Best Thai Restaurant


Important: This article was last updated on September 21, 2005. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.

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Galanga Thai Kitchen and Sushi Bar
2389 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, 954/202-0000, www.galangakitchen.com

 South Florida offers plenty of tasty Thai restaurants from which to choose, but none has as bold a menu or as fashionable a setting as Galanga. Located in an A-frame standalone just west of the Five Points intersection, the smartly decorated room doubles as both a Thai and a Japanese eatery, but the Thai recipes stand out. An appetizer sampler features five starters such as spring rolls, chicken satay and money bags (shrimp, chicken, potato and corn in rice paper) artfully presented with four dips. You can order fish, chicken, meat or vegetable dishes matched to a sauce of your choosing. A noteworthy dish is the clay pot filled with a mélange of seafood, including lobster tail, simmering in an outrageous red-chile broth. Diners are greeted at the entrance by a fresh flower bouquet, a massive aquarium by the sushi bar, handsome furniture from Indonesia and candlelit tables. Warm, intimate and lively, Galanga is a great place for a romantic date or a dinner outing with friends. It's also open for lunch and serves a variety of noodle dishes and sushi rolls.