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• Senyai-Senlek: Wanna Try Some Thai Tonight?

My invitation to readers to join me for dinner at Senyai-Senlek, the new Thai restaurant at 2422 Central Ave. N. E. resulted in a very intimate soiree - just me and a couple of friends, but a good time was had by all. We were delighted by nearly everything we tried, starting with the miang ka ($5.95), little do-it-yourself lettuce wraps that you stuff with roasted peanuts, dried shrimp, chopped ginger, chopped limes, fiery hot peppers, toasted coconut and a sweet and sticky pungent shrimp sauce; and the som tum (papaya salad, $7.95) - not as spicy or as stinky as the versions you can find at local Lao markets, but still very lively.

To my surprise, the khao pad kapi (royal fried rice, $11.95) also turned out to be a do-it-yourself dish: a mound of molded fried rice surrounded by glazed morsels of roast pork, slices of omelet, dried shrimp, shallots, green beans and hot peppers, which we tossed together ourselves. The pad see iew gai (broad noodles with chicken and Chinese broccoli in a sweet soy sauce, $9.95) had just the right balance of sweet, salty and savory. The only dish I wouldn't order again is the pad pak taohoo, a vegetable stir-fry with tofu that didn't seem very Thai - the nightly special of mock duck curry might have been a better bet.

On our way out, we chatted a bit with Joe Hatch-Surisook, who owns the café with his wife Holly. Joe was previously sous-chef at Chet's Taverna, where he worked for Jim Grell of the Modern Café, and Mike Phillips, now at The Craftsman, but his work in the kitchen at Senyai-Senlek is pretty much limited to quality control. Remodeling the former Palm Court restaurant into a stylish ethnic bistro was a community effort - he organized several work days, and some 40 friends and folks from the neighborhood showed up at the first one - eventually they were thanked at a special dinner when the restaurant opened, about five weeks ago.

In other news:

Coming to the Seward neighborhood, maybe: a new sushi restaurant. When the Seward Co-op completes its move to its new building next year, part of the space will be occupied by a Somali bakery. Willis Dry, owner of Koyi Sushi and Bagu Sushi says he would like to open a sushi restaurant in the same building, but it all depends on financing - (and in the current financial climate, that's a very big if.

Elsewhere on the sushi front, Fuji-ya faces some competition: Tiger Sushi in the Mall of America plans to open a new sushi restaurant next month in the Murals of Lyn-Lake apartment complex at 28^th and Lyndale Ave. S. According to a spokesperson, it's going to have the biggest sushi bar in the Twin Cities (52 seats), and a more varied menu than the original MOA store. Reportedly, the owners of Herkimer Pub & Brewery also plan to open a Japanese restaurant, in the former Machu Picchu location at Lake and Lyndale.

Driving down Central Ave. recently, I was sorry to see that the Hyderabad House, one of my favorite Indian eateries, has gone out of business - as have Asia Imports and its little Indian deli, Bombay2Deli, across the street. I tried the $10.99 lunch buffet at Bilal's Restaurant, the Afghan/South Asian restaurant that replaced the Hyderabad House at 1831 Central Ave. N.E., but was not impressed - maybe I would have done better ordering off the menu, but for Afghan cuisine a la carte, the nearby Crescent Moon Bakery seems like a much better bet.

Two doors away from Bilal's at 1839 Central, a new Pakistani restaurant has opened its doors - Zam Zam - tiny, with no printed menus, just four specials posted on the wall. (Owner Saud Qadir shown here.) I didn't want to wait 20 minutes for the chicken biryani ($4.99), so I got an order of chicken karahi, in a savory, spicy red sauce ($5.99, plus flat bread, 50 cents extra). It was very tasty, but next time I'll be more adventuresome and try the nehari goat, a traditional spicy Pakistani stew ($5.99), or the goat haleem, a slowly cooked stew of wheat, lentils and meat (also $5.99). Zam Zam offers no décor and disposable plates and cutlery, so take-out might be your best bet - call 612-706-1941.

Right between Zam Zam and Bilal's is a terrific Indian grocery - Patel Brothers, where I go for Indian sweets and retort pouches of palak paneer.