Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Punsak Puncharoen (left) and his mother-in-law present some of the dishes available at the Old Siam Thai Restaurant in Saratoga.

Restaurant brings a taste of old Siam to Saratoga

By Suzanne Cristallo

For Thai natives Punsak and Metta Puncharoen, the culture of their homeland has been reborn in The Old Siam Thai Restaurant which they opened recently in Quito Village off Cox Avenue in Saratoga. The name pays tribute to Thailand's former name, Siam.

Partners with Metta's parents, Sangad and Larry Kellog, the Puncharoens have taken a modern building, colored the walls in soft green with natural wood, placed against them a few colorful and ornate tables topped with figures of Siamese dancers, and transformed the atmosphere. Diners might feel they are in a quiet Thai village where lilting music encourages dancing and the pungent aroma of curry and jasmine whets the appetite.

Metta, 33, was born in Yayong, a village four hours from Bangkok, Thailand. She left for California in 1979 when her stepfather arranged for the entire family--Metta, her mother and her three siblings--to live in Mountain View. An interest in what was happening in the kitchen prompted her to take an after-school job as a cook's helper at 15. She has worked in restaurants ever since, developing her skills as a cook and relying on her heritage to expand her repertoire.

"Thai food is what I grew up with," she explains.

A pen-pal relationship with Punsak, a friend of a friend whom she had never met except through correspondence, developed to the point where she decided to go to Bangkok to meet him. They were married there in 1991 and came a year later to Sunnyvale, where they worked together in a restaurant until they decided to buy their own.

Punsak, 36, had earned a graphic- and fine-arts degree in Bangkok and studied graphic design for a short time at UCLA. He decided to apply his training in the arts to food and worked for a number of years with SAS Air, where he prepared and decorated food in both Bangkok and Singapore.

In their new restaurant, Punsak is responsible for the presentation of the food as well as handling the front of the house. Metta does the cooking with help from her mother, while her niece waits tables.

For lunch, customers may choose from 30 soup, appetizer, noodle and rice dishes, all under $6.95. Specials include red and green curry vegetables, deep fried or spicy Kra Prao tofu, and beef, chicken, calamari, prawn or pork dishes served with steamed jasmine rice, Thai spring rolls or fish cakes.

For dinner, the choices expand to more than 90 dishes, mostly within the $5 to $9 range, including vegetarian, seafood, beef, poultry and pork. As an appetizer, Metta suggests the "System 4 Combination," which includes two Thai egg rolls, two Taut Mun (fish cakes), three Satay and three crispy delight prawns served in a sweet-and-sour sauce.

The Old Siam Thai Restaurant, Quito Village, 18782 Cox Ave., Saratoga. Open for lunch Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner 5-9:30 p.m. Closed Sun. 379-2035.

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