May 14, 2004

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Publication Date: Friday, May 14, 2004

Dining

By Grace Rauh

While there is no shortage of Thai restaurants to choose from in Mountain View, the fresh, flavorful and spicy fare served up at Krungthai Restaurant raises the bar to new heights and makes it difficult to excuse dining anywhere else.

The San Jose-based restaurant opened a new branch in the San Antonio Shopping Center last fall and has wasted no time luring diners though its doors.

The restaurant's impeccable service, extensive menu and authentic dishes all helped win me over handily during two recent visits. And the staff secured a spot in my heart when they noticed I had barely touched my sweet, syrupy longan juice (the one misstep in the meal) and without a word, removed the beverage charge from my bill.

I am no easy customer when it comes to Thai food. After living in northern Thailand for 10 months I was accustomed to picking up top-notch food (it's all Thai food in Thailand) for mere pennies. A plate of rich pad thai or spicy pad kra-prow would set me back a mere 50 cents, and now that I'm back in the States, it seems like a crime to eat Thai food that isn't quite up to snuff.

That may help explain why I nearly jumped out of my seat after biting into the special Krung thai salad ($8.59), a combination of silver noodles with ground pork, shrimp, squid and black cloud ear mushrooms. Thai salads are not lettuce-based affairs. They are often filled with meat or seafood and are usually the spiciest dish on the table at a family style meal.

Krungthai's special salad was no exception. The dish was tangy, citrus-flavored and burned my lips. The fresh and tender squid was a highlight, in addition to the oversized and floppy mushrooms, that resembled an elephant's ear.

Between bites of the slightly warm salad I sipped my cool Thai ice tea ($2.25), a refreshing mix of strong, bitter liquid with sweet milk.

For our second course, my dining partner and I split the eggplant khee mao lunch special ($7.59) and the kang ped neua ($9.59). The special came with a small, unremarkable spring roll, fried wonton and rice. According to the menu, the soup of the day should have accompanied the dish, but it never appeared on our table.

The spicy stir fry included eggplant, pork (we could choose between pork, chicken, beef, vegetables or shrimp) chili, garlic, red bell peppers and basil. The warm, fresh eggplant was a delight, and the basil gave the dish a great deal of flavor and kick. I only wished there was more of the dark brown sauce to pour over my rice.

The kang ped neua, or red beef curry, was filled with bamboo shoots, basil and sliced red bell peppers in addition to the lean meat. The curry broth was velvety and smooth and overwhelmed my mouth with flavor.

The formal restaurant with its orchid plants by the door, was busy at lunch on a recent Wednesday but not packed. And unlike the Thai restaurants on Castro Street, Krungthai's mid-day crowd moved at a slower pace. Diners appeared to be out for a more leisurely meal and in return received one prepared with great care.

Dinner, however, was an entirely different scene. On Friday night at 8 p.m. nearly every table at Krungthai was full, including the one opposite mine that held 16 people. The restaurant was abuzz with energy and excitement.

I started with the tom kha gai soup ($6.59, small) and found the sweet and sour coconut broth filled with white chicken, mushrooms, lemon grass, and galangal. It was divine. The creamy broth was spicy and flavorful and a real treat to imbibe.

Next to arrive was the yum neua ($7.59) or Thai style beef salad. I am still salivating over the warm beef tossed with red and green onions, cilantro and chilies. The dish was incredibly flavorful and tasted like fresh limes had been squeezed on top. A hunk of cabbage sat on the side of the plate so that diners could tear off pieces to cool the fire in their mouths.

A sip of my boyfriend's Singha beer from Thailand didn't hurt either. The light beer is an excellent accompaniment to any Thai food. Krungthai carries wine as well, but when it comes to Thai food, I prefer cold Singha to a glass of red or white.

On a whim I ordered the longan juice ($2.25), a homemade beverage crafted from dried longan fruit, which grows plentifully in Southeast Asia. The dark juice was too sweet and syrupy for my taste and much like a pearl tea drink, hunks of the circular fruit floated in my glass.

The pad khee mao ($7.59) with pork was another highlight. Soft wide noodles arrived fried with ground pork, small green chilies, basil and thick tomato slices. We also tried the pla duk pad phed ($8.59), deep fried catfish meat with chili paste. The chunks of fish were boneless and red and green peppers were mixed into the hearty red chili sauce. The dish was rich and heavy and would be best to share amongst a larger group to go a little easier on the stomach.

For dessert there was really no option once we learned that Krungthai had fresh mangos on hand. The sweet sticky rice with mango was delicious, but only works when mangos are in season. The fruit was perfectly ripened and the sweet coconut rice was an excellent match.

Krungthai is truly a treasure, and it is sure to attract diners from across the Peninsula for its fresh fare and top-notch service.

Satiated and smiling, I craved an after-dinner stroll before my drive home. Sadly, Krungthai is situated in the San Antonio Shopping Center next to Trader Joe's and a walk through a parking lot is no note on which to end a meal.

So I took the plunge and headed into the massive store adjacent to the restaurant. It may be pleasant to stroll along Castro Street after a filling meal, but I would walk down Walmart's aisles any day if it meant I had just finished a meal at Krungthai.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

Dining Notes:

Krungthai Restaurant,
590 Showers Drive, Suite B
559-0366
Hours: Monday to Friday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-10 p.m.;
Saturday-Sunday 12-10 p.m.

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