The Naples Daily News reviewed the Thai Star Restaurant in an article titled Spicy and mild, Thai Star has it all
Whenever I go to a restaurant, there’s always a dish that makes it or breaks it for me. Ordering risotto is a great way to find out if the chef is actually capable of serving Northern Italian fare, and asking for paella in a Spanish eatery might lead to delight or utter disappointment.
At Thai restaurants, my make-it-or-break-it dish is chicken basil. As simple as it may sound, this concoction features most of the key ingredients of Thai cooking: fragrant ginger, fresh basil leaves and a mixture of meat and vegetables in a dark, fish sauce-based gravy.
Thai Star is a small eatery tucked into the side of a strip mall between an Oriental tapestry dealer and a dance studio. Still, in a town where indulging in Asian food means ordering sweet and sour chicken at a major chain like P.F. Chang’s, Thai Star offers to those unfamiliar with Thai food a vast array of new dishes to discover…. (Read More at the Naples Daily News site)
The review closed with the following verdict: “Verdict: Fresh ingredients and good service left us satisfied and happy.”
The Fort Myers News-Press focused on the Coconut Noodle Soup following a recent visit.
• Restaurant: Thai Star
• Hot dish: Coconut noodle soup
• Price: $8.95 for the large at dinner
• On the menu since: 2008, three years after Thai Star opened
• Number sold in a busy week: “At least 50,” said owner Bill Vilaysack. “We offer it with our lunch specials. That gives people a taste, and they have to have it when they come back.”
• Description: This deceptively simple-looking soup starts with a chili-spiked chicken-coconut stock Thai Star chef Wong Vilaysack simmers for four to seven hours. She strains and skims the stock, then bring its back to a simmer. It is ladled over rice noodles, scallions, and crushed roasted peanuts, then finished with a squeeze of lime.
• How it got its start: The Vilaysacks traveled to their native Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, in 2008. They saw street vendors selling plates of mee ka tee (coconut noodle soup) and were reminded how much they love this simple dish. They added it to their Thai Star menu as soon as they returned.
Thai Star moved from Bonita Springs to south Fort Myers. It reopened last week at 6611 Orion Drive; 992-9825 or thaistarfortmyers.com.
