Thai That Tries for More

TALESAI, THE ELEGANT THAI RESTAURANT ON Sunset Strip, has branched out with a more casual cafe in Beverly Hills. While it’s not as wild-looking as Tommy Tang’s Melrose Avenue place, this Thai newbie sports whimsical and fashion-forward details that give it an insouciant charm. The simple chairs are strung with clear plastic tubing and are surprisingly comfortable. Candles on each table wear a perky frosted shade. A fat cutout metal fish dabbed with primary colors hovers overhead--it’s Cafe Talesai’s guardian angel. Contemplative buddhas perch on shelves or beside the cash register, while a raft of pale dendrobium orchids plays against vertical color field paintings.

More than a lower-priced Talesai, Cafe Talesai is something new. The menu is plugged into the tastes of L.A. diners, offering, in addition to the usual Thai dishes, many with a northern influence. It also includes a handful of pan-Asian dishes such as wontons, kung pao chicken, Pacific rim curry (with pineapple) and grilled Mongolian lamb, even a couple of oddities such as taro “latkes.” The food is not only spirited in flavor, it’s presented attractively, too. And ingredients are higher quality than what most mom-and-pop Thai restaurants can afford.

But don’t expect the Thai food you remember from that little dive in Bangkok. This is Thai food for the New World. The Thai “latkes” turn out to be cakes of shredded taro root deep fried to a dark gold crunch. It’s a valid enough idea: Taro has a similar starchiness, though it’s blander in taste than potato, which is why the sour-sweet tamarind dipping sauce is such a welcome touch.

Corn fritters are flat cakes of corn kernels and Thai basil leaves bound in a light, beautifully fried batter. Green papaya salad, always a favorite, comes topped with what’s described as “Thai prosciutto,” which is something like beef jerky. The salad also has green beans and a little tomato for color, and is tossed in a chile-lime dressing that’s not shy on the heat. The kitchen kicks the firepower up a notch with the grilled rib-eye salad enlivened with lime juice, chile and the intense perfume of fresh mint.

The best beef dish on the menu is Southern Thai border beef, listed as a main course specialty. It’s stir-fried with red chile paste and lime leaves to create an intricate tapestry of flavors. The dish is hot all right, but suffused with an almost overwhelming fragrance of lime leaves. Soak up that sauce with some sticky rice served, as it is everywhere else, in a ridiculous shower cap of plastic inside a woven bamboo basket--an overzealous health requirement, no doubt.

The Thai barbecued chicken is nice enough (I’ve never understood the fanatical devotion some of my friends have for it), but it’s not terribly interesting. Instead, I’d take the grilled garlic pork marinated in garlic and Thai herbs. That, or the chicken larb, which is minced chicken steeped with fiery chiles and mint and eaten wrapped in tender little romaine lettuce leaves.

Cafe Talesai has the obligatory red and green curries, but also some unusual ones. All of the curries taste of freshly ground spices. Jungle curry, described as “upcountry-style red curry,” is laced with velvety eggplant, green beans and bamboo shoots. I think it’s more interesting made with fish than with chicken. One night the special was a Panang curry, beef in a fiery reddish brown sauce swirled with coconut milk and infused with the flavor of bruised mint. It’s very rich, yet it disappeared in a flash.

There are some ho-hum dishes on the menu. Mee krob, a tangle of crispy rice noodles ornamented with nuggets of chicken and shrimp, is not as sweet or cloying as most. Still, it’s hard to get excited about this snack. For palates that can’t tolerate much hot pepper, the milder Chiangmai lamb curry, made of Sonoma lamb, would be a good choice, but for the rest of us, it may be spiced too subtly. I don’t know that I would order this one again. Also, the soups don’t seem as compelling as other dishes. But if you’re coming down with a cold, or it’s nippy outside, they can be a great way to start off a meal at Cafe Talesai.

The service, by waitresses who don’t hesitate to give advice about the menu, is good-natured and accommodating. When you call to make a reservation, the host always remembers to say, “We’re looking forward to seeing you tonight.” At dinner, one waiter told us to have the chicken satay: It’s better than the Phuket chicken breast we were about to order. (Instead of skinny little strips, the satay is plump as a bird’s breast, juicy and delicious, napped with a mild peanut sauce.) Another waiter enthusiastically offers to mix broccoli in with our long beans.

It’s easy to see why Cafe Talesai’s combo of updated Thai food, warm service and cheerful cafe ambience has attracted a number of regulars. L.A. needs more little restaurants like this one, offering quality food at reasonable prices. And for those in the neighborhood, they also offer the luxury of delivery.

Cafe Talesai

9198 W. Olympic Blvd.,

Beverly Hills,

(310) 271- 9345

cuisine: Thai

rating: *1/2

*

AMBIENCE: Charming cafe with colorful details and a winsome fish mobile. SERVICE: Warm and accommodating. BEST DISHES: Corn fritters, Thai latkes, chicken larb, spicy rib-eye salad, green papaya salad, Southern Thai border beef, Panang curry, green beans garlic. Appetizers, $4 to $7. Main courses, $7 to $13. DRINK PICKS: Singha beer, Thai iced tea. Lunch weekdays. Dinner daily. Lot parking. Free delivery within two-mile radius.

*

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.