The Main course 8-23
Thai Thanee
Rating: 
For cuisine and especially ambiance, it clearly edges out the excellent Nadia in Lansdale, which I reviewed in the June 24 issue of the Dining Guide.
Thai Thanee was a long time in the making. The “Coming Soon” sign languished in place for many months. Step inside the dining room with its vaulted, thick-beamed ceiling, and you will immediately see why.
It required many months to line the walls with expensive teakwood paneling and to acquire and install the amazing Thai artworks.
First you will be greeted by two hip-high carved, wooden elephants. Then your gaze will be drawn to one wall with two very large tableaus in bas relief of ancient Thai village life, incredibly carved — a sign tells us — from a single block of teak.
Thai has its own distinctive flavors and spices of Southeast Asia. Its signature and belly-filling dish, most popular with Americans, is Pad Thai, an inspired combination of stir-fried rice noodles, tofu, egg, bean spouts and ground peanuts, usually with chicken or shrimp.
At Thai Thanee, it is among a dozen entrees all priced at a very low $11.99 (plus $2 with shrimp).
We chose another, less well-known rice noodle dish on the menu, Pad Siew, with the optional pork. Also stir-fried, but with jumbo-wide, thick noodles in a good, brown sauce, this was enjoyable but not up to its popular cousin, Pad Thai.
For starters, we chose Crispy Duck Yum (“yum” means salad, $7.99), and Chicken Satay ($6.99).
Both were appetizingly presented in adorable, blue-and-white dishware — the duck salad in a dish shaped like a hen, the satay in a boat-shaped dish — and exceptionally delicious.
Four large skewers of the crunchy, moist duck had been marinated and tossed with toasted rice powder, scallion, lime juice and Thai chili paste and served on a bed of greens. It was sensational.
Thai Thanee’s satay was the best, most succulent and tasty I have ever had, period! It was marinated in Thai spice and coconut milk, then grilled perfectly and served with a superb peanut dipping sauce and chopped cucumber salad.
Our final shared dish was a truly outstanding entrée of Thai Thanee Eggplant ($11.99) with seafood (plus $4), which was again truly excellent. Smaller, sweeter, more tender Asian eggplant was sliced and sautéed in a delicious sauce with onion and zesty red pepper and presented on another blue-and-white ceramic plate shaped like a fish.
A generous amount of mixed seafood — shrimp, scallop, squid, mussels and pieces of a boneless whitefish — were mixed in.
The chicken, pork, seafood, and fish were consistently lightly done so as not to even slightly over cook their delicate textures.
There is an equally large vegetarian menu, with every dish available in a vegetarian version.
Soup lovers must try the classic Tom Kha Kai soup ($3.99), a coconut-milk-based broth with slices of chicken breast, galangal (blue ginger root), lemongrass, lime leaves, mushroom and lime juice, served in a lotus bowl.
Our server was very pleasant, efficient and helpful. This was an outstanding dinner, one which I will want to repeat soon.
Extraordinary Thai food and ambiance get an overall rating of mmmm 1/2 (out of 5 m’s).
To contact Mitch Davis, e-mail him at: MdavisMainCourse@aol.com.
Thai Thanee Location: 1533 Old York Road, Abington Phone Number: 215-885-4404 Web site: www.thaithanee.com Cuisine: Authentic Thai Ambience: Gorgeous dining room Hours: Lunch: Monday to Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner: Sunday to Thursday 5 to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 p.m. Prices: Appetizers, soups: $3.99 to $8.99; Entrées: $11.99 to $15.99; Chef’s specialties: $16.99 to $23.99 Alcoholic Beverages: B.Y.O.B.
