Silk Thai does have all the well-tread Thai tastes on its menu, but it’s under those dishes that the restaurant keeps some more neglected flavors. Miang kum, for example, is an appetizer far out-eaten by spring rolls and satays. But Silk Thai resuscitates the dish—lettuce wraps that come with a culinary color wheel of dried shrimp, slivers of toasted coconut, fresh-cut ginger, cubes of red onion, tiny circles of jalapeño and wedges of lime. Miang kum is a serve-yourself sort of dish, and one where the most loaded leaves logically make the most potent plates. But even the lightest lettuce wraps give the dish a perfect balance—the coconut and ginger come together for a dessert-like level of discourse while the onion and jalapeño pair for a stronger stab at the taste buds.

SILK THAI 19690 BEACH BLVD | HUNTINGTON BEACH 92648 | 714.964.1151 | GOSILKTHAI.COM | OPEN MON-THURS 11AM-9:30PM | FRI 11AM-10PM | SAT NOON-10PM | SUN NOON-9:30PM | DINNER FOR TWO $20-35 | BEER, WINE

Tags: dinner, Huntington Beach, lunch, thai