Thai Gardens.

Waving palm fronds, trickling waterfalls, Buddha statues and the cool, stone walls of a refurbished house greet the visitor to Thai Gardens. A far cry from Bangkok on a bad traffic day and a welcome relief from Mexico City's hustle and bustle.

Set in a quiet, residential street in Polanco, this haven of Thai cuisine is barely visible to the casual passer-by, perhaps explaining its calm, uncrowded and unrushed ambience. Start with a fruit cocktail to get yourself in the mood and wash down the complimentary prawn crackers--a Phuket of mango, pineapple and orange might just ready you for the oriental delights ahead. Otherwise, an extensive wine list includes Chateauneuf du Pape and Pouilly Fuisse if your wallet is up to it.

Tables are set with the traditional spindly Thai cutlery, and the wait staff, who are attentive and polite, wear traditional Thai attire--embroidered jackets, sashes and long, narrow skirts or loose, calf-length trousers.

Available to the novice, or those who simply have trouble making up their minds, is a menu de degustacion for sharing (min. 2 people, 260 pesos per person), which covers a large range of dishes on the main menu and lets you try a bit of everything.

Otherwise the traditional poh pia--delicate vegetarian spring rolls stuffed with carrots, bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles--served with both sweet and sour and soy sauces, make a good opening choice. There is also a meatier version (nong mon) filled with crab and pork. The tom kaa kai, or chicken broth flavored with coconut milk, went down especially well with one diner.

Those of an observant bent will notice that coconut and lemon grass are two important flavorings in Thai cuisine. They feature regularly on the menu, which states its products are imported directly from Thailand.

So with the variety of flavors key to Thai cuisine it was perhaps a little disappointing that the giant shrimps and the sweet and sour fish came covered in an identical sauce.

The Thai chicken curry, another classic, was not as hot as we had expected judging by the symbols on the menu, but the chicken was tender and came served with lightly cooked zucchini. Rice dishes must be ordered separately and one is enough for two people.

Pat thai, in this instance flat noodles with seafood, vegetables, peanuts and spices, can also be ordered in a vegetarian version, as can many other dishes on the menu. The portion of noodles is large and comes with broccoli, mange-tout, red pepper, mushroom and carrots. It has a sweet taste, but beware of eating too much of the spices in one go!

An extensive and original dessert menu offers such delights as sukothai (sweet rice with banana, wrapped in a banana leaf), mango with sticky rice and coconut milk, or flan de coco.

The mousse a la Thai (chocolate mousse with coconut pulp) was served tropical style, with flowers and fronds, and was pronounced the best part of the meal.

The tarte tatin (French apple tart) arrived warm and accompanied by vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce. Desserts generally were rated highly by our taste testers.

To finish, choose from a variety of oriental teas (green, jasmine, etc.) which come in pretty, individual iron teapots.

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Thai Gardens

Calderon de la Barca 72

Col. Polanco

Tel: 5281-3850

Open Mon. to Thurs. 1400-midnight,

Fri. to Sat. 1400-0100, and Sun. 1400-1800.

f 8 d 8.5 s 8 c $30