Where to Eat Thai in Taipei

Sukothai's food is gorgeous, like palace cuisine, and so delicious that I ate there as often as I could.  

The restaurant is gorgeous too, constructed of polished woods that give the impression of an aristocratic Thai house.

But Sukothai is in Taipei, not Thailand. This is not unusual. Thai food is everywhere, from Bangalore to Great Britain and all over the United States. It's not always well done, but Sukothai could handle the competition if it were in Bangkok.

Chef Phonlaphat Sudsaidee, from Surin province in northeastern Thailand, has put together a menu that samples all regions and ranges from imperial cuisine to street food.

The menu is in English, Chinese and Japanese, but not Thai. Nevertheless, tables are set with forks and big spoons so that one can eat Thai style, pushing food gracefully into the spoon with the fork.

Ordering at random, I chose spicy shrimp with lemongrass--four large, juicy shrimp balanced on a chile-hot, sweet and sour lemon grass mixture (at top). 

It was impressive. And so was stir-fried morning glory vine with shrimp paste (right), an everyday dish in Thailand but not always so well prepared as at Sukothai. 

Grilled beef with lemongrass, shallots and a red chile dip (in the photo below)  stood out because the beef was so good.

About 80 % of Sukothai's ingredients come from Thailand, but this beef came from the United States and was much better than the beef that I've encountered in this dish at home.

And in L.A., I've never had anything like stir-fried slim asparagus stalks with white lily buds, fresh young corn and grape tomatoes, subtly seasoned with the tantalizing flavor of the wok. 

Green papaya salad (som tam) is fine, combining the taste of dried shrimp with fresh shrimp on top (right).

It ought to be good, because it comes from the chef's home region, the northeast (Isaan). 

There are green beans in the green curry, along with round Thai eggplant and peas. Thick and creamy, the curry comes in a heavy black stone bowl that keeps it hot until you finish. You can see it above, with the restaurant in the background.

Desserts are imaginative, like taro cakes (right) topped with coconut cream and presented as if they were petits fours on a plate with Thai marzipan fruits, a fresh strawberry, a tracing of sweet pink sauce and a scattering of coconut chips.

A tall glass of cool, thick coconut milk contains a little of everything that turns up in icy desserts throughout Asia--tiny sago pearls, jackfruit, cantaloupe, translucent palm seeds, pineapple-stuffed lychees, strands of fresh coconut, taro cubes, red and green gelatin strips  and a few large beans.

And then there's the banana cheese roll--yes, bananas combined with mozzarella in a crisp fried spring roll (right).

If you don't like that combination, you would certainly like the bowl of housemade coconut ice cream topped with slightly salted jackfruit shreds that comes with it.

Sukothai Thai restaurant, Sheraton Taipei Hotel, 12 Zhongxiao East Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan.