Thaiphoon

Name: Thaiphoon
Address: 543 Emerson Street, Palo Alto, California 94301
Phone: (650) 323-7700
Web site: www.thaiphoonrestaurant.com
Date & Time visited: Friday, February 18, 2005, 9:00 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Vegetarian fried egg roll, Shrimp Pad Thai, Kung Pao Chicken, steamed white rice

Service: Good. I think the two staff members were overwhelmed, even for this fairly small restaurant, as almost every table was occupied. Even with that, though, the only really noticible delay was between the appetizer and the main course--and that could be due to an overworked kitchen. Our Thai iced teas were served almost immediately.

The egg roll was crisp and the sauce had just a bit of heat; very tasty. The Pad Thai was excellent, with enough chopped peanuts and sprouts to keep it crunchy, and the shrimp were tender. The Kung Pao chicken was appropriately fiery--as we had hoped--and served in the Thai fashion with a light sauce and larger pieces of chicken and vegetables, as opposed to the thicker sauce and more finely diced ingredients of the dish as found in Chinese restaurants. We took home half of the Kung Pao and rice for lunch tomorrow.

Would we go back: Yes. This was our second visit. I think we might be a bit more careful in table selection; this time we chose to sit outside and found ourselves next to a large and rather loud group.