by SARAH MUSGRAVE

Phayathai is one of those restaurants where you can order just about anything without going wrong—although the same could pretty much be said of Thai cuisine in general. What sets this place apart is that it’s a bit less expensive than its higher-end counterparts, for food that’s just as good if not better, in part because the kitchen doesn’t cut down on the spice to suit Western palates.

Don’t bother dithering over the appetizers, even though the lightly fried tofu with peanut sauce, chicken satay and green mango salad are all quite good. There’s just no question that the best way to start your meal here is with one of the half-dozen soups ($3.50–$4.75). The bowls are small but they’re filled to the brim with intriguing ingredients. The lemongrass-scented tom kha hai, for instance, is made with chicken, coconut milk and galanga, aka Thai ginger. It’s chock full of tender pieces of meat, button mushrooms and a decent level of spice that’s silkily subdued by the creamy texture. If you want to be the envy of everyone else at the table, order the Phayathai seafood soup. The fiery broth is overflowing with tender calamari, a crab claw, shrimp, chunks of fish and one impeccable scallop. It’s a very spicy concoction that embodies the best of the pleasure-pain principle, burning your tongue with heat while bathing it in complex flavours at the same time.

Main courses start at $7.50, and are just as tantalizing for your tastebuds. It’s worth turning to the last page of the menu for the easily overlooked house specialties. It’s in this section that you’ll find the whole deep-fried fish slathered in homemade chilli paste. We tried this on the waiter’s suggestion, after he’d steered us away from the deep-fried fish with three flavours (satay, sweet and sour and something else). The entire red snapper, head included, was battered up and cooked so that the flesh was moist and vaguely crunchy. The sauce was pungent with a faintly sweet edge to it, accented perfectly by the fresh coriander. Even at $18.50 it was a standout, and filled us with an appreciation for the whoever was in the kitchen as well as the waiter for knowing what they were up to in there.

Also worth investigating is the roasted duck ($10.75), served in boneless, bite-sized slices with its almost crispy, caramelized skin intact and a texture that manages to be melt-in-your-mouth and ever so slightly chewy. It’s offered in four different ways, including a rich, thick, red Thai sauce, such an enticing mélange of seasonings you can’t help spooning more and more onto your plate. It’s also excellent in a drier preparation with anise-tinged basil, thinly sliced bell peppers and chillies, less heavy on the sauce for more of that unadulterated duck meat taste.

Our other choices included a delicious chicken with soft slices of eggplant ($10.75) and perfectly cooked scallops with mushrooms ($11.50), also fairly spicy. Tofu, beef, shrimp, vegetable satay, noodles and frogs’ legs round out the possibilities, along with a sizzling seafood platter recommended by the waiter for our the next visit.

To finish off, there’s tapioca pudding, a tropical fruit called rambutan and ice creams that will help ease the sore throat that just about everyone in the city has right now (options include coconut, mango and pleasantly unsugary green tea). A pot of Thai tea, with a distinctive orange colour and smoky tamarind flavour, will also leave a warm and exotic taste in your mouth—one that sums up this restaurant very well. :

Phayathai
Address: 1235 Guy (@ Ste-Catherine)
Phone: 933-9949
Hours: Mon 5:30–10:30pm; Tues–Fri noon–2:30pm; 5:30–10:30pm
(to 11pm Thurs–Fri); Sat–Sun 5:30–11pm
Best features: Soups, seafood, spices
Alcohol: Yes
Vegetarian friendly: Yes
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: No
Price: $15/person without tax, drinks or tip
Rating: ***1/2 out of ****