Khao Thai Cuisine, Auckland central

Ocean Harmony comes in a foil basket and is like a present filled with various types of seafood. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

Herald rating: * * *

It might have been a little disconcerting to eat your tea while a pretty, tiny Thai waitress stands within view of your table, perfectly still, with hands clasped in front. We're not used to waiting staff to be so, well, subservient. At Khao Thai Cuisine we had such a waitress. But any discomfort is soon off-set by an also unfamiliar, familiarity. "Nice beads," said our waitress to the 80-something lady from Wanganui, before stretching out a hand to take an appreciative touch.

And, "why you not eat?" she asked in genuinely anguished tones, when we failed to polish off the mounds we'd over-ordered. How nice to be asked.

Later, hearing the culturally insensitive shrieks over the appearance of taro balls in coconut milk with an unadvertised poached egg sitting on the top, she rushed over to tell us that this dish is often too sweet for Western tastes.

I had been trying to convince myself that, really, you can, and I have, made a pudding which involves coconut cream and egg to make a custard, so the only difference here was that the egg was on the top. No it wasn't.

"I'm not eating that," said the Wanganui lady. But she did, gamely, try a taro ball. "Just like a cod's eye," she said. What nonsense. She has never eaten a cod's eye. But I knew exactly what she meant.

Everything else at Khao was pretty good. The bloke had a wonton soup which bore no resemblance to most such things. The wontons were light and silky, the broth discreet and there was spinach instead of the usual and often sinewy Asian vegetable. That was a nice update. Shame they left the tough sinewy stalks on.

The lady had curry puffs. We are both partial to a good curry puff and these were excellent: crumbly pastry, not oily and a mild and comforting filling. My prawn cakes were okay, but a little cold by the time they made the table. The service, while delightfully idiosyncratic, proved a bit odd when it came to getting things like food to the table. The prawn cakes arrived some time after the other starters. I didn't mind too much because it gave me an excuse to filch bits from the others. I did mind a bit that there appeared to be no sign of the spicy cucumber peanut sauce.

And it gave me the chance to have a look around the room. I've always liked this long room with the windows which gives you a good view of the street. The owners of Khao have taken advantage of the nice light which filters in by exaggerating the effect with a surfeit of chandeliers. This is quite eccentric and quite charming, like the restaurant itself.

The bloke's Ocean Harmony arrived in a little foil basket, like a present filled with prawns, squid, mussels and other things from the ocean. How sweet. He was happy enough, although it didn't quite live up to the poetic billing. I had the roast duck curry with grapefruits (grapes, alas) and pineapple (why?) which came from a can. This was daft but it was a good rich, silky curry. The lady had scallops which she loved, but which I thought were both flabby and gritty which is what you get with frozen scallops.

I think I've said enough about the puds. There was also a deep fried ice cream ball, which, while not as horrible as the taro balls, was well worth avoiding.

You don't go to a Thai restaurant for pudding but Khao is attempting to be more innovative than your average New Zealand Thai restaurant. I'm not sure it quite succeeds, but we had a pleasant evening there. And I finally asked about something that bugs me every time I go to a Thai restaurant: does anyone actually eat those roses sculpted out of vegetables?

Sometimes, the sweetie pie of a waitress confided, they take a bite. And if they don't, do they just put them on the next plate to leave the kitchen? She shrieked and giggled as loudly as we did over the poached egg business at that, but wasn't at all offended. Although I'm sure they later had as much of a laugh about those silly Westerners as we did about those silly Thai puds.

Address: Cnr Chancery and O'Connell Sts, City

Ph 377 5088

Open: lunch, Mon-Sat; dinner, seven days

Owner: Kiattitan Techavachara

Head chef: Prasert Janlar

Food: Thai

From the menu: Hed Sord Sai, stuffed mushroom with minced pork and thai herbs served with sweet chilli sauce, $9; Pad se-ew gai, blackened noodle chicken, $19; Pad kra praw krob gae, lamb fillet with crispy basil leaves, $26

Vegetarian: They have ways with tofu; you may wish to eat them

Wine: much better selection than your run-of-the-mill Thai joint

Bottom Line: the room is lovely; the service oddly delightful; the food better than your-run-of the-mill Thai joint

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