Tai Xin Thai Restaurant 1007, JianShing (Chien Hsing) Road Tel: (04) 2319-0424 Hours: 11 am-2 pm, 5-10 pm (weekdays); 11 am-3 pm, 5-10 pm (weekends) (Credit cards not accepted)

By Donovan Smith

The owner of this restaurant, born and raised in Thailand, has always dreamed of sharing Thai cuisine from back home with Taiwanese by opening a restaurant here. The result of that dream is Tai Xin Thai Restaurant.

       This pleasant eatery features dishes that are mainly from north and central Thailand, with a greater emphasis on sweet and sour, and spicy flavors. Along with the usual Thai dishes, the owner also aims to offer exquisite meals for reasonable prices. To achieve this, he has created innovative dishes that require so much work and time that customers must call in to make reservations before coming. These include the shrimp or crab in clay pots (around NT$270-280) steam cooked with green bean noodles until the noodles have fully absorbed the seafood flavor. The three-flavored fish (NT$200) has a very unique aroma from the special sauce made by the chef and drizzled onto the fried fish. Another dish, the sour and spicy fish (under NT$200) uses fried fish with a sour and spicy sauce and serves as a great chilled appetizer.

The traditional Thai iced tea (NT$50) is a special recommendation. While it is tea, it's nothing like any traditional Chinese herbal tea. My own curiosity and tea's popularity with customers led me to order one for myself. When the glass of tea was brought to my table, it was not exactly what I had in mind, as its color was similar to that of carrot juice! It is made with special Thai tea leaves, using a process similar to the making of Sri Lankan-style tea and the carrot juice color comes from the milk that is added afterwards, as a final touch to this delicious mixture.

       When mentioning desserts from Southeast Asia, most people will probably think of "Mo-Mo-Cha-Cha" and other shaved-ice desserts. Tai Xin offers these and more, including fresh fruit or taro tapioca. With all this available, it is certainly hard to resist coming over and checking this place out.