Though not technically an appetizer, the Glass Noodles Salad proved to be a good one when split with a dining companion. When I dipped a piece of Mandalay into both, I discovered my favorite was a mix of the two. They were fine and I could not pick a favorite. Whole Thai basil leaves were mixed in among the calamari rings, and though they added little in terms of big flavor, they lifted the dish above the norm visually.Д«oth of those appetizers came with two dipping sauces вЂ“ a standard sweet chili and a darker Thai barbecue. It was fried in a rice batter so, like the Mandalay, it had a lighter-than-the-normal crispy exterior, and the pieces of squid were cooked perfectly, which is a feat many places struggle with. It was also refreshing to see that the cream cheese filling was markedly pink from the copious amount of imitation crab. But these fried morsels were made with rice paper instead of the egg wrappings of Rangoon, so they puffed up in the fryer, making them light and airy as well as crisp. A twist on the Chinese staple Crab Rangoon, they were very small вЂ“ about the size of a wonton вЂ“ and I was doing price-calculating in my head before I ate the first one. The look deceived me when it came to my first taste from Bangkok Bistro, the Crab Mandalay. The menu at this Thai fusion restaurant is huge, which also raises my suspicions, but with the guidance of a familiar face from an old favorite вЂ“ longtime Saigon server Ashley (Chanthaly is her given name), who has been at the bistro for just a couple of months вЂ“ I was able to find some fantastic dishes that more than made up for a few dumbed-down fusion flops. It was sleek, modern and as elegant as any new restaurant I have visited recently вЂ“ almost so elegant I felt underdressed, even though it is a casual place. But the transformation of what was once the Bagel Station in a hidden strip mall along East State Boulevard was stunning. So when I walked into Bangkok Bistro, my expectations were tepid at best. As a matter of fact, when it comes to ethnic cuisine, it is often the not-so-glamorous places вЂ“ those attached to grocery stores or in long-vacant spaces that are the only options for the hard-working immigrant owners as they start chasing their American dream вЂ“ that have the most authentic and delicious offerings. Over the years I have learned never to let looks deceive me.

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