learly, some forward thinking restaurateurs have declared, it's time that Cochrane had at least one Thai restaurant. The poor area dwellers have been chomping at the bit for a South Asian bite, for quite a while now. Luckily the time has come, with the opening of Thai Orchid. Without a hint of marketing - or even a liquor license -hungry crowds have been lining up around the block, salivating just thinking about the taste of Thai.

The entrepreneurial owners - Sandy Chanthaseng and Kaysone Sananikone - ventured to fill the wide-open niche, and received a rather unexpected response. The two had been angling on a quiet opening, just to get all the kinks worked out before they started to get any kind of regular clientele. But Pad Thai-deprived locals ransacked the place - like Amy Winehouse out of rehab. The onslaught was so unexpected that the duo have had to shut down the take-out component temporarily until they get their nightly line-up under control.

The Thai debut is located, ironically enough, in a western-theme mall, complete with barn board, white picket trim and all the fixin’s of a spaghetti western. Like a bad film splice, west quickly gives way to east once inside Thai Orchid. Delicate carved wood murals, gold shrines and tinkling Thai music create a cultural teleport to quality Thai and Laotian cuisine.

The menu has a whopping 60+ items to choose from, ranging from familiar and expected to somewhat original and off-the-wall. The tom yum soup and chicken satay are well-prepared but somewhat generic choices. A braver selection is the moke gal. The mélange of heavy-handed lime, black pepper, noodles, chicken and eggs is a hearty, healthy filler.