Published December 23, 2008

Husband and wife entrepreneurs Rasamy (left) and Master Chef Chay Senesombath have brought a taste of Thai to the Newport area with their new restaurant Thai Tanic. The restaurant boasts a full menu of authentic Thai recipes Mr. Senesombath learned from his grandmother as well as delectable creations specifically created by him to celebrate the best of Asian cuisine. Photo by Richard Creaser

NEWPORT — Chay Senesombath is no stranger to the restaurant business.  In addition to having helped to found a host of restaurants in Maine and the Northeast, he has personally instructed many cooks in Thai cooking techniques and traditions.

“I don’t know every Thai dish, but I know most of them,” Mr. Senesombath said.  “I use recipes that are 100 years old and combine them with modern cooking techniques.  Many of these recipes are recipes I learned from my grandmother.”

The food offerings at his newest restaurant, the Thai Tanic in Newport, are a veritable showcase of Thai cuisine.  Mr. Senesombath carefully selects his ingredients to reflect the depth of flavor inherent in his native cuisine.

“I use over 30 ingredients from Thailand, fresh ingredients,” he said.  “If you want to cook Thai you have to use fresh ingredients.”

Thai cooking follows a basic philosophy centered on five distinct food flavors.  The five flavors are sweet, sour, salty, spicy, and bitter.  Properly balancing those flavors is the essence of Thai cooking, Mr. Senesombath said.

“In order to be a good cook you need to know how to balance those tastes,” he said.  “Everything has to balance.  If you can balance you can cook Thai food.”

One of the most common questions he is asked relates to how Thai food is distinct from Chinese and other Asian cooking.  It is not merely a matter of technique, he said.  The difference lies in the staple ingredients, the hallmarks of Thai cuisine.

A cursory glance at the extensive menu reveals several common themes.  Coconut milk is often used as a base for sauces.  Light and sweet, it creates a palate-cleansing broth that is not heavy like dairy-based creams.  Like many of the ingredients common to Thai cooking, coconut milk is reputed to have a wide range of health benefits.

“Thai food is healthy food,” Ramay Senesombath said.  “Many of the ingredients we use are good for you and are used as medicine.”

Ginger and galangal root, a rhizome related to ginger, have qualities that can ease upset stomachs and intestinal problems.  Pineapple contains properties that act as an anticoagulant, an effect not entirely dissimilar to aspirin.

And yet, at Thai Tanic, the food is not merely a mask for traditional Thai medicines.  It is entirely about the interplay of flavors with the end result being a satisfying meal.

On a recent Saturday evening I sampled from Mr. Senesombath’s menu, selecting a pair of appetizers coupled with some delectable entrées.  The Massaman curry was a wonder to behold.  Generous chunks of fresh vegetables floated in a rich, coconut broth accented with Massaman curry.  Rings or tubes of calamari complemented the completed dish.

The broth leant a hint of coconut essence to every bite, infusing its component parts with its unique flavor.  The curry accentuated, not masked, the flavors of the dish’s constituent parts.  Therein lies the secret behind Mr. Senesombath’s cooking.

“Many people think that Thai food is spicy hot,” he said.  “Everything is made fresh, made when you order it.  If you want it more spicy or less spicy, I can do that.”

By assembling the ingredients individually for every order, each meal is fully customizable to taste.  While many Western dishes benefit from extended simmering, infusing one or more flavors into the finished sauce, Thai cooking is predicated on fresh ingredients imparting their own flavors without homogenizing the dish.  This fact allows Mr. Senesombath to easily substitute components from a dish to create a plate ideally suited to a patron’s tastes and preferences.

Of course, it might be advisable to sample freely from the menu before making substitutions.  The bulk of the menu features authentic Thai recipes.  Pad Thai, a peanut-flavored noodle dish, or hot basil, a dish combining the sweet aromatic basil with your choice of protein, are dishes that give diners a taste of a far-off world.

Mr. Senesombath has also added his own touches to the menu.  His house specialties are recipes created by him, drawing upon the various cooking traditions of Thailand and the Far East.

“I look for the best of each culture,” he said.  “So you might try something that is Thai with something from China or Vietnam.  I take the best from each place and make something special.”

The Thai Tanic was founded with a few guiding principles in mind.  The first was its location.  Mr. Senesombath recognized a need for something different, a cuisine that is not already abundant in the area.

While providing an area with a new taste sensation, he also recognizes the limitations such a choice might play.  Locating Thai ingredients is not something easily accomplished in the Northeast Kingdom.  As a result he takes advantage of the strong network of Thai restaurants he has helped found or establish.  He also makes good use of the Thai market in Boston’s Chinatown.

“I can’t always make a trip to Boston to get ingredients,” he said.  “But the ingredients must be fresh.  So I can call a friend at another restaurant, someone closer to Boston, and they can get it for me.”

The second principle was that the food must be affordable.  Mr. Senesombath priced his menu according to what the area could sustain.  A restaurant in a larger population center like Rutland or Portland, Maine, boasts a larger and more diverse population base allowing him to charge slightly higher prices.

“We wanted to keep it affordable,” Ms. Senesombath said.  “We want this to be a place where anyone can come and enjoy an authentic Thai meal.”

The lunch menu features entrées starting at $6.50 and dinner entrées start at $8.95.  At those prices, Thai food becomes an affordable option for families and people simply wanting to sample something different, Ms. Senesombath said.

Open for just a few weeks now, Thai Tanic is slowly gaining a reputation through word of mouth, Ms. Senesombath said.  The restaurant, located on Pleasant Street, adjacent to Richard’s All-Season Lodge, is a little off the beaten path for many travelers.  A quick jaunt through Newport, however, is certainly worth the trip.  The restaurant features eat-in or take-out options, and many dishes can be prepared quickly to satisfy the hunger of patrons on an abbreviated lunch break.

“A lot of people have asked why we chose the name Thai Tanic,” Mr. Senesombath said.  “It’s because it is a name that is easy to say and easy to remember.  But this Thai Tanic won’t sink.”