Bangkok Garden in Columbia

Because I already have a Thai restaurant on my favorites list, Bangkok Garden had to pass a test with me. It did. This casual Columbia place captures the flavor of Thailand, and I'll go back to taste some more.

(Update: Bangkok Garden was sold in 2011.  It appears to be a totally new management, and the name will change during the spring or summer.)

Next time, I'll pass on the larb, which didn't have the flavor of the appetizer at my favorite Bangkok Delight. But I'll drive for the massaman shrimp curry -- an orange-tinged curry made with coconut, peanut and the delicious spices that make Thai food so delicious. We ate shrimp and chunks of avocado, then asked for extra rice to just cover with curry and spoon up.

Both the massaman and the green curries tasted like authentic Bangkok. The vegetables in the green curry were spectacular. The chicken didn't add much, so try a vegetable curry to enjoy the perfectly-tender eggplant and bamboo shoots.

Bangkok Garden is a casual little place. Large glass windows. The decor is an 80s flashback that looks like the set for The Wedding Singer -- luminous black tables, jewel tones, and then strangely out-of-season tinsels and Christmas decorations. They offer karaoke with huge spotlights. A perfect place to go shine.

If you like Thai, definitely check out Bangkok Delight or click for a working list of the best restaurants in Howard County.

Bangkok Garden

5810 Robert Oliver Place

Columbia, MD 21045

410-992-9553

www.bkkgarden.com

NEAR: This is in the Oakland Mills village center. This is off Stevens Forest Road north of Broken Land and east of Rte 29.