2011 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Sunday, October 16, 2011

The secret to ordering at the mango-hued Bangkok Golden Thai is to remember that both of its chefs are from Laos. That's your cue to zero in on a style of cooking known for its fiery flavors, restrained sweetness and use of short-grain sticky rice. Among the numbers to keep in mind on the menu are 5, a loose and fragrant pork sausage presented with roasted peanuts and matchsticks of ginger, and 18, ground duck brightened with mint and citrus. Then again, the shrimp cakes (No. 1, appropriately) and the julienned green mango salad (No. 10) are equally choice destinations. The latter is searing with red Thai chilies, but it's not such a torch-bearer that you can't taste the shrimp, tomato and garlic in the mix. Grilling is preferred to frying in the Laotian kitchen; a skewer of juicy charred pork, pulsing with lemon grass and ginger, endorses that approach. I appreciate that no two sauces seem the same here, and if I forget to explore the Thai lunch buffet ($8.95 weekdays, $12.95 weekends), it's because all things Laotian keep me from straying.