FLOWER POWER!

       Despite its French-sounding name, Le Lys serves authentic, homemade Thai food

       Wow I'm going to a French restaurant!I thought, as I received the news that I would be checking out a place called Le Lys.Images of fleur de lys (lilies:the national flower of France)flashed across my mind. I pictured a grand dining room and a suave waiter in a tuxedo with a pencil moustache,complimenting all my choices with the words,"Oui !Tres bien monsieur !" his eyes closed and his face tilted 45 degrees in the air.
       That wasn't the case unfortunately but that's not to say that Le Lys was a disappointment.
       Patty, a Thai, met her husband Philippe during her years working as a travel agent in Saint Tropez,France. After a while they married and became Mr and Mrs Delmas.
       After many years of running a Thai restaurant in the land of lilies they moved to Thailand and opened the original Le Lys in 1998. They have since moved location twice, most recently opening for business in Nang Linchee Soi 6.
       The current Le Lys is in a renovated home, with the restaurant divided into two sections; an outdoor section on the ground floor covered by a roof, and an air-conditioned dining section on the mezzanine floor.
       The ground floor features a heavily stocked garden, full of plants, flowers and trees. It gives the whole place a,"Am I really still in concrete city Bangkok?" kind of feel.
       Old metallic fans hang from the pillars of the ground floor, while random antiques and rustic furniture give the place a homely, colonial furbish. There is also a large projector here, accompanied by an even larger bar that's used for watching football and rugby matches on TV."My husband loves rugby and French soap operas," Patty explains.
       The beautiful and elegant part of this restaurant is definitely contained in the mezzanine floor. Dimly lit, dark wooden floors, antique furniture, a large mirror and very high ceilings allows one to bask in a feeling of intimate opulence.
       Another French touch is a petanque court outside, with Le Lys almost performing the secondary role of a clubhouse for players of the sport. For those not in the pentanque scene, this is a game popular in France, which involves the accurate throwing of three metallic balls as close as possible to small wooden ones placed on the court.
       There is also a sculpture of a lady with exceptionally large - but perfect - buttocks on the wall of the court for anyone who manages to lose a game 13-0(lowest point of epic fail possible) to publicly humiliate him/herself by kissing her big ceramic buns.
       The concept of the food here is what Patty describes as "homemade Thai food". However, I can assure you that I rarely ever get to see homemade Thai food done so well unless I am invited to some hi-so friend's house, who employs cordon bleu chefs. Which is never.
       Though the food here - simple, done well, without any pretentious aesthetic elements and priced fairly - is essentially Thai, some dishes take inspiration from French cooking.
       "When I came back to Thailand I noticed how expensive escargot snails were and you know, I love those things so I had to come up with my own variation of them," our sassy friend Patty recalls.
       "So I replaced the snails with baby clams and added lots of curry powder." This item is simply labelled as Baby clams (B120) on the menu, and boy is it a tasty Thai twist, filled with crunchy, aromatic garlic that somehow doesn't turn you into vampire mace.
       "People worried about the authenticity of the Thai food in a restaurant that has a French name but they were wrong. We don't compromise the Thai roots of our dishes," Patty says.
       To demonstrate that outlook, the Panang duck breast (B180) features succulent chunks of seared duck breast in a rich panang curry, with crispy basil leaves on the side. It makes a great dinner entree to share between friends.
       I also tried Stuffed squid (B180), two relatively large marine cephalopods stuffed - actually, packed to the brim would be more appropriate - with a combination of vermicelli, minced pork and spices, served with a tangy sauce.
       Single rice dishes are also a feature of the menu and are subject to a discount during lunch hours.Assorted shrimp paste fried rice costs B120 at lunch and B150 at dinner. Patty believes that dinner is a time for sharing entrees with your friends and not a time for single dishes.
       What really makes this place shine is not just the food but the whole family feel of the entire experience. Patty and Philippe will automatically make you right at home and if you are into rugby you'll make a new friend.
       The only downside was the lack of a Frenchman in a tuxedo with crazy man-whiskers. However, my slight disappointment vanished when I saw a photograph of Philippe taken many years back of him sporting possibly one of the most epic moustaches to grace the 20th century.
       Thai 148/11 Nang Linchi Soi 6 Open daily 11:30am-10:30pm 02-287-1898-9