Room for Improvement at Khun Thai

Khun Thai is a trendy Thai and Asian Fusion restaurant. Playful purple elephants line the brass banister leading up to a loft. The lower level is decorated with Buddha statues and bamboo shoots. While the layout is open, tall leafy plants create the feeling that you are in two or three separate dining rooms.

The staff is courteous and eager to please. Our waiter popped in throughout the meal to make sure everything was to our liking. He never let us see the bottom of our water glasses.

His best move of the night was suggesting dessert. As we placed our appetizer order, but still debated our entrees, he asked if we would like to pre-order the Chocolate Grand Marnier Soufflé ($7). I soon understood why.

The chocolate soufflé is reason enough to head to Khun Thai. The absolutely decadent dessert is one of the best I have tasted. A piping hot soufflé topped with whipped cream gets even more delicious when the server cuts a hole in the middle and pours in steaming Grand Marnier. Honestly, it was to die for. Other tempting desserts include Crème Brulee ($6) and Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango ($6).

The beginning of the meal was equally tasty. We started with Miso soup – a wild mushroom blend ($5) for my friend Katie, Gyon Nam ($5) for me. Gyon Nam is a miso soup with shrimp and fresh crab meat ravioli and mixed vegetables. Both of the soups were bursting with flavor. In each, the broth soaked up the flavor of the added ingredients. My soup had the sweet taste of basil.

Debbie tried the Tom Ka Gai, a coconut milk-based soup with chicken, lemon grass, ganlangal and mushrooms ($5). It was sweeter than normal, a disappointment to someone who absolutely loves the dish at several other Thai restaurants.

The Sous Chef, Vichaya Samanjit, came out during each course to see if we were pleased with her creations. The medium-sized menu offered several salads, such as Crispy Duck Salad ($9) and Green Papaya Salad ($8); sauté dishes such as Ginger Chicken, Shrimp or Beef ($12-17) and Wild Boar ($18); curry plates ($12-17), noodle dishes such as Lard Na ($11-13) and Pad Thai ($13), seafood entrees, rice creations ($13-14) and hot-off-the-grill specials ($13-28). The specials included Baby Rack of Lamb ($23) and Duck Honey ($18). There were also three frog leg choices ($17). While these may catch the Westerner’s eye, they are a staple on most Thai menus.

Samanjit was happy to see that both Debbie and Katie were indeed satisfied with their entrees. Debbie’s spicy Drunken Noodles ($13) were a heaping plate of sautéed flat rice noodles with chicken, shrimp, scallops, chili, onions, Thai basil and mixed vegetables. Katie had the Hot Pepper, a large portion of chicken sautéed in Thai basil and chili pepper with mushrooms and mixed vegetables. While both were listed as spicy, neither was overpoweringly hot. I would go so far as to say the Hot Pepper was mild.

I ordered Crystal Shrimp with Roasted Almonds ($19), one of the house specialties. With pineapples, herbs, shrimp, spinach, almonds and garlic, there were too many contrasting flavors. None of them popped. The almonds were drowned out by the overwhelming amount of overcooked, sauce-drenched spinach.  The plate was definitely not worth the price.

There is room for improvement at Khun Thai. On the most basic level, when the plates came out they were not very hot in temperature or spice. As happens often at Asian fusion restaurants, the combinations were a bit too ambitious. The appetizers and desserts were delicious, but the rest of the meal was just satisfactory. The prices are reasonable to high, service was good and the atmosphere is fun for groups of friends or a date night.