Review: Thai 54’s creative specials elevate traditional and modern dishes
You know that saying, “avoid cliches like the plague?” Well, I just spent half an hour searching every online thesaurus I could find to avoid describing Thai 54 as a hidden gem. And I give up. In every sense I can think of, the place is a hidden gem.
There’s the location, for starters, tucked away at the far end of a nondescript strip mall off Chapel Hill Road. Half hidden behind a Subway and an Indian market, it’s visible from the road only if you’re looking for it.
Inside, the dining room is a compact jewel box of a space with a dozen or so tables, a small rock fountain in one corner, silk tapestries on walls of topaz and pewter, and lots of potted greenery — all warmed by the sparkle of cut glass pendant lights overhead and the sunny smiles of a friendly and accommodating wait staff.
But it’s the large chalkboard on the back wall that, more than anything else, makes this hidden gem shine. There, artfully written in colorful pastels, is a list of seasonal specials. A mix of traditional and contemporary Thai dishes, these are the creations of owner/chef Vimon Thongruck, who opened Thai 54 last summer, just two months after arriving here from the West Coast.
In the fall, specials included a spot-on rendition of the minced beef salad larb, and a mixed seafood variation on lad nah, featuring broad noodles slicked with a savory brown sauce and crispy at the edges. There was also a first-rate Thai beef jerky, which is to the familiar American jerky as filet mignon is to chuck steak.
These delicacies have since been erased to make way for new ones, but you can still score a taste of the jerky. Just order the green papaya salad (som tam), which comes with the traditional accompaniments of sticky rice and beef jerky.
The current list of specials is, if anything, even more enticing. Thongruck’s Asian-accented riff on osso buco — bone-in pork shank, succulent beneath a crisp exterior and a vibrant glaze of a spicy sweet and sour sauce (order it Thai hot at your own risk) — leaves no doubt that she is as creative as she is talented.
Same goes for Thai 54 chile whole fish: fresh pompano, cut into bite-size batons and cooked to a moist, delicately crisp turn before being reassembled on the oven-roasted fish frame. A peppery patchwork of the chef’s signature chile sauce and a bed of steamed broccoli round out a memorable presentation.
None of which is to say you can’t scratch an itch for pad Thai or a coconut curry. The main menu offers a broad survey of the Thai repertoire, including a few premium options, such as green curry soft shell crab and spicy basil duck.
Given the consistently high level of execution of the specials, it should come as no surprise that it’s nearly impossible to make a bad choice. The only minor letdown I have yet to encounter was an otherwise rewarding appetizer order of Thai dumplings so fragile that they tended to fall apart when I picked them up.
I don’t have even the tiniest quibble with a textbook rendering of the fiery beef salad, nam tok. Or with Thai angel wing: a single jumbo wing, deboned and stuffed with a savory hash of ground pork, glass noodles, mushroom, carrot and onion, rolled in panko and fried to a crisp golden turn. And I do mean jumbo. The wing yielded six generous bite-size pieces recently, enough for two modest appetites to share as a starter.
Especially if one of you orders seafood Panang as your entree. You’ll land a bounty of shrimp, scallops, mussels and squid in a tropically fragrant red curry sauce riddled with bright ribbons of julienne red and green bell pepper.
Talk your partner into ordering ka proud lamb, which serves up four char-grilled chops in Thai basil sauce. Share bites, and debate who got the better dish. (My wife and I did just that recently, and decided it was a tie.)
You won’t go wrong with an order of mango with sticky rice for dessert, if it’s in the offing. The specials board also tantalizes with coconut cake, which experience has taught me always to order when I’m in a Thai restaurant, but was sold out both times I’ve tried to order it.
You can be sure I’ll be back. I’ve just scratched the surface of the menu at Thai 54, and I can’t wait to see what’s on the chalkboard next time I go there. As for that coconut cake, if you’ll pardon one more cliche, I’ll let this be my guide: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.
Thai 54
10290 Chapel Hill Road, Morrisville
919-443-8038
Cuisine: Thai
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Prices: $
Atmosphere: casual, colorful, compact
Noise level: low
Service: friendly and accommodating
Recommended: Thai angel wing, seafood Panang, ka proud lamb, anything on the specials board (whole chile fish and Thai osso buco if available)
Open: Lunch and dinner daily.
Reservations: accepted
Other: beer and wine; accommodates children; excellent vegetarian selection; wheelchair accessible; parking in lot.
The N&O’s critic dines anonymously; the newspaper pays for all meals. We rank restaurants in five categories: 5 stars: Extraordinary. 4 stars: Excellent. 3 stars: Above average. 2 stars: Average. 1 star: Fair.
The dollar signs defined: $ Entrees average less than $10. $ Entrees $11 to $20. $$ Entrees $21 to $30. $$ Entrees more than $30.