Chai's Thai

When you're looking for Thai food in the Twin Cities, the same suspects usually come to mind. You got your Sawatdees, True Thai on Franklin and even the excellent Naviya's Thai Kitchen in Richfield.

But the newest addition to the Twin Cities Thai food collection just may be the best. Chai's Thai, the small new storefront next to the Cedar Cultural Center in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, offers the same items as the other places, but spices them up and adds its own special ambiance.

With a dozen tables pushed up against the light colored walls, Chai's feels more like an East Coast eatery than a low-key restaurant on the West Bank. Having such a small space means that Chai's fills up fast—and will be filling up even faster as people find out how great it is.

After you're seated, servers bring out small hot towels for you to clean your hands and relax your mood. Next, for drinks, you can pick from iced coffee, tea or coconut juice, which comes served in a whole, skinned coconut.  (Chai's unfortunately doesn't serve alcohol, so if you need a drink, pop across the street to the Nomad, steering clear of Palmers.)

The small menu lists all the usual Thai food, but each item comes with an upscale twist. You can, of course, get some fresh spring rolls, but Chai's also offers fresh crab avocado rolls; you can stick with red and green curries, but you might also want to try the seafood herbs, a grand portion of shrimp, scallops and mussells with vegetables and rice noodles in a brown sauce.

Not a seafood fan? Go for Chai's take on pad thai, a plate of spicey noodles that comes with pieces of chicken or even shrimp tempura (shrimp fried in a light batter).

The different dish variations aren't the only selling point at Chai's. Seeing a chili pepper next to an item on the menu at many metro restaurants often means the cooks simply add a few more chili flakes. But the heat at Chai's is a delicate spiciness, and it gives your food added flavor, not just sweat on your forehead.

Here's the best part. For all the extra flavor and ambiance, Chai's is no more expensive than other Twin Cities Thai restaurants—meaning most of the menu isn't more than $9 to $12.

If all that doesn't sell you on Chai's, take a look at our picture of the fried banana and ice cream dessert . That's a small banana rolled up in a sweet batter and fried, then served with strawberries and ice cream, all drizzled with chocolate sauce. Delicious! It's the final point on a list of why this little Thai restaurant will be making a big impression on Twin Cities diners.