rob gross

Suvarnabhumi Kiri is a new Thai/Cambodian/sushi restaurant on Harvard
Avenue, around the corner from Herrell's ice cream. The name is a bit
of a tip-off that American tastes are not foremost in the mind of the
owners, which I think is a good thing. The menu has a page of
Cambodian dishes which are unusual (some can be found at the Elephant
Walk, but I didn't recognize all of them), a few pages of Thai dishes,
and a sushi menu. I'll let someone else evaluate the sushi--what went
past to other tables looked good, but I was much more interested by
the other two cuisines available.

I ate there on Saturday night with a group of 4 people, which included
both a small child and another unadventurous eater. We started with
Cambodian spring rolls, which were crunchy and not at all greasy. Our
four dishes included a non-spicy noodle dish, a non-spicy Cambodian
stew, tamarind duck (which was crispy and spicy), and a vegetable
curry (also well-spiced). The consensus at the table was that all of
the dishes were very good, and the variety of flavors was excellent.

I went back tonight with a more adventurous companion. This time, I
started with a Cambodian chicken soup flavored with a pickled lime,
and my friend had a standard Thai seafood soup. He reported favorably
on his, and I thought mine was outstanding. We then split "seafood
madness" and a Cambodian stew flavored with fermented fish. The
flavoring in the stew was very very good, but I was a bit taken aback
that it was accompanied by nicely sliced uncooked vegetables; I had
expected the vegetables to be part of the cooked stew. I would still
get this dish again, because the stew flavors were so intriguing. The
seafood dish was more or less routine, and very well executed.

This restaurant is pricier than the other Thai restaurants in the
neighborhood (I believe that there's one on Cambridge St, and one on
Brighton Ave), and has wonderful atmosphere and friendly staff.
Dinner each time came to just about $20/person including tax and
tip.--Rob

--
Rob Gross (617) 552-3758
Department of Mathematics http://fmwww.bc.edu/gross/
Boston College gross@bc.edu
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3806