Hug Thai Cuisine, specializing in curry, opens in Bellmore

Hug Thai Cuisine has taken over the intimate Merrick Road storefront that, since 1999, was Onzon Thai. Owner Nathee Bhandhumani said that his goal was to keep the atmosphere and menu items that had made Onzon a popular destination, while adding a few new items, such as fried salmon topped with mango-avocado salad.

The kitchen, he said, is open to making dishes “Thai spicy,” but unless a customer requests it, those menu items marked with a red pepper will come out “medium spicy.”

Curries are a specialty here. Choose among chicken, pork, vegetable, tofu or vegetarian duck ($11.95), beef, shrimp or squid ($13.95), salmon or shellfish ($16.95) or duck ($19.95), then pick your curry: red (spicy dried red chili paste with coconut milk, bamboo shoots), green (spicy fresh green chili paste with coconut milk, green beans, bamboo shoots), Panang (mild curry with coconut milk and kaffir lime leaf), jungle curry (spicy chili paste with no coconut milk) or Massaman (mild curry with coconut milk, potato, onion and peanut).

Massaman curry also forms a creamy puddle underneath the roti, fried flat bread, that’s rolled around chicken and topped with avocado, potato and peanuts. Think Southeast Asian burrito.

Eat in or take out; online ordering is available on website.

Hug Thai Cuisine is at 2618 Merrick Rd., Bellmore, 516-590-7169, hugthaicuisine.com