The parallel is apt. The two-year-old Chabaa Thai Bistro has blossomed into a beautiful space, a bilevel room draped in silk fabrics, with gold-leafed walls and art that pays homage to the culture and spiritual life of Thailand. From the earth plow and Buddha imagery on the first floor to the silken lanterns, bamboo fishing traps, and floating market photography on the larger second floor, Chabaa exudes exotic serenity - even when the space hums.
And it so often does, with a polished young Main Line crowd that has "date night" written all over its plates of pad Thai.
Of course, Manayunk has long been a destination for pretty places with less-than- stellar food (save for venerable Jake's Restaurant next door). So I was leery of whether Chabaa was just another paper flower in the mud flat - or whether it was the real thing.
When I visited Chabaa shortly after it opened, skepticism was indeed my first impression, as the food's Thai flavors were tuned down to the point of being tame. It was pleasant but bland, perhaps because Krapugthong, a business school grad and performance artist turned first-time chef, was still sounding out her clientele's palate.
Upon returning recently, however, I discovered a kitchen more at ease. The flavors are still on the mild side, but they are vibrant and fresh, with a harmonious balance of salty, sour, sweet and spicy that is a more accurate barometer of Thai authenticity than simple blazing heat.
Lift the lid from the clay pot holding Chabaa's po teak, a seafood medley steeping in tom yum soup, and the most aromatic steam floats up to greet you like a Bangkok dream, the tang of fresh lime and funky fish sauce woven with kaffir lime, lemongrass and galangal that tingles on the nose. Little Thai bird chiles light the broth, too, as it soaks into the tender scallops, plump shrimp and leggy nests of baby squid legs.
