Straits Café spices up traditional South Asian cuisine

posted May 7, 2006

by Elisabeth Ellsworth of Campanile

Elisabeth Ellsworth

Palo Altans can absorb an authentic Asian experience at Straits Cafe, an oasis of pan-Asian food in the middle of the Bay Area; diners can enjoy traditional Eastern delicacies and Asian beverages.

Straits Café heats things up with a myriad of fiery dishes, providing a unique cross-cultural dining experience. Straits chef and owner Chris Yeo's idea was to bring four cuisines together, while preserving the unique characteristics of each one. Prices are steep, but worth it, for a cultured and unique dining experience. Straits offers the unusual, but not always the best matched sauces and sautées.

Straits creates a new type of "adventure dining," in which diners are encouraged to sample items from each type of cuisine. It is preferable to dine family-style in order to taste an array of spices and herbs offered in each dish. Dishes are vibrant and bold, and all portions are designed to be shared. It would be easy to make a meal out of appetizers only.

Servers greet diners promptly, and offer an extensive wine list and full bar. The dining rooms are dimly lit in yellows and reds to give the rooms a warm feel. Chinese porcelain and Malaysian figurines are displayed along the walls. The booths and tables are evenly spaced throughout the room to give each party the pleasures of a private dining experience. Orchids and Balinese furniture also add an exotic touch. Straits' extra efforts to dress up the setting allow diners to forget that El Camino is just a wall away.

Appetizers include the samosa with a flaky bread crust and vegetarian curry savories which is topped with a garlic-chili sauce ($7.50). The triangular Indian specialties are a good start along with the seasonal oysters with blue ginger marmalade ($2 each). The best option for couples is the sample platter ($15).

Diners can choose between delectable chicken or lamb skewers, crab cakes, oysters, samosa, tuna tartar and Straits version of fresh spring rolls, poh pia.

For those who prefer soup or salad, the Fuji apple and prawn salad is not an adventure worth taking ($9.50). The poached shrimp, Fuji apples, cilantro and jicama are drizzled with a very mismatched lemongrass- mint vinagrette.

Straits' main dishes offer a variety of tastes. One of the best, Kway Pai Ti ($6.75), presented in a bamboo steamer, consists of delicate, crisp pastry shells that hold jicama, carrots and shrimp in a slightly sweet sauce spiked with chiles. Both the Murtabak ($7.95) and Roti prata ($4.25), grilled Indian breads, are so delicate and flaky that they are almost like a pastry.

One is stuffed with minced beef and onions, and the other is served plain. Both are accompanied by a delightful curry dipping sauce served in a bamboo ladle.

Main courses look spectacular but don't come off as well as the appetizers.

Origami sea bass ($16.95), however, is magnificent. Waiters bring a browned, brittle parchment box topped with threads of beets and carrots, and then removes the lid to reveal a tender fillet of sea bass moistened with rice wine and covered with bell peppers and shiitake mushrooms.

The salmon filet ($15.95), coated with fresh chile, lemongrass, garlic and onions and wrapped in a banana leaf, tastes great as well.

Chicken Pad Thai is another good option, featuring rice noodles and chicken tossed in a sweet tangy tamarind sauce ($12.00).

The pad thai is a very sensual pasta experience that seems to mix the jungle and the rice fields without clash.

Other dishes may need rethinking. The lamb korma ($16.95) features a massive shank that is quite tough and a white curry sauce that has a curdled texture.

Desserts swing from Eastern delicacies to Western weaknesses. The sago pudding ($4.95), sweet black rice dessert soup ($4.25) and warm chocolate cake with a Mandarin orange center ($6.95) are all perfect complements to an eastern dinner at Straits Cafe.

Prices: $15-$20

Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Dinner: Mon.-Thurs. 5 p.m. -9:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 5 p.m. -10:30 p.m.

Location: 3275 El Camino Real, Palo Alto