CAMP HILL—Thai food, known for its spicy, aromatic flavors, continues to rise in popularity and was recently ranked No. 7 in Parade magazine on a list of ethnic cuisines Americans crave most.
If you have yet to experience the fresh, colorful, taste bud-tingling temptations that are created with ingredients like chilies, galangal, cilantro root, garlic, shallots, lemongrass and kaffir lime, Camp Hill’s Thai Palace is a good place to begin.
Lunch at ‘The Palace’
I usually describe either lunch or dinner in my column, but because some readers may be unfamiliar with Thai cuisine in general, I decided to evaluate both lunch and dinner over the past several days.
The lunch buffet is a great choice for the uninitiated. From 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on Sundays, customers can sample a variety of dishes before returning for dinner and investing in an entire entrée.
The buffet, spread out over five tables, offers a nice variety of selections. Monday’s featured soup choices were vegetable lemongrass and curry chicken coconut milk soup. Alongside the soup station was a crunchy Thai slaw made with cabbage, carrots and peanut sauce, vegetable tempura and fried spring rolls. A customer favorite seemed to be the Pad Thai, containing rice noodles sautéed with eggs and scallions, tossed with beans sprouts and sprinkled with crushed peanuts.
Heartier entrees included sweet and sour pork, chicken and broccoli and what turned out to be my favorite, the aromatic basil chicken dish sautéed with brightly colored peppers, onions, whole basil leaves and just-the-right amount of spicy Thai chilies to awaken the senses and make me long for more.
Petite desserts like rich-looking, triple-layered chocolate cake beckoned, but I opted for the lighter demitasse cup of creamy tapioca pearls in coconut milk.
On to dinner
We shared our dinner experience with about 12 other customers, seated in the restaurant’s bright main dining room decorated in shades of red and golds. My husband and I slid into one of the comfy booths and were presented with a seven-page menu, making choosing a bit difficult.
Our waitress, who appeared to be training another waitress, had a degree of difficulty answering our questions, so we decided to “wing it,” (pardon the pun), with a duck salad, which turned out to be an excellent choice. Chunks of cold duck tossed in lime juice and chili paste perched atop spinach and arugula and were joined by cilantro, shallots, tomatoes, cucumber and cashews.
I thought I might find the temperature of the duck off-putting, but was pleasantly surprised that all ingredients worked exceptionally well together. My husband described it as “outstanding” and “unique,” with a “complex flavor profile.”
A refreshing house salad with crisp greens, croutons, strips of crunchy green pepper, raw mushrooms and onions served with a side of light, homemade coconut dressing was a perfect precursor to my entrée. I ordered the smoked chili beef with medium spice, which, to my taste, is hot, but not enough to interfere with the overall flavor of the food. The beef, combined with with bamboo shoots, smoked chilies and sautéed vegetables, was tender and mildly sweet.
My husband ordered the hot version of chili bamboo with pork, and the flavor exploded from the Thai chilies, which were carefully combined with bamboo shoots, carrots, bell peppers and onions. He gave the meal a thumbs up and even cried at one point (although we may have to blame the spices for that).
Portions, served with either brown or white rice, were ample enough to take home to enjoy later.
We ended our meal on a cool note with creamy coconut Thai custard served with mango. The small portions were just enough to cap off a satisfying meal with a spoonful, or two, of something sweet.
Because it appears that dishes are made to order, I will describe the dinner service pace as leisurely, so prepare to linger awhile. You may consider taking along a bottle of wine to enjoy with a companion since Thai Palace is BYOB.
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