Another outpost of the restaurant on Park Avenue in Winter Park. Unfortunately, not as good.

Oudom, a Thai and sushi restaurant, is the latest to take over the Graze/Prickly Pear/ Lotus/Mingos space in the Sanctuary condominium building in downtown Orlando. Five restaurants in seven years isn’t too bad, is it?

Maybe Thai will be the magic sauce for this place. Or curry. Or whatever. A restaurant in this location needs to count on frequent vists from neighbors. A menu with a lower price point can help in that regard.

It’s a full service restaurant with a spartan but tasteful decor and exceptionally friendly service. I stopped in for a quick lunch just to check the place out and ordered the Mussaman Curry with chicken. Although the dish’s listing on the menu has a chili pepper next to it, this mussaman was mild, which is actually the way it should be. It has as its base a creamy coconut milk that’s fried with a paste filled with myriad spices, including cardamom, peppers, dried chili powder and cilantro.

I probably hear about this restaurant from more people than any other because for many years they’ve posted a quote from me on the large sign in front of the restaurant — Thai food fit for a king, by Scott Joseph — which, to be honest are actually the words of a Sentinel copy writer who wrote the headline. Whatever, I’ve never felt compelled to quibble about the accuracy of the quote.
Terrific Thai dishes are presented with great pride by a small staff. Not an elegant restaurant but wonderful food. Try the pad Thai or the lemon fish (but only if you like it really, really hot). Have the tom kha gai soup for a starter. Most dishes are less than $12; very reasonable.

The Sea in the name is an acronym for Southeast Asia, but there are also some good seafood selections among the traditional Thai dishes. Try one of the curry dishes or ask if the whole snapper is available. If not, the tilapia fillets are a good substitute.
I sampled two of the curry dishes: yellow with chicken; and a massaman with beef. I enjoyed the subtle spiciness of the yellow curry, the heat of the spices tempered by the creaminess of coconut milk. Besides the pieces of chicken, the sauce had peas, carrots, onions and big chunks of well-cooked potatoes to spoon over rice. I am in starch heaven when I can enjoy rice and potatoes in one dish.
Both were included in the massaman curry, too. And it also had a base of coconut milk, but in this one had a slight gravylike texture that coated the mouth with each bite. The pieces of beef were rather negligible but the dish was otherwise enjoyable.
Spicy basil duck was something of a floorshow in its presentation.

I can’t think of a cuisine that has grown in its representation in the area more than Thai. And a great majority of them are worth trying, too.

One of the few geographical pockets without a Thai restaurant — or without many nonchain restaurants at all, for that matter — is the neighborhood near Orlando International Airport. Now Spice Thai is filling that void.

Spice Thai is in a Semoran Boulevard strip mall that is anchored by a Miller’s Ale House, which always seems to be overflowingly popular. That was also the case on the evening that I visited Spice Thai, but the much smaller newcomer was doing a pretty good business, too.
Those of us who pass through this area only on our way to and from the airport forget that there are surrounding neighborhoods with lots of hungry people living in them. It’s nice that they have another non-corporate choice for dining.

Once one of the better Thai restaurants, the generically named cafe seems to have grown too much for its own good. Food is mediocre at best, and the prices have crept up.

Modest little restaurant with good food.

Thai Singha – yes, it’s named for the beer but is not officially associated with the brewery – is a small restaurant with a big heart. The food is authentically prepared and bursts with the flavor components that are the hallmark of Thai cuisine. Have the tom ka gai soup and the fish cakes to start. The pad Thai is good and so is the spicy basil duck. The desserts are unusual for a Thai restaurant, but unusually good too.

A quick serve eatery inside the Lotte Market.