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Restaurant
review:
Little Thai
Kitchen
--------------------
By Melanie
Barnard
Special
Correspondent
December 14,
2006
A restaurant
with
delightful
ambiance,
fine
service,
reasonable
prices and
really
interesting
food. Sound
like a
dream? Not
if you like
Thai food.
Just a year
after
opening the
Connecticut
operation
(the
original is
in
Manhattan)
opened in
Greenwich,
the third
Little Thai
Kitchen has
been
launched in
downtown
Darien.
Like its
sister in
Greenwich,
the
restaurant
is aptly
named -- the
kitchen and
dining room
are small.
But from
this kitchen
wafts
fragrant
aromas, and
it delivers
a wide array
of
traditional
Thai dishes.
The small
space,
across the
street from
the Darien
train
station, is
cozy and
exuberant
with two
seating
areas joined
by a vibrant
green lotus
leaf painted
on glass at
the
entrance,
and fanned
out by
bright
colors
throughout.
Service is
as
enthusiastic
as the decor
with a Thai
waitstaff
that clearly
knows every
dish and is
happy to
explain and
recommend.
This is
especially
valuable to
novices of
Thai food,
but fun for
everyone to
be
encouraged
to try a new
dish from
the
surprisingly
extensive
menu.
Indeed, most
people are
familiar
with pad
Thai and
chicken
satay and
summer
rolls, but
our server
encouraged
us to try
the equally
classic but
far less
familiar
larb salad.
Despite its
unappetizing
name, the
salad is
full of
flavor. Warm
minced beef
is spiced;
tossed with
green mint,
red chiles
and rice
powder; then
ladled onto
a crisp
iceberg
lettuce
leaf. The
combination
of textures,
colors,
flavors and
temperatures
is a shining
example of
what makes
Thai food
addictive.
The in-house
menu has the
added
attraction
of printed
recipes for
many classic
Thai
curries, but
the take-out
menu doesn't
have the
space for
them, so
bring a
pencil and
copy them
down -- I
tried a
couple of
the curries
and they
were
terrific,
though it
takes a bit
of hunting
to find
Asian
markets that
carry
galangal and
kaffir
limes. It's
a lot easier
to let this
little
kitchen make
the curries,
and the
moderate
prices here
make it easy
to sample
them as
often as you
wish.
The menu
also labels
those
choices
considered
to be highly
spiced,
though our
experience
here is that
moderation
seems to be
the key and
few dishes
are truly
incendiary.
Though I
love spicy
food, the
rainbow of
flavors in a
balanced
recipe is
far more
pleasing to
the palate.
Pad Thai,
which is
often
downgraded
to
neutrality
for people
who are new
to Thai
food, is
here
well-executed
with al
dente rice
noodles,
chopped egg,
peanuts, and
bean
sprouts,
scallions,
coriander
and tamarind
added just
before the
final
tossing to
ensure crisp
texture and
bright
colors.
Appetizers,
soups and
salads are
often Thai
highlights
and here
they shine,
especially
the puff
pastry
stuffed with
curried
minced
chicken,
onion and
potatoes.
It's similar
to Indian
pakora, but
lighter and
fresher-tasting
than most.
Tod mun are
delicate
fish cakes
served on a
crunchy
cucumber and
peanut
salad. It's
the "crab
cake" of
Thailand and
a crowd
pleaser. The
spring rolls
and summer
rolls are
light and
filled with
fresh
seasonal
ingredients,
and the sate
is tender
with a depth
of marinated
flavor. The
classic tom
yum soup is
a winner
with the
right
balance of
sweet lemon
grass with
sour lime
and spicy
chiles in a
mushroom-studded
broth.
The main
course menu
is divided
by main
ingredient,
including a
section for
rice and
noodle
mainstays,
and one for
the classic
curries.
Start with
the curry
list, since
it is a
culinary
tour of
Thailand.
Green curry,
the hottest
mix, is
spicy but
not
overwhelming,
while red
curry has a
good deal of
depth.
Penang curry
is sweet
with coconut
and kaffir
lime leaves
while yellow
curry is the
most
familiar to
the American
palate.
Massaman
curry is the
most mild
and, I
think,
uninteresting,
but is good
if paired
with a
couple of
other spicy
dishes.
Thai food is
meant to be
shared, and
the menu
states that
each dish
will be
served "as
soon as it
comes off
the fire"
which
encourages
sharing and
ensures the
best
presentation.
Thus, you
might want
to consult
your whole
party and
order a
complementary
range of
appetizers
and main
courses,
since you
will likely
be sampling
a little of
each.
Thai basil
is the star
in a spicy
dish that
features
shrimp,
chicken or
beef, and a
pleaser if
you like
this
haunting and
different
basil
flavor,
though I'd
choose the
chicken or
tender
shrimp over
the rather
tasteless
and
seemingly
precooked
beef. In the
seafood
category,
the pla rad
prik is
lightly
crumbed,
crispy fish
in a deeply
spiced sauce
that lingers
long after
the fish is
gone. I
often wish
for a bit of
French bread
to sop up
luscious
Thai sauces,
and this one
is
particularly
good.
The most
interesting
menu
category,
however, is
duck. With
only three
options, all
are good
choices from
the mild
roasted duck
with
vegetables
and kaffir
lime leaves
to the
tender duck
with string
beans,
onions,
garlic and
basil. Best
of all is
the sweet
and spicy
duck with
pineapple,
coconut,
basil and
red curry
paste.
Everyone
loves Thai
rice and
noodle
dishes, and
you can't go
wrong with
the
moderately
spiced
drunken
noodles with
ga prow
sauce or the
red chili
studded
basil and
onions fried
rice.
Desserts at
Thai
restaurants
are often
French, but
here the
limited list
is truly
Asian, and
rather
expected
such as
fried ice
cream, fried
banana or a
light
coconut Thai
custard.
Mango with
sweet sticky
rice is the
best if the
mango is
ripe and
luscious as
it was on
our visit.
The Little
Thai Kitchen
is indeed
"little" but
serves food
"big" on
flavor and
presentation.
With
moderate
prices and a
welcoming
atmosphere,
this is a
place that
you are
likely to
frequent.
Copyright
(c) 2006,
Southern
Connecticut
Newspapers,
Inc.
--------------------
This article
originally
appeared at:
http://www.greenwichtime.com/features/scn-sa-thai6dec14,0,823197.story?coll=weekend-headlines
Visit The
Greenwich
Time online
at
http://www.greenwichtime.com
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