A cold fit to be Thai-ed

Mary Furr

If you’ve been fighting off the widespread cold that’s invaded

Huntington Beach, go to Hot and Spicy Thai, the cafe in the southwest

corner of Bolsa Chica Street and Heil Avenue. It will clear your head

and blast that cold virus to smithereens.

It’s a small place (capacity 48) with a wall of booths on one side

and tables filling the rest of the cafe. Service is efficient and

fast as the room fills rapidly -- mostly men from nearby businesses.

Don’t be mistaken -- this is healthy cuisine prepared by chefs

Kitty Pidtoia and Kitvat Paiwond, who cook as they would in their own

homes.

We begin with a familiar Thai appetizer, meekrob ($5.99), tofu

strips and shrimp caught in a web on honey sweet, thread-like crispy

noodles. A good sharing appetizer to work on while deciding on an

entree.

The lunch special ($5.25) offers 18 choices with steamed rice,

soup or salad and two fried wontons. The small bowl of hot-and-sour

spicy chicken soup has whole mushrooms and chicken pieces in a thin

but definitely spicy broth. Server Nancy suggests you specify how

spicy. I followed it with my entree choice of cashew nut chicken,

which mixes well with a mound of steamed white rice. The sauce has

carrots, sliced onions and pieces of little green spring onions --

great and not often found at this time of year.

Thai food is based on balance and this dish is an excellent

example. However, I’d have liked it to be hotter -- being spicier

doesn’t quite do it.

Hot and Spicy is a great place for vegetables, such as my friend’s

selection of chop suey stir fry with pork. It has a pile of colorful

fresh vegetables -- big pieces of cabbage, zucchini, carrots,

mushrooms, tiny corn ears and a pile of fresh bean sprouts. The

vegetables were steamed and very good, but the pork pieces can be

fatty and slightly tough.

One good reason to seek out Hot and Spicy Thai Cafe is the

wonderful homemade coconut ice cream ($2.50), an icy mix of milk

filled with chunks of fresh pineapple and crunchy kernels of corn.

This dessert with cups of good, strong coffee completes a fresh

healthy lunch and should improve any sore throat.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail

hbindy@latimes.com