Bites Nearby: Star of Siam Thai Kitchen

The Bites Nearby column thinks that lunch specials are, well, very special. Finish off the meal with Thai tea or Thai coffee, and the lunch becomes very, very special.

The Star of Siam Thai Kitchen is a wonderful spot for a low-price, high-flavor midday meal. For $7.95, patrons can enjoy such dishes as Thai Eggplant, Chicken Masaman, Vegetable and Tofu, Chicken with Cashews, Tofu Ginger and Beef with Red Curry or Green Curry. A choice of house salad or soup is included.

All options explode with flavors. In fact, they tickle the taste buds in just about every way possible. (Spicy, fruitty, nutty, salty, sweet.) And the zests never get too extreme because they are tempered by some kind of rice (jasmin, brown, white).

The lunch menu is available from noon to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. And for those who can’t wake up that early or have other commitments (or want seconds), the food gets more varied at dinner time.

For example, the Pineapple Fried Rice ($11.95) features stir-fried rice with shrimp, egg, pineapple, onions, carrots and green peas, topped with cashews.

The Bites Nearby column has a constant hunkering for the Chicken with Cashew Nuts ($13.95), which contains stir-fry chicken in a delicious brown soybean sauce with zucchini, bell peppers, snow peas, bamboo, celery, onions and cashews.

In fact, the top-notch chicken dishes are almost endless. But munchers can stay in the poultry/exotic family with the Tamarind Duck ($17.95), which mixes a deep-fried duck with steamed mixed vegetables. The sause has tamarind and ginger.

The Pan Seared Salmon ($17.95) is a spicy option for seafood lovers. It comes with salmon in a green curry with coconut milk, sweet basil leaves, bamboo shoots, bell pepper and mixed vegetables. The menu also boasts Shrimp Basil ($15.95), Shrimp in Garlic Sauce ($15.95) and Pot Roasted Shrimp ($16.95), bean threads and shrimp cooked in a clay pot with ginger and vegetables.

There are also various noodle-based options, and well as vegetarian dishes. Vegetables and Tofu Red Curry ($10.95), which includes milk and basil leaves, is a recommendation for the spicy palate.

Soups all cost $4.95. Tom Yum contains shrimp, mushroom and bell pepper in a spicy lemon grass soup with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Tom Kha mixes sliced chicken and galangal in light coconut milk with mushroom and bell pepper.

The salads and appetizers come in many versions. Papaya Salad ($6.95) features sliced green papaya mixed with tomato, carrots, green beans, chili, ground peanuts and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice on lettuce. It’s too hard to choose just one appetizer, so Bites Nearby
will mention Moo Dad Deow ($7.95), crispy pork strip marinated in garlic sauce and served with a special spicy sauce, and Curry Puff ($6.95), ground chicken, potato and onion, sautéed in curry sauce and wrapped with puff pastry served with a cucumber sauce.

It's all good. In fact, it's so good that the Bites Nearby column is hoping for some breakfast specials soon.

Address: 103-18 Metropolitan Avenue.

Telephone: 718.544.4097.

Hours: Monday, closed; Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Specials: Visa and MasterCard accepted with a minimum purchase of $15. Plus, gift certificates are available.