text: Three starsnFirst thing I noticed when we walked in was the decor in a West Elm style possibly by an earlier tenant A pleasant break from the usual Bangkok palace anywaynnThe lunch specials were according to the protein of your choice and include soup or salad The soup of the day was egg drop something no thanks so we went with the salad Chicken Pad Thai Shrimp Tum Yum and Crispy duck same as we did in the last few Thai places we triednnThe lettuce was crispy the ginger dressing tangy and tastier than we are typically served It also was not thickened as usual but that was fine too nnThe Tum Yum made for a fine medium spicy soup with many ingredients mushrooms shrimp tomato etc but no trace of lemongrass and malanga The waitress told me they do not put lemongrass in the bowl because customers objected to bits of wood in their soup but the chef uses it to make the broth Maybe true the soup had some nice flavor but my taste buds could not recognize it as Tum Yum starsnnthe Pad Thai was very tasty but fell just a little short overall because there was no crunch to it no bean sprouts or anything of the sort and it was made with thin noodles instead of the wider flat kind starsnn Crispy Duck now we are talking I have had good bad and indifferent Asian duck around town but this one was the only one that came close to the experience of Crispy Thai duck What looked like a whole half duck chopped into thick slices with a cleaver crispy meat with lots of crunchy skin like rind to nibble That is what I was looking for The meat had been deboned which I did not notice at first because it had been carefully put back together for a traditional presentation a compromise I can live with Excellent duck Four starsnnNow I am NOT going to claim this or that Thai restaurant makes THE BEST DUCK HANDS DOWN nope Apples and oranges they all use different recipes Thai Orchids for one serves a duck dish that is every bit as tasty if not more than Ban Thais nnHowever Ban Thai was the only restaurant in my admittedly limited sampling which in spite of claims to the contrary actually serves Crispy Thai Duck