rice before, but this was such a great addition to the meal. Was not a fan of the pink milk personally, but my boyfriend fell in love with it. It's a very strong, fruity-tasting strawberry milk. Restaurant has a lot of seating and is pretty quiet and clean on the inside. Staff was very nice! Would definitely come again for a small bite if I'm in the area. read more

Gai Kitchen - Pink Milk and Thai Roasted Chicken - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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Portions aren't big but honestly still pretty good. Not the best Haines chicken but I appreciate the gingery rice. Sauce is good. read more

Gai Kitchen - I ate two pieces of chicken already. Size small for 6.50 - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Food supposedly very good! Very long line of take out, packaging lady need a raise! Doing two job at once .

Stopped in for Thai ice tea which was delicious . Definitely will be back to try to other dishes. Great find read more

Gai Kitchen - Some great deals here - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Such a comforting meal and everything was absolutely delicious. I ordered the large Thai-style roasted chicken with ginger rice and a Thai iced tea. The chicken was tender and flavorful, perfectly complemented by the aromatic ginger rice. The Thai iced tea was also sweet and refreshing. There's a good amount of seating inside if you want to dine in and the food came our pretty quickly. Overall, this spot is perfect for enjoying delicious, comforting food at a reasonable price. I will definitely be back to try the Hainanese chicken next time! read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai style roasted chicken and Thai Iced Tea - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

I am seriously done w/ these paid reviews... Fung Bros... you did me dirty... this spot is total garbage. Ugh. No more YT reviews... This spot was empty. Guess I should've saw that as a sign... alas... wanted to support small businesses but wow, some are just not meant to be. Got the small Hainanese Chicken Rice - BUT KNOW this is NOT really Hainan Chicken. It's Thai Style... aka, dry AF. Skin is so textured... like the dang chicken had goosebumps while being steamed. Meat is not moist. The rice was not fragrant... no yummy aroma. Splurged on the SIL egg, which is a fried soft boiled egg... meaningless, had no purpose. And OMG the freaking ice coffee was a sh*t show. PURE sugar on ice. I was able to consume 1/4 of the whole tray... but wasted the rest. Can't believe I wasted my bday calories on this TRASH. Please, go elsewhere. This is NOT IT. Periodt. read more

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I've never eaten in but I love the roasted chicken salad and get it on uber eats all the time. It's such a good deal for the portion and price. The chicken is super flavorful and I love the green sauce. I feel healthy after ingesting all that protein and then munching on the leaves that have soaked up the chicken drippings and green sauce residue. Hope to pay a visit in store some day! read more

Delicious hainanese chicken for a great price ! The employees are friendly and there's space in the restaurant to casually eat after getting your food. The chicken, rice and soup were fragrant, tasty and savory. I would definitely come back and would love to try their other dishes ! read more

I am so glad I discovered Gai Kitchen on social media! This place is known for having cheap Hainanese chicken and it was totally worth the hype. $6.50 total if you pay in cash for a small chicken with rice which is a great small meal for one person. The chicken was juicy and the garlic rice was so flavorful. I loved the sauce it came with as it packed a lot of heat and flavor. It came out very quickly despite the workers being so busy and there were maybe 6 small tables for people to be able to sit down and eat. Was super impressed and I would highly recommend this place for a cheap and healthy meal! read more

Gai Kitchen - Steamed (Hainanese Chicken) - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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Both the Hainanese chicken and roasted chicken were thick slices and boneless. The rice grains were plump and quite healthy. Simple and convenient bento boxes. Ordering via food ordering machine. read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Still great tasting tea and good food however the price of the tea increase and the amount of ice has also increased, pretty disappointing after coming here for over a year. Will still be back but less often now. read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

We were the 1st customer of the day since they just opened. This is almost like a self service restaurant. They have a kiosk and a counter to order from. I did order from the counter because all the pictures of the menu were already there. The service is really not the best, not very friendly. Being the 1st customer, I would expect the food to be fresh. However, I didn't think the taste of the chicken was that great, it lacked some chicken flavor like other hainanese chicken spot. The ginger sauce really helped enhanced the chicken. The rice was pretty flavorful though. Overall, it didn't really meet the expectations since I heard so many good things about this place. I will stick to the local Maylasian hainanese chicken in my neighborhood and the Hainanese/Thai chicken in Queens. They have many tables. Your number will be called for pickup. Also, they don't have a restroom. read more

Gai Kitchen - Hainanese chicken and Mixed Steamed and Roasted Chicken - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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This was a truly tasty and novel dish for me in NYC's iconic Chinatown. While the restaurant is no frills, the meal was delicious! I was even able to eat the whole entire, including the very tender chicken, with just a fork (no knife needed!). And the chicken broth on the side made for a nice touch. Not bad for a quick, affordable meal in a very pricy city! read more

Gai Kitchen - Steamed (Hainanese chicken) meal - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Gai Kitchen recently opened on Mott st and I checked it out spontaneously. I ordered the small chicken rice Thai Hainanese Chicken Rice. as well as a Jasmine Green Tea drink. The cashier forgot to give me accurate change but she did after I told her. There's a good amount of seating inside making it a great spot to dine in. The chicken skin layer was a little chewy and dried however, the inside was juicy. The jasmine green tea drink was amazing and refreshing. read more

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Gai Kitchen is one of the best cheap eats! I love this new and bigger location for them which has lots of seating. The chicken over rice is so yummy and juicy. They also have great drinks like the Thai Iced Tea and Iced Jasmine Green Tea. Both are sweet and refreshing. The staff are very nice and quick with serving your food too! read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai Iced Tea Iced Jasmine Green Tea Steamed (Hainanese Chicken) Meal Thai Thai Style Roasted Chicken Meal - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

I ordered chive nd scallion pancake, large roasted hainasses and steam. The hainasseses are missing the cilantro. The ginger sauce lacking of spice. This place is for quick bite, but they don't have bathroom, so keep that in mind when you dine here. You can order thru the kiok to save time, and they will shout your number when it's ready. The restaurant has dine in section, and you will need to clean up after yourself. The people there are very friendly! read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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I got take out from here and I was so disappointed with the food. Never ordering from here again. Maybe I'll try dining in. But their food is pretty bland. read more

Prices were super affordable for what you get. The place smelled like fragrant poached chicken in the best way. I absolutely loved the mixed steamed chicken and roasted chicken combo with ginger and garlic rice. I would come back for that. It came with a complimentary chicken soup so that was nice. Garlic wings were a no go. It looked so good but unfortunately, it didn't meet the mark. It was not fried long enough so some pieces were a bit red. Additionally, it needed more flavors and needs to be marinated more. The crispy skin could be fried more so it doesn't taste like soft chicken skin at one point. I saw some chicken hair on the wings that were fried together. Thai iced coffee didn't taste that strong and was not that sweet. I like that it's not too sweet but overall, it's different than most of the other Thai iced coffee I tried. The price and value is so good. I would come back to support them just for that reason. I would like to try other items like the jasmine green tea latte and the pink drink. There was some seating inside and it was not hard to find a spot. The employee was nice and you order and pay upfront. read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai Iced Coffee, Mixed Steamed and Roasted Chicken, chicken 5 Piece Thai Wings, complimentary soup - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

I love coming here for a quick pick me up! The pink milk always hits. It's $3.95 if you pay with cash. read more

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Excited to eat at Gai Kitchen at their new on-street location at 51 Mott. Recommend checking out Gai Kitchen, a fantastic Thai/Hainan place with reasonably priced options! Discovered them earlier in the inconspicuous, almost hidden, 98 Mott Food Court while running through Chinatown on errands. Went then for Gai's Mixed Combo with a Son-in-law Egg, which included: cup of chicken broth, a dish with two types of wonderful chicken - Hainanese (steamed) chicken with a side of Ginger Garlic Sauce and Thai Style Roasted Chicken with Tamarind Chili Sauce - on top of a bed of absolutely sublime Ginger rice, cucumber spears garnish, plus that Son-in-law Egg. As explained by their friendly crew, the Son-in-law Egg is soft boiled, then lightly fried. [FYI - From my understanding, Gai is chicken in Chinese, Hainan is a Chinese island province located in the South China Sea, and Son-in-law Eggs are a Thai thing.] Enjoyed now from this new location my next order of their Mixed Combo with Son-in-law Egg! P.S. Please reply to this review if you have the story behind why it's called a Son-in-law Egg! read more

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Self service Thai restaurant with reasonable price! Portion size is good compared with price. Hainanese chicken and roasted chicken is not bad. Will try other items next time! read more

Gai Kitchen - Hainanese chicken and roasted chicken - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Outstanding value. Very clean venue. Prompt and courteous service. Just something you hardly see anymore. Perfect for when you're on the go. read more

Gai Kitchen - Best deal in the area. - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

It's a stall in a food court setting inside the Mott Street Eatery just north of Canal Street. Gai means chicken in Thai. So you can pretty much guess chicken is their specialty. Actually they pretty much have 2 main dishes to choose from: Hainanese chicken (steamed) or Thai chicken (roasted). The latter looks much better though taste-wise they are comparable. Neither has strong taste and rely on the sauce the comes on the side. Chicken are cooked perfectly, tender and juicy, and expertly cut with skin still attached and bones removed. You have a choice of white rice or ginger rice. Definitely go for the ginger rice because for me it's the soul of the meal here; it's what defines Gai Chicken and the reason I would come back again. So good! 2 sizes. $5.99 for small and $8.99 for large. The latter also come with a small cup of broth. We've always ordered the large during the 2 visits so far. There is in fact a third dish, the fried wings, but the main dishes have been so good that we couldn't skip. Maybe next time! read more

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Don't come here if you want to try different places in the area because this place is a trap. I forced myself to stop eating to write a review. I got the fried chicken lunch special and a Thai ice tea. The chicken was probably a thigh and I got the garlic rice which was fresh The rice had small crunchy pieces of garlic and ginger- the chicken moist and a light coating. It also came with 2 slices of cucumber and a Thai type of sweet and sour sauce that was delicious and light. My meal was done quickly which is important because I have a 30 minute lunch. I work for the city and I go to many places but this one has great food and good prices. The Thai ice tea did not taste like regular milk which is perfect because I'm lactose intolerant- it did not make me sick. It was sweet but not overpowering. I will be back my meal was about $15 and that's with a $2 tip. read more

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Steamed Hainanese chicken - $4.5 Located in a food court. Great for a small lunch spot. The serving is pretty small but it is quick. read more

Gai Kitchen - Steamed (Hainanese chicken) - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

The food was delicious and they had so many options to choose from. The portions were a tad small but hey it just means I get to order more. The service was quick and they were super kind when we asked what the pink drink is. They also selected a good dishes for us to try! The place has a lot of seatings and it's quite open space. read more

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Got the mixed steamed & roasted chicken and a side of Thai iced tea. Both types of chicken were flavorful and juicy, a good mix of a light flavor versus a more seasoned chicken. The chili and tamarind sauce was unique and gave it a slight spicy kick. The only thing I would say is that the chicken portion was a little small, so you're left with a lot of rice. The Thai iced tea was just right, refreshing and not too sweet. FYI, they charge a percentage fee for credit card so have cash if you don't want to pay the fee. read more

Gai Kitchen - Mixed Steamed and Roasted Chicken and Thai Iced Tea - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

Ordering on a kiosk makes it super easy, the hainanese chicken was fabulous, juicy, tender. Their take on the ginger scallion oil with a spicy twist was delicious. Highly recommend. read more

Great service. Ok food. Hainan chicken rice was mid, I've had it better elsewhere. Inexpensive price yet portion reflects that as well. Price difference between paying cash and card. Small clean eatery with minimum decor. The highlight of our meal was the fried green scallion cubes, so good! Fried tofu rice was good too. Thai milk tea ok. Recommend these two dishes but not Hainan chicken rice. read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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Nice Thai food place that just moved its location. They have a self kiosk now for people who want to order fast. I went to their new location and got myself a large steamed and roasted chicken with ginger rice. Could definitely taste chunks of ginger in the rice, which is very healthy. Chicken is so tender and not fatty at all. I got the bowl with a Lawson egg and the egg was so delicious. The yolk inside the egg is not overcooked and still pretty wet, which is my liking. Came with a free soup that is filled with scallions and a hint of spice. read more

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The service was friendly- and the atmosphere is what I would expect for a food court in Chinatown. It was really the food that let me down. It's suppose to showcase hainanese chicken and rice. My chicken was not steamed. I mean I think it was initially but then I think they don't get enough customers that they put it in the same warmer as their roasted chicken so then my chicken ended up being roasted and chewy and tasting like soy sauce on the skin when that's not suppose to be the flavor for steamed chicken. It was gross. Not authentic at all. The rice at least wasn't dry. But I don't think I will ever eat here again since their main dish was so poorly executed. Update responding to the business owner: i apologize that I got your business mixed up with gai chicken and rice. You have the same business model and same menu. I will update my review to state it's steamed instead of poached chicken (hainanese chicken is usually simmered gently in broth- hence the poached term I used. But yes you can say steamed.) however does it the chicken look steamed in the picture I've provided? So I will update my review with the corrections but please acknowledge what your kitchen prepared and it's not steamed hainanese chicken. read more

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We came here specifically for the crab rangoons and it did not disappoint! Food was hot and yummy and staff were very kind. Would come back again! read more

Wr accidentally stumbled into this food court after hair cut. Got the Thai style chicken rice and it came with a small cup of soup. Good portion of rice but were dry. Poached chicken was ok and there was nothing special. The sauce had an after kick. I also bought chicken rice across at the Singaporean store. IMO, the portion and quality were much better. read more

Gai Kitchen - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

I've been coming here since they were in the Mott Street food court. I visited during their grand opening when it was almost empty, and my go-to dish has always been the grilled chicken with ginger rice--delicious and a great value for the price. On my recent visit during the afternoon lunch hour, the place was super packed. Another change is that they've closed the restroom for customers read more

The THAI STYLE HAINANESE CHICKEN was good which you can ask to get ginger rice. It felt homemade and not too fancy fancy since this is a pretty cheap reasonable place for a 2024 restaurant. The pink milk I "recommend" it if you American or non American that like sweet drinks. basically this place have a bunch of ways you can make the chicken, reg, roasted, or fried and it comes with rice in size small/large. They have spring rolls, fish cake, a few other bev, thai tea, thai coffee and price pretty good. My girlfriend love the taste of the ginger rice. Ginger rice you get or you can choose plain white rice with the chicken. last pic has fish cake and the texture reminds me on shrimp and close to its flavor but not the same since it has a lot of seasoning. they are small equivalent to a cucumber diameter when cut into slices. read more

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This is definitely a cheap eat worth checking out! Everything on the menu is $10 or less. Located in Mott Street Eatery, there are some tables to dine in, however it can get crowded. I got the large steamed and large thai style roasted chicken, and a pink milk. Both chicken dishes were great, with my favorite being the roasted chicken. Be sure to get the garlic rice! It's not a strong garlic flavor like what I would like, more on the mild end, but still good. The pink milk was like a sweet strawberry milk, however it was a little too sweet for me. Service was good and I got my food within 10 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. read more

Gai Kitchen - Steamed (Hainanese chicken) meal (large) - Thai Near Me - New York, New York

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