Tuptim offers taste of Thai

Tricia Peterson

The appetizers are more than eggrolls and crab Rangoon, Money Bags, which are crab, cream cheese and garlic fried in a pouch. They melt in your mouth with a little crunch offering texture as well as loads of flavor. The menu includes wanton wrappers. The spring rolls are made with thin rice paper, wrapped around bean sprouts, romaine lettuce, vermicelli noodles, cilantro and are accompanied with a peanut sauce and a sweet sauce.

I found them both to be delectable, but favored the peanut sauce which I felt complimented the earthiness of the bean sprouts well. The eggrolls were crispy and hot. Rolled by hand, you can tell the cooks put care into their product. For alternate appetizers they offer chicken satay, fried tofu, and curry among other choices.

Various soups and salads with a variety of Thai flavors are available as well as different types of entrees. They have a section of house entrees which are accompanied by steamed jasmine rice, noodle entrees which are comparable to stir fries, and house specialties which are a little more expensive because they are accompanied by pork, fish or chicken. All entrees you can choose how spicy you want it, mild, hot or Thai hot, but they claim to not be responsible for any dish served “hot or beyond.” In addition to choosing the spiciness of your dish, you can also choose your protein. They offer pork, beef, chicken, shrimp or tofu, but you can also get a combination of chicken, pork, beef and shrimp. If you are not a big fan of meat, you can also choose just vegetables.

I ordered the Cashew Nut house entrée, which I chose to order mild just in case their hot was too much for me. Fresh vegetables cooked to perfection in a mildly sweet, brown sauce served with a side of steamed jasmine rice. The vegetables included broccoli, red and green bell peppers, onions, and ripple-cut carrots. There were loads of cashews and a generous amount of chicken in this dish and the price was moderate.

To check out the menu you can go to their web site, www.tuptimthaitopeka.com. During the week they offer a lunch menu that is easier on the pocket book, but with portions that are still generous. Lunch is Monday through Friday 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and they close until 5 p.m. when they open back up for dinner until 9 p.m. Saturdays they only serve their dinner menu from noon until 9 p.m. and are closed on Sundays.