By Holly Bedard
Staff Writer

Downtown lunch options can be a little overwhelming sometimes. When trying to choose a place to go, usually somebody asks, “OK, what are you in the mood for?”

Last week, after a few co-workers and I decided to venture out of the office for a working lunch, and when that inevitable question arose, I had the answer: pad Thai.

This common Thai dish and I have a long history. It sucked me in years ago, with its succulent combination of noodles, sprouts, garlic, chiles, eggs and crushed peanuts, plus your choice of chicken or tofu. It’s highly addictive, and I’ve tried it nearly everywhere in town and beyond. When I get the craving, there’s no turning back. I have to have it.

So I suggested we head over to Tiya’s Thai Restaurant, because I think out of all the places I’ve had pad Thai, this wasn’t one of them.

We were all starving and headed out right around noon, despite our fears of a busy, lunchtime rush. Much to our delight, we were seated right as we arrived and someone quickly came over to take our drink orders. The three of us ordered our sodas and took a look around.

Tiya’s is a step above casual dining. Its small eating space is classy and comfortable without being overdone. You can tell it’s a favorite stop for local workers, as most of the lunchtime patrons donned suits and carried briefcases.

I looked at the menu, even though I already knew what I wanted. One of my lunch companions was new to Thai cuisine and was looking for suggestions. She had heard Thai food uses a lot of peanuts, which she likes, so I immediately thought of the pad Thai. We decided to split an order (with tofu, my favorite), and also split an appetizer of beef satay, which is small pieces of beef on skewers with a spicy peanut sauce on the side.

My other dining companion ordered one of the lunch specials, the ginger chicken.
Our meals came out pretty quickly, with the appetizer order coming a few minutes ahead. The beef satay was delicious. The meat was tender, and the peanut sauce it came with was spicy – but not too spicy. It also came with a small cucumber salad that was a nice complement to the beef.
The ginger chicken looked terrific. There were large pieces of tender white meat along with green and red peppers. The sauce was light and delicate with just the right touch of ginger. Her meal also came with a side of fried rice, which she said was tasty as well.

The pad Thai portion was huge. My lunch companion and I were able to take several portions from the mountain before us without even looking like we made a dent. It came with its own peanut sauce on the side, something I was not used to seeing. It was great, though; now we could add as much or as little as we wanted. The sauce was tasty, with a little more kick than the satay.

With three sodas, two meals and an appetizer, our bill came to just under $25, a steal. We’ll definitely be back to try out Tiya’s many other authentic Thai dishes.

Tiya’s is located at 8 Hanover St., Manchester. Hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. For more information, call 669-4365..

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