In the Eye of the Social Whirl at Thaifoon’s Opening
California-Asian Dishes, Exotic Glamour Found at New Spectrum Restaurant
EXECUTIVE DINING by Fifi Chao
There was no doubt about it, the opening of Randy Schoch’s Thaifoon restaurant last week in the Irvine Spectrum Center was high-energy and packed with beautiful people, some of them publicity mavens and restaurant personalities I know quite well. Randy is also the owner of Roy’s in Fashion Island, and he also owns a stable of restaurants in Scottsdale and in the Hawaiian Islands. I think Thaifoon is the frosting on the cake.
It seemed wise to grab one of the few tables early on so that I would not have to balance a drink and a plate while teetering on high heels, never mind how to manage eating and drinking with both hands full. A table on the patio in front of the fire pit proved to be the perfect spot. Soon a gathering of eclectic souls joined me. Lee Healy, star quality restaurant public relations person in OC, added some sparkle. Sue Cannon, a lady with a gorgeous smile and editor of Master Calendar for Orange Coast magazine, sat down. Barbara Eidson, the bright, fun-loving director of community relations from Sutton Place Hotel, brought laughter and her bag of knowledge about almost everything to the table. Link Mathewson, a writer, now working for the Los Angeles Times, happened by and became part of our group. Business Journal publisher, Richard Reisman, strolled by and was invited to sit with us, but several others in the crowd knew him and he was kept busy commiserating at another table nearby. Ditto for Ruth Ko, publisher of Orange Coast (and my boss a long time ago, when I used to write for her) and Gloria Zigner, lady about town, PR maven and author of the “Zignature” pages in Orange Coast magazine, who stopped by to chat but were quite busy mingling with all those they knew in the crowd. Then, Benjamin Epstein, editor of Where magazine, and his wife were obviously taking refuge from the indoor crowd and happened by. It was easy enough to get two more chairs for them. Denise Morrison, local realtor, added dash by sharing her time with us. Soon, amid a wave of restaurant comparisons and some laughter, we had a table full of food and the waiter kept coming by to deliver more exotic drinks.
The biggest surprise of all came when tall, handsome Bill Beckett walked by and I knew he had to sit down and tell us about his latest adventures. I once described him as a charmer with a smile that lights up a room and a personality that embraces life. I’ll stick with that description. Bill and his business partner, Charlie Chang, owned the Stix and Pick Up Stix restaurants from 1989 to 2001. They sold all 60 of them for a fortune and Bill now resides in Fort Lauderdale a few months of the year, sails his small yacht to parts of the world hither and yon for part of the year and immerses into the culture of various other countries for the rest of the year. He’s now off to Spain for a long sojourn! Such sweet retirement. At the risk of sounding like the ultimate party girl, I’ll admit that this swapping of stories all around the table went on for more than four hours.
I think the exotic glamour of Thaifoon can cast a spell over you. It is a unique and very beautiful place. You don’t even want to ask a question so gauche as “How much did this place cost?” A big brass dragon that rises to the ceiling oversees the dining room. One wall is a gorgeous waterfall. The back wall of the main dining room is made up of varying sizes of dried bamboo seemingly growing at random. The blond wood of the entry and bar is luxurious and gives way to more tropical dark wood tables. There are booths hugging the walls. Curvy chunks of blond wood form part of the ceiling and fit together like pieces of a puzzle. From the custom carpeting to the mingle of stainless steel and wood, this place is classy.
Yes, I’ve tasted some of the specialties of the restaurant, but it’s a daunting task, which will require more time at the table. Given the pleasure of it so far, I am not balking. Food is divided into small and large plates that hold traditional Thai foods and more creative California-Asian signature items. Tiny pork ribs have a bit of both spicy and sweet to them, halibut is flavored with lemongrass, shrimp with a flaming citrus-sake-rum sauce is fun and flavorful and chicken curry with peanut sauce and coconut milk is Thai food at its best. Love the name and salad called Crying Thaiger Beef Salad that also includes cucumber, tomato, red onion, fresh mint and lettuce dappled with a most complimentary lemongrass-lime vinaigrette. I plan to attack the duck with egg noodles, seared filet mignon with sugar snap peas and crimini mushrooms and wok-seared tuna on my next visit. Then, I guess I’ll just keep reporting it to all of you.
Wines are nicely chosen to match this clever melange of food; however, there’s no place more perfect for an exotic cocktail than here. I love the tall banana rum and pineapple rum drink to start things off. It’s good enough to make me pass up a martini.
Most of us are used to going to the Spectrum courtyard that huddles with P. F. Chang’s, Wolfgang Puck Caf & #233; and the Edwards theater. Thaifoon is on the other side of this center where Fortune Drive leads to Crazy Horse Steak House. It’s very noticeable from the outside with its tall square tower emblazoned with red neon Asian symbols.
AT A GLANCE: THAIFOON
Address: 85 Fortune Drive, Irvine (in the Spectrum)
Phone: (949) 585-0022
Open: From 11 a.m. daily through dinner
Prices: Appetizers $3.50-$8.95, entr & #233;es $7.95-$14.95
