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Home » Culinary Connection

Culinary Connection

Pink Elephant - A Rare Thai Delight
By Gerry Furth-Sides

Pink Elephant is a spiffy little storefront where food and, of course, Asian hospitality, is the main focus.

As soon as you walk in the door, you can see the cooks in the kitchen through a pass through, right behind a take out counter decorated only with a few pink elephants. The keyword is "clean" from the kitchen right through the little dining room with its little wheat-colored marble tables that seat up to 26. A counter at the window allows diners to watch the world go by on Sherman Way.

The food was excellent and satisfying to all the senses as only Thai food can be. And why shouldn't it be? These are family friends preparing everything from scratch. And, as owners Birdie and Tony Harthono emphasize, "all healthy, with no fat and no MSG."

Classic favorites take main stage on the menu, which is divided into Appetizers, salads, Thai Noodles, Japanese Noodles, Soups, Rice, Thai Curry and House Specials.

The taste of Thai cooking is easy to identify: lemon grass and fish sauce, coriander, galangal, garlic, sweet basil and coconut milk in many combinations. What makes Pink Elephant stand out is the freshness and beauty of the ingredients and how clean and distinctly the flavors come through in each dish.

Though thousands of years old, few dishes in Thai cooking take longer than twelve minutes to cook, which means that once you put your order in and get your drinks and look around, the food is on the table.

And what food! Nam Sod ($6.40), a composed ginger salad, starts the meal off with a crunch. Ground chicken and subtle ginger with a snap of lettuce, peanuts, onion, and scallion has little surprises of cilantro, basil, and roasted rice in a spicy lime sauce. Served on an oval platter, the red, tasty tomato slices and strands of purple cabbage decorate and further complement and contrast the salad flavors.

Although every dish on the menu sounds inviting (with many dishes shown in photographs on the vibrant red menu), starting off with old favorites proves best for the sake of comparison. The menu helpfully designates "spicy" dishes with a little red pepper.

Who cannot order venerable Pad Thai ($6)? Especially as Pink Elephant presents it: a gorgeous, composed salad on an oval platter with the familiar rice noodles, carrot shavings, sprouts, scallions, cilantro, and peanuts. There is a choice of chicken, beef, or Tofu. Our lightly seared block of Tofu with Shrimp ($1) added one more layer of flavor.

The flavorful Drunken Noodles ($6) has a red pepper icon for heat, proven by spikes of red chilies liberally sprinkled throughout its rice noodles, crisped and flavored with bell peppers, onions, and basil. So delicate, and addictive, the perfectly cooked noodles are almost translucent.

Thai Curries ($6.40), all designated as spicy, are served in a little white bowl with white steamed rice or a rich, earthy, large grain Brown Rice and a choice of chicken, beef, tofu or vegetables and shrimp ($1). Panang Curry, rich and satisfying red curry paste in thick coconut milk, also has the added textures of carrots, sweet peas, and basil.

Also served with rice are the House Special vegetable and side dishes. The fragrant and colorful Spicy Eggplant, chunked and served with beef or Tofu ($6.20) is fulfilling and sustaining enough for a main course, and competes with any Italian version of this Mediterranean vegetable dish.

We could not leave out the Half BBQ Chicken ($6.80); complete with grill marks, yet so succulent and tender it was difficult to believe it was grilled.

Though the Banana Crunchy dessert ($3), four pieces of coconut battered and fried bananas, sounds tasty, the balanced main dishes are quite enough for a fulfilling meal. Instead, why not opt for a refreshing Thai Iced Coffee, again a perfect balance, this time of condensed milk, sugar, and coffee. Add "natural" to the description so no thirsty feeling at all afterward.

Why the name, "Pink Elephant?" Birdie tells us about famous, rare white Asian elephants, whose skin turns a light pink when wet. Well, "Kapkunka" (thank you in Thai) Birdie and Tony for a very royal experience indeed.

Pink Elephant Thai-Japanese Food, 22039 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, CA 91303, (818) 883-0422, www.pinkelephantexpress.com (M-Th, 11-9 p.m.; F: 11-9:30 p.m.; Saturday, 12-9:30 p.m.).

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