THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Thaifoon

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Thaifoon Restaurant Review:

Asian cuisine has arrived in the mainstream---and if you have any lingering doubts about that fact, a trip to this big, bustling Newport Beach restaurant should convince you. The food is Thai, yes, but also Vietnamese, Japanese, Pacific Rim, and whatever else the chef wants it to be. Authentic? Perhaps not. But that’s not the point. This place is all about fun: sampling all the starters you possibly can (though it’s a shame the tri-part tasting tower is only available for three or more); stealing bits off your neighbors’ plates; feeling good about yourself for ordering an entrée salad (even though they’re huge and drenched with dressing); and drinking your way through the specialty cocktail menu. On our last visit, the shrimp explosion, a popcorn shrimp lettuce wrap, was the biggest hit. The duck entrée was delicious, but we really had to work for it---the shredded meat was well hidden in a voluminous bed of lettuce. The seared ahi salad was dangerous. It looked friendly enough, in fact, it looked gorgeous and healthy and delicious, but was actually loaded with enough mustard sauce and raw peppers to start a five-alarm fire. We put out the flames with quantities of Thaifoon’s sangría, a perfumey, port-based concoction that puts Mexican sangría to shame. We suggest you do the same. Or just order the mustard sauce on the side. Or skip the seafood and order the signature beef tenderloin. At this place, the choices are endless.