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	reviews   Published: Jan. 14, 2005 Thai Cuisine sticks to its Bangkok roots By James Patrick Kelly Special to The Idaho Statesman  Dinner guests enjoy a gallery of Thai artifacts and Buddhist icons at the Thai Cuisine restaurant on Overland Road in Boise. The restaurant opened in September. Photos by Chris Butler / The Idaho Statesman Chef Charlie Poolapalin holds a dish called Wrap Lover with chicken at Thai Cuisine. Also shown is a watermelon and fruit presentation. Thai Cuisine  Address: 6777 Overland Road Phone: 658-0516 Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday; noon - 10 p.m. Saturday; Noon-9 p.m. Sunday. Open since: September 2004 Menu price range: $5.95 - $12.95 What to wear: Casual, but please no sarong on your head. Atmosphere: Elegant dining room with Thai accouterments and servers with big smiles. Libation situation: Thai ice tea and coffee, hot pots of lemon-ginger, jasmine and cinnamon teas, Singha beer and wines by the glass. Tidbit: Charb Lohanuwat said that someone recently stole her cigarette-smoking stone frog from the restaurant's outdoor fountain area. She asked whoever did it to please bring it back -- no questions asked. Miscellaneous: Visa/MasterCard and local checks accepted. Wheelchair accessible. There's a small parking lot in front. Thai Cuisine doesnīt have an identity crisis. It serves strictly Thai fare, unlike some other Southeast Asian places in town that insist on serving extraneous Chinese food. Owners Charb Lohanuwat and Charlie Poolapalin, who hail from Bangkok, opened Thai Cuisine in September. They moved to Boise five months ago via Seattle, where Poolapalin was a chef at Indochine, a popular Thai restaurant near Sea-Tac airport. The buildingīs exterior features a bubbling fountain made from imported Thai stone, helping to jazz up a boring stretch of Overland Road better known for fast food joints. Inside is a gallery of Thai artifacts and Buddhist icons. The elegant dining room boasts imported dark wood tables and large booths, as well as wood-carved elephant heads at every turn. Thai Cuisine serves Bangkok-style fare, which means dishes such as pineapple curry, grilled lemongrass chicken and the famous Swimming Rama are menu mainstays. One afternoon, we started with Thai ice teas ($2.50) and a Triangle Crispy appetizer ($5.95). Four golden pastry pillows came packed with shredded chicken, onion, potatoes and yellow curry. I havenīt seen this delicious appetizer anywhere else in town. Thai Cuisine offers a substantial list of lunch specials, which includes a cup of pineapple soup and green salad with zesty peanut dressing. We ordered a red curry lunch special ($6.95) and lemongrass chicken ($9.95) from the chefīs specials. Soon we were staring at a bowl of steamed tofu cubes, cut long beans, carrot, bamboo shoots and eggplant steeped in a red curry sauce redolent of coconut milk and kaffir leaves. A small bowl of fragrant jasmine rice came on the side. The grilled chicken breast was reminiscent of flames, lemongrass, basil and yellow curry, although it was a little salty for my taste. Allspice-scented peanut sauce, cucumber-onion sauce and steamed jasmine rice were served with the chicken. We left full and curried out. A few nights later, armed with an extra dining partner, we came back. It was a bitterly cold night, so a hot pot of lemon-ginger tea ($2) seemed in order. After thawing out, and perusing the appetizer portion of the menu, we settled on fried spring rolls ($5.95) and Wrap Lover ($6.95) for starters. The spring rolls were packed with glass threads, carrot, celery, onion, garlic and cabbage. The sweet plum sauce made dipping these crunchy logs worthwhile. Wrap Lover is a must-try appetizer. Itīs essentially slabs of Malaysian-inspired flatbread and a scrumptious pile of caramelized diced tofu, cashews, peanuts, mango and basil -- kicked up a notch with some Thai chili paste. Youīre in charge of construction, thus the name. Next, we committed to three entrees. The first was a citrusy larb salad ($7.95) that turned out to be a real eye-opener. A fresh pile of mixed greens came topped with minced chicken, basil, mint, cilantro, tomato and red onion in a zingy lime dressing. The larb salad was followed by a seafood nest ($12.95) and the house spicy noodles ($8.95), which were flat rice noodles stir-fried with tender shreds of beef, sambal, ginger, egg curds, broccoli and bell pepper in a rich oyster sauce. The seafood nest didnīt disappoint, either. A birdīs nest of crispy egg noodles was teeming with delicately cooked shrimp, scallops, sole and tiny squids, tossed with straw mushrooms, broccoli and carrot in a garlicky sauce. We even saved room for a cup of delicious house-made coconut ice cream ($2.95) for dessert. Thereīs nothing like a frozen confection right before heading out into the wintry night. Thai Cuisine definitely is on the right track for success. Itīs not afraid to be just a Thai restaurant, service is outstanding, and the food is a cut above the rest. The Wrap Lover and Triangle Crispy appetizers are incredible. So are the savory curries and spicy Thai salads. James Patrick Kelly is The Idaho Statesman's restaurant critic. E-mail him at  jpkfood@earthlink.net.