OK, so I didn’t try the Pad Thai — that greasy, ubiquitous dish that’s practically the ambassador of Thai food to the States — at Thai Smile 2. I channeled my calories to more obscure Thai dishes, and was rewarded.

Thai Smile’s first location in Muncie must be doing well. At least well enough for its owners to have opened a new location in Fishers at the turn of the new year. Locals don’t seem to have caught on to it yet. A recent visit found me and a few other midweek diners the lucky few recipients of the staff’s overactive attention.

Thai Smile 2 shows impressive attention to detail: The space is tiny and dim, but meticulously decorated with shades of red and cream. Elegant, long birds hang in rectangular pictures on one wall; the back has a compact shrine to what looks like Buddha. The dishware is all blue and white oriental style, from the salt shakers to the elongated fish-shaped plate that held our mixed vegetables with chicken. Even the restaurant’s Web site is perfectly executed, with pictures of every dish on the menu arranged in neat, uniform rows. The servers were polite, petite women who gave hasty bows when they thought they were overstaying their welcome.

But would the food be as exemplary?

First impressions looked good. We started with the appetizer sampler ($8.95), which consisted of spring rolls ($3.95 alone), curry puffs ($4.50 alone), dumplings ($4.50 alone) and chicken satay ($5.50 alone). The accompanying sauces gave a taste of Thailand: coconut curry, sweet-salty fish sauce and ginger soy.

The spring rolls stood out in this artful hodgepodge of shapes and tastes. I’m used to the darker-fried spring rolls of Vietnamese cuisine, those large, deep-fried rolls that look like sausages, dipped in fish sauce. These spring rolls recalled Chinese egg rolls. They were no more than about 3 inches each, stuffed with slivers of veggies and noodles. Grease-free. And with an airy pepper essence.

The curry puffs were good, too. Big, crisp and golden brown, they looked like rectangular crabs, or large serrated postage stamps. Their taste was novel, too — with the curry spice, but slightly sweet, due to a stuffing of chicken and sweet potato. The dumplings were fresh. And the chicken satay, though very tender and tasty, was accompanied by an American invader: a piece of plain white bread, what they labeled “bread toast.”

Order a main entrée, and your server will ask for your heat preference on a one to five scale. We ordered the mixed vegetables with chicken, dictating a spicy level three. Tip: They err on the side of not-so-spicy, so say “four” if you want some heat.

The mixed vegetables with chicken dish ($9.25) is good. It’s ... mixed vegetables and chicken. And though my cohort described it as “forgettable” due to its simple anatomy, it’s still a tasty dish, with tender chicken and a soy-infused “house” sauce.
But the best main entrée we had was the shrimp hot pot, a viscous, piping hot mix of shrimp, crisp snap peas, bean threads and slivers of ginger. Maybe because of its pungent ginger, maybe because of the soft-but-firm-textured “bean threads” (really rice noodles) or maybe because the whole moist, flavorful mixture absorbs nicely into the mounds of unlimited sticky rice servers doled onto extra plates, this dish was memorable.

Some things we didn’t try, but the couple behind us seemed to be enjoying pineapple fried rice, a fresh dish featuring Thai’s prized jasmine rice, pineapple, cashew nuts and curry, stir-fried with choice of meat.

Thai Smile is generous. There were leftovers for the taking. But there was still, necessarily, room for dessert. We had the “Sleeping Banana,” a curious name for a Thai standby, fried banana and ice cream. This version was simply a fried banana with a vanilla-infused custard drizzle — a banana egg roll.

There are at least 10 Thai places in town, and a few that I’ve tried are pretty good. But Thai Smile 2 has the distinction of flavorful but non-greasy fare. The biggest test? When you spill your leftovers in the car and they don’t stain.

Thai Smile 2
11021 Allisonville Road, Fishers
317-841-8988

HOURS
Monday – Thursday: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.
Friday: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m.
Saturday: noon-9:30 p.m.
Closed Sunday

Food: four stars
Atmosphere: four stars
Service: four and a half stars

Recommended dishes: spring rolls, shrimp hot pot