Nodus, located on Queens Blvd (Photo: QueensPost)
May 27, 2011 Staff Report
A new Thai restaurant is scheduled to open on Queens Blvd. by the end of June.
The restaurant, called Nodus, will be located at 45-04 Queens Blvd, and its focus will be on Thai noodles. The owners of Nodus said the restaurant will be modern-casual, offering a combination of tables and stools that will cater to about 45 people.
Chai Chunton, co-owner and Sunnyside resident, said the aim is to show that “Thai food is more than Pad Thai.”
The idea is to provide everything from “rice noodles in a spicy broth” to curry noodles. “We want to focus on Thai noodles both broth and without the broth,” Chunton said.
The goal, Chunton said, is to produce food that includes the five fundamental taste senses in each meal: hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter.
“There will be options like creating your own noodle bowl,” Chunton said, adding that most people find this to be a lot of fun. Entrées, he said, will be less than $10.
Chunton said the restaurant will cater to vegetarians, although not vegans. He said that it will also offer traditional Thai items.
Chunton runs another Thai restaurant in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, although it is not so much of a noodle shop, he said.
He is in business with Tony Tang, a popular Sunnyside figure who ran Flagship Entertainment at that location on Queens Blvd for more than 28 years.
Today, Tang is the owner of the UPS store, which he opened after closing down half of Flagship’s retail space, about 2 years ago. In February, he closed Flagship for good, converting that space into Nodus.
“Nodus” is the Latin root-word for noodle.
