he fall of Saigon meets SoHo. Groovy crowds surge in to whisper and sigh over top-shelf pad Thai, fiery Thai red curry and generally anything that's ever seen a wok. In fact, it's flatly impossible to order poorly at lunch.

Faster than you can say "gentrification," this now ultra-stylish restaurant has reinvented itself. The slick design, by Bennett Lo of Dialogue 38, uses an expansive glass facade to make the 1500-square-foot interior look larger. Sleek planks of stained oak border the glass wall at the front of the street-level eatery. Indochine, however, is no newcomer; it just appears so. Located on this tiny street for twelve years, it has received a hefty makeover last year, thus gaining a new edge, a new customer base.

Better yet, the Pan-Asian menu is refreshingly the same, so you can gnash on sexy plywood cafeteria chairs, secure that you'll have money for your light bill. Reliably good Thai and Vietnamese food has made this location a safe bet all along, especially in the Yonge/Bloor district.

The portions of pad Thai or fiery hot yellow curry with chicken, potatoes and beans are big enough to share. The grilled Saigon-style sea bass is a Chinatown staple; skewered Hanoi chicken satay over baby mesclun is lifted by a citrus vinaigrette; slow-cooked beef brisket curry; purple Thai basil beef with char-broiled peppers and onions.

The best deal on the already inexpensive menu is the meal-in-one pho – beef, chicken or seafood is soft and sweet, perked up a level by a tart sweet-sour sauce loaded with cilantro and red bell peppers – in a tamarind-scented broth garnished with Chinese garlic chives.