Relatively unknown within the depths of labyrinthine downtown Palo Alto streets, 8- month-old Thai restaurant Thaiphoon more than meets its chic downtown par.

With a welcoming atmosphere, friendly service, and beautiful east-Asian imported decorations, Thaiphoon is both flashy yet distinctive, and presents a gentle family touch, offering a perfect and relaxing place for all kinds of dining, from dinner with kids and grandparents to casual nights on the town.

The owners are native Thailanders and say Thaiphoon is a family-run business. The manager, Tom Vongampai, cheerfully describes his food as "Thai with a little Pan Asian in it." Vongampai’s mother is executive chef, and his wife, Linda Vongampai, owns locations in other cities under a different name. Together, he and his family have been in the restaurant business for 20 years, and recently moved their business to the U.S.

When asked what running a restaurant is like, Vongampai says, "it takes time, energy, and motivation…" and adds with a slight glint of sadness, determination, and unsettledness in his eye, "…you have to be confident that it will all work out…."

One had better hope so, because Thaiphoon’s cuisine is exquisite and unmatched by any other downtown restaurant: each dish is a work of art in its own rite, distinctive, flavorful, colorful, fragrant, and markedly Thai, yet sublimely unique from all other menu offerings.

For starters, the Roti and Curry Sauce ($5.50) is light and delicious, a pancake-shaped slice of Indian-style round bread with a warm, crispy outside and slightly soft and chewy interior. The Roti is outstanding on its own, and is made exquisite with the curry sauce, which is sweet and yellowish-brown with green and red bell peppers, reminiscent of a Chinese sweet and sour sauce but much more unique.

A dessert, Roti with condensed milk ($3.75), has the same Roti base as the Roti with Curry sauce, but is perfectly glazed with a sweet and warm condensed milk sauce, and has a strong, fragrant coconut savor to it. Its flavor is extremely different than the Roti with Curry sauce, and worth a try even after the first Roti dish.

The Tom Kha Puck soup ($4.25 bowl, $11.25 pot) is presented in a lovely Thai imported silver goblet and matching ladle, festooned with beautiful engraved designs, and has a hole and flame shooting through the center of the goblet. The Tom Kha Puck is coconut milk simmered with cabbage, mushrooms, lemongrass, galanga, chili pepper, cilantro, and carrots, and has a lime smack to it, exotic and completely irreplaceable.

The sea bass, the Pla Lard Prig’s ($13.75), overall composition is unexpected, and matches the Tom Kha Puck soup in distinctiveness, a large feat. Its top is almost crunchy, and the soft fish is bathed in a watery solution, adding flavor to an already incredible combination of onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and aromatic homemade sweet and sour sauce.

Instead of the typical, archetypal European tossed salad, the Meing Kum ($7.25) is an extraordinary finger food eaten like a Mexican burrito in which a piece of lettuce is topped with roasted coconut, infused with lemon grass, ginger, onion, and peanuts, and comes with a superb plum sauce packed with a distinctly East Asian flavor.

As the dinner progresses the cuisine gets better and better, and unquestionably not for lack of initial quality or taste. Noodles with Green Curry ($9.95) are egg noodles surrounded with a coconut milk sauce, green curry, shrimp, eggplant, bell pepper, basil, and topped with eggplant, peas, and prawns. It has a soft, homemade, sour twang to it, and the sauce is absolutely exquisite and could be used as a delicious addition to plain rice.

Both the Stir Fried Mango Chicken ($8.95) and Chicken with Garlic Thai Herbs ($7.75) were, yet again, incredulously appetizing, but completely unlike each other in taste and fragrance. The Stir Fried Mango Chicken was very simple, calm, and almost bland, flavorful but not powerful, and was covered with cashews and a sweet sauce. The Chicken with Garlic Thai herbs was slightly spicy and peppery, especially in the aftertaste, and combined with its mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, and spinach, was absolutely scrumptious over rice.

The Veggie & Tofu with Thai Basil ($7.50) was a blend of mixed vegetables and tofu sautéed with the perfect blend of spices, chili pepper, garlic, and Thai basil. The entire dish tasted quite different from typical American vegetables, and was definitively Asian. It was perfect on rice, and although an effective entrée, was even light enough to be taken as lunch or snack.

The menu also offered plain white and brown steamed rice ($1.00). The rice was delicious with all sauces, and cleansed the palate after so many delectable sauces and spices.

Thaiphoon also offers a bar, and lunch, dinner, cocktails, and togo.

Its impressive cuisine was equally matched with decorations that complemented the theme of unique Thai-ness. All decorations and silverware are imported from Thailand, and include a large gold-framed mirror, golden Buddha relief, green bamboo, and green tablecloths lined with embroidered scarves to match the green plates. In front of the restaurant is a small patio with a few tables for outdoor dining, and a large stone waterfall.

The restaurant has an obvious theme running through it. The utensils match the plates, which match the tables, which match the wall decorations and lighting, which match everything from the outdoor waterfall to the waiters’ all-black outfits, without feeling overdone or intimidating. The unique cuisine and distinctive decorations set Thaiphoon apart from typical Palo Alto dining, and the overall experience extraordinary both aesthetically and in terms of comfort. "We wanted to make [the restaurant] unique," says Vongampai. By a large margin, they succeeded.

The home-style cooking and friendly service add to the feeling of dining distinction. Our waiter was almost teenager-like in her mannerisms, and when asked for recommendations, kindly and politely said "the Tom Kha Puck is good, the Basil dishes are pretty good too".

The service is responsible and polite. Food came quickly, other waiters were eager to give us a paper menu to take home, and the manager seemed excited to talk to reviewers, albeit teenaged.

If Thaiphoon is successful, Vongampai says he hopes to open a "Thaiphoon Express," a faster, simpler, but still fresh and healthy version of Thaiphoon.

With its homemade cooking, exotic dishes, and beautiful and relaxing atmosphere, Thaiphoon is definitely a winner. Better be sure not to miss it on your next trip to University.