Thai Time (Thai Orchid)

I adore good Thai food. Moreover, I adore eating good Thai food in a place that makes me believe I have stepped into Thailand. There are two Albuquerque Thai restaurants that do this for me: Thai Orchid and Jasmine Thai (I'll review Jasmine Thai at a later date).

Thai Orchid on Central west of Washington is where I have been enjoying my Thai fix for the longest. They are open for both lunch and dinner, but since lunch is cheaper, I tend to make midday trips to faux-Thailand. The restaurant decoration will immediately illicit a smile- with bright colors everywhere and painted scenes of Thailand surrounding you, it's great fun to pretend you've left the country. It's perhaps on the kitchy side, but I say it only adds to the adventure in a most positive way.

Start your experience with a fun drink- they offer all kinds of interesting concoctions including juices I've never heard of and the traditional iced tea and coffee. All of these drinks come with a plastic drink figure in them...and are fun to collect and harass your friends with later.

Once you've procured a drink of choice, move on to the food. The lunches come with soup, a tasty mini eggroll, rice, and your choice of entree. Dinner comes with rice, but you'll miss out on the eggroll. For some reason, those little suckers are what help make the meal for me. I have a really hard time ordering anything but their ginger chicken (spicy with fresh vegetables and shaved pieces of hot ginger...mmmm....), though I hear that everything else on the menu is equally good. When you order, you specify how hot you'd like it...and unless you're a native New Mexican or Thailander, I imagine the spicy option will be too hot. Go for medium if you're unsure. I've tried the curries and bites of other dishes, and all have been wonderful. The only thing from the restaurant I don't care for is the soup- it's thick and slightly sour- and I suspect it's an acquired taste.

For dessert they have fabulous sorbets/ice creams that are served atop sweet sticky rice. I highly recommend the coconut or the mango. They also offer mochi ice cream, which is one of my favorites, but, considering you can buy a whole box at Trader Joe's for far cheaper, I'd say go with the other options.

Thai Orchid runs a hopping little business around lunch time, so I'd suggest getting there just a bit early. Then have a seat, take in the kitchy and colorful decor and laid-back vibe, and have a tasty meal that will transport you over to Asia.