Hot, Hot, Hot: Thai Cuisine

Thai Cuisine, Ithaca, NY We keep returning to Thai Cuisine, not only because the food is superb, but because there’s a joyousness about the place. Thai food is meant to be fun. On a chill, rainy Friday evening, we settled into the area behind a parade of wide port holes inhabited by etched-glass elephants, north of the bar, with its orange-and-purple signature gecko mural. As ever, the staff was welcoming and our waiter knowledgeable and well versed in the intricacies of Thai Cuisine’s extensive and complex menu, a true professional, and also fun. Conversation bubbled around us – a group of contradancers at a nearby table was celebrating a birthday, and the restaurant staff gathered around to serenade him. At another table, diners were engaged in an impassioned discussion of faculty contracts – or lack thereof – at a local community college. A formally dressed crowd of international graduate students and scholars exchanged relaxed witticisms at a third table. There’s plenty of privacy, if one wants it, but for old marrieds like us, eavesdropping is just another form of conversation, and we were seated in the large-table room where we could indulge ourselves. For starters on this will-spring-ever-come evening, a comforting tom kha gai (chicken coconut soup) was mild, creamy, and sweet, while a bowl of tom yum goong (spicy shrimp soup) was loaded with large straw mushrooms and juicy shrimp. Thai Cuisine has a rotating super-menu of specials, one of which, the appetizer of sat oowa issan, a fine-textured pork and lemongrass sausage with a delicate accompaniment of quartered cherry tomato, fresh ginger, softly sautéed garlic slivers, and fried chilis, was a rare treat. The sauce of our other appetizer, hoi prig pow (clams in spicy garlic shrimp paste), was red, hot, sweet, laced with garlic, and just this side of addictive, bathing tender Little Neck clams. For our main course we indulged in the pla kun tor, a fried whole fish, which, on that evening’s menu, was striped bass, simmered in a mild ginger-shitake mushroom sauce. The fish was tender, and the presentation spectacular: it arrived in a large, fish-shaped platter, decked out in a confetti of fresh carrot strands. Our waiter boned the fish at our table, apologizing for scattering a bit of mushroom here and there. He actually made us feel better for having made our own mess on the restaurant’s crisp white linens, saying that if you didn’t overshoot the plate occasionally, you weren’t enjoying yourself. The fish was superb. Thai Cuisine specializes in duck dishes, so we ordered another special, ped grob lad prig, duck in a tamarind-chili sauce. The boneless duck was fried to crispness, then bathed in a sauce of sweet, sour, and spicy tamarind sauce with fresh chilis, baby corn, straw mushrooms, pineapple, green onion, and fresh coriander. Yum! On the fun side, it came in a duck-shaped dish. Covered bowls of steamed jasmine rice helped us absorb as much of the chef’s exquisite sauces as we could hold. Save room for dessert! A fresh strawberry-and-custard Napoleon on a bed of strawberry coulis laced with white chocolate heart-shaped swirls, was architectural, and we thoroughly enjoyed demolishing it. A chocolate lava cake was set off by a scoop of mango ice cream, a little heap of fresh fruit, and a puddle of warm raspberry coulis – another artful, delicious presentation. Though we didn’t avail ourselves of it (working -- had to keep our minds clear) the restaurant has a well thought-out wine list including a varied spectrum of Reislings and Gewurtztraminers, which pair so well with this cuisine, and a good selection of beers as well. Thai Cuisine has it all –well prepared, inventive dishes, presented beautifully, lively atmosphere, and great service. We look forward to returning. Thai Cuisine is located at 507 South Meadow Street (Route 13), just across from the entrance to Wegmans. Their phone number is 273-2031. They also have a carry-out menu, but why would you want to deprive yourself of the fun of dining there?