Bangkok Restaurant: An Authentic Taste Of Thailand

DANBURY –– Bangkok opened in 1986 –– the first Thai restaurant in Connecticut –– and has never strayed from its original concept of offering authentic Thai cuisine, a commitment that has earned it three-star ratings from The New York Times, Hartford Courant, and recommendations from Zagat’s.

The heart of the business is Taew Robinson, co-owner and executive chef. Born in Thailand and trained there as a chef, she brought her family’s recipes with her when she moved to the United States in the late 1970s.

“This is good, honest Thai food,” said Bangkok co-owner Val Horsa. “There are no crazy names for recipes, no fusion with other Asian cuisine, no compromises. If you go to Thailand, you will eat the same food as you will eat in our restaurant.”

Diners know that. With today’s mobile society, Bangkok restaurant has developed a dining clientele that extends from coast to coast. These customers know that Chef Taew spends hours each day creating the traditional sauces and curries that give Thai food its sweet, sour, salty, spicy tastes.

The unpretentious-looking storefront in the Nutmeg Shopping Center on Route 6 in Danbury belies an attractive interior lined with comfortable booths and glass-topped tables. Thai parasols are suspended upside down from the ceiling; the walls are accented with posters of Thailand. The traditionally costumed wait staff is friendly and helpful, the menu offers a wide range of dishes that have depth and complexity reflecting the traditional ingredients –– lemon grass, lime, coconut milk, tamarind, chilies, and curries –– that are in classic Thai cuisine. Each dish is cooked to order from meat, seafood, poultry, and produce that are delivered daily.

“If we run out of something, I make a trip to Stop & Shop [several doors down in the same shopping center]. Sometimes, on a busy day, I might make ten trips,” Mr Horsa said. “We buy only what we need for the day so that everything is fresh.”

Mr Horsa, a world traveler and businessman who had spent several years working in Thailand in the late 70s and early 80s, fell in love with the cuisine. When he returned to the United States, he had a job that involved a lot of domestic traveling and he searched for Thai restaurants across the country. He met Taew and her family, who were working in San Antonio, Texas, and convinced them to come to Connecticut and open the restaurant in Danbury.

While other Thai restaurants have adapted to what they see as American tastes by adding Chinese dishes to the menu, Bangkok has never strayed from its origins. There are 60 Thai dishes on the menu, each with a description in English beneath the Thai name. The traditional costume-clad wait staff is happy to further describe each dish, or new customers might try the introductory “dinner for two” which –– one of the biggest bargains in restaurant dining –– has remained at $35 since the restaurant opened 17 years ago.

The dinner for two includes peanut salad and a choice of three soups, including Tom Yum Goong, the most famous of the Thai soups, made with fresh shrimp and mushrooms and accented with lemon grass, ginger, green chili, and spices. There are three entrees: Pad Thai, tender rice noodles stir fried with shrimp, tofu, onions, bean sprouts, peanuts and spice; Kai Phat Prik, chicken with hot green chilies and spices; and Panang Nhua, tender slices of beef simmered in a sauce of coconut milk, Thai curry, and spices. Coffee or tea is included.

Appetizers include a sampler, $8.50, that features Sa-Te, thin slices of marinated pork or chicken, grilled on a stick and served with peanut sauce and Thai fresh cucumber relish; Nhua Dat-deo, a kind of Thai beef jerky; Pak Sot, vegetarian rolls with dipping sauce, and Bo-Pit Tod, bite-size spring rolls stuffed with ground pork, bamboo shoots, crystal noodles, bean sprouts, and spices.

Thai salads, of which there are seven on the menu, generally are savory dishes made with seafood or meat and are served as an accompaniment to the entrees. There are noodle and rice dishes ($7.95–$12.95), 15 seafood entrees ($13.95–$19.95), and a half dozen each of pork, chicken, and beef dishes ($12.95). All starred hot & spicy dishes can be adjusted at the diner’s request.

The restaurant is notable for the use of very lean meat and poultry, with all fat removed, and low-cholesterol soybean oil.

Desserts, although minimal, include a popular housemade coconut ice cream ($2.50), and dishes of Thai fruit. There are Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee and the Thai beer, Singha, along with other premium beer and beverages. Lunch entrees, including soup, are $6.50–$6.95, or diners can also order from the dinner menu.

Bangkok is open for lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 to 2:30 and for dinner from 5 to 10 pm. On Saturday and Sunday dinner only is served, from 4 to 10 pm. Takeout is available. For reservations or takeout call 791-0640. The restaurant accepts Visa, Master Card, and American Express. For more information and directions, check the website at www.Bangkok.com.