Dining out: Bangkok Thai Talay

Some customers of Bangkok Thai were worried when the restaurant moved a couple of years ago from its former digs at Foothill Village to a new space on Highland Drive. And I understand that a few customers still miss the old space.

But I like the new one. For one thing, you can find a parking spot. For another, the open, lofty room, with its camel-colored walls and high, industrial ceiling, is a nice mix of warm, traditional Thai decor and modern cool.

And most important, the food hasn't lost a step.

In fact, I'd argue Bangkok Thai has moved forward nicely with the addition of more seafood dishes to complement the former menu of authentic favorites (hence the addition of "talay," which means "sea" in Thai, to the name).

I took my 10-year-old daughter to Bangkok Thai for a girls night out. I find Thai food very kid-friendly with its variety, freshness and unique uses of familiar ingredients — just watch the spice level. I asked our server to rate the spiciness of every dish on the menu, because my daughter can't handle too much heat. Luckily, the server was familiar with the menu and able to make thoughtful and enthusiastic recommendations.

We started with the appetizer plate, a pretty dish that got even more attractive when we realized that everything on it, even the garnish-looking crispy rice noodles, was not only edible but highly tasty. The noodles, crisp and pale with a tangy fish and tamarind sauce drizzled on them, were piled in the middle to provide structure for a couple of vegan spring rolls with savory fillings and super-crisp skins, as well as a trio of sweet, crunchy-coated coconut fried shrimp.

The plate also included a generous sampling of tofu tawt, cubes of flash-fried tofu, plus delicious sauces: thick, just-spicy peanut; clear and pungent sweet and sour; drizzly and tangy cucumber; and, my favorite, dark-red sweet chili sauce with a nice kick to it.

I also had a bowl of my favorite soup, tom kha, a creamy, tangy and sweet broth of coconut milk, lime leaf, fish sauce and lemongrass with loads of chicken, mushrooms, cilantro and onion.

For dinner, I was interested in the curry egg noodles, but our server warned that the dish might be too spicy for my daughter. Instead, we went to the seafood side of the menu for the sea bass, a beautiful, pure-white piece of fish gently steamed in herbs, soy and oil and topped with onions, ginger and chiles. The fish had a strong, clean flavor, so characteristic and elegant that it's hard to think of a better way to serve it than this.

We also had the Thai dumpling stir fry, a lovely-looking dish of purse-style dumplings filled with flavorful, if slightly dry, ground shrimp and surrounded by mushrooms, peppers, water chestnuts and baby corn in a mild, fruity white wine sauce.

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