Nanthana Jenniges has run the popular sandwich shop Nana’s Deli, inside downtown Honolulu’s Topa Financial Center, for five years. Offering something different from the lunchtime norm, the menu also grew to include a short roster of Thai curries introducing her native Isaan cuisine.

Expanding on that menu, she’s now opened Thai Chili on Kapahulu Avenue for those who enjoy the cuisine of northern Thailand.

It’s been something of an educational experience for patrons accustomed to local-style Thai food. The question that pops up most often: Why is the curry so thin?

Hawaii sensibilities happen to be unique due to geography that puts us in the middle of nowhere yet at the center of East and West, leading to a commingling of distant neighboring cuisines. Crossing that ocean, certain things get lost in translation, and I have to admit that as much as I praise authenticity, Thai cuisine marks the rare instance that I prefer Hawaii’s adaptation better than the real deal. Hawaii’s Thai cuisine evolved to be fatty and savory to suit palates weaned on Spam, burgers, tonkatsu and kalua pork. Authentic Thai cuisine is lighter and more sour in response to that country’s high heat and humidity.

To combat personal bias in gauging any restaurant’s output, I learned to look for an overall palate-pleasing balance. It’s sort of like the mathematical formula for a beautiful face, which may not be the most interesting or distinctive, but there will be proportion and symmetry pleasant to a majority.

While other Thai restaurants tend to take an "if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em" approach to pleasing the masses, Jenniges is doing her best to stay true to Isaan cuisine –noted for its spicy, fishy and bitter flavors — while making allowances for some things locals don’t care to stomach. She’s a charming host who tries her best to figure out your comfort level with chilis and certain ingredients such as the bitter Thai pea-size eggplant used in some of the curries. They are easy to spot and remove if you find them too bitter.

Thai Chili is in a small, intimate space that formerly housed Sapporo Rai Rai Ramen. There is a small parking lot in back, but I’m such a bad parker, I find it easiest to park on the street.

The restaurant’s menu is quite small and is a work in progress. For instance, there are no spring rolls, but Jenniges said these are coming. There is wonderful sweetened Thai tea, but no Thai coffee because Jenniges said evening customers didn’t order it for fear of insomnia. Now that the restaurant is open for lunch on weekends, she plans to reintroduce the coffee.

For now, appetizer choices include deep-fried fish patties ($6.75) spiked with bits of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, and Thai street-style skewers, luuk chin ($6.75), a trio of skewers bearing your choice of fish or beef meatballs. These are served over cabbage with a side of sweet dipping sauce.

While most Thai restaurants here serve a beef larb or laap salad ($10), chicken is typically used in Isaan, where the minced meat dish crossed the border from Laos. Like its beef counterpart, the finely chopped chicken breast is tossed with a flavorful, aromatic blend of shallot, cilantro, ground-roasted rice, lime juice and fish sauce.

I’m always game to break from the usual, so instead of the green papaya salad, som tom Thai, I opted for som tom Isaan ($9), prepared in Isaan style with maximum fish sauce. Luckily, this pungent salad was accompanied by slices of hard-boiled egg and pork rinds that helped cut some of the fishiness, bringing the flavor profile down to earth.

If you’re not wedded to pad Thai, you might want to skip the noodles in favor of khao pad pong kari, fluffy, delicate curry fried rice with peas and your choice of tofu ($9), chicken ($10), beef ($11) or shrimp ($12).

Much of the confusion to date has centered on Thai Chili’s watery, soupy curries, and Jenniges finds herself constantly explaining that the thin consistency is preferred in Thailand. It’s funny that soups thickened with cornstarch have become such a norm here that our typical fast-food or diner soup (you can stand a spoon in some local chowders) is thicker than a Thai curry. Our Thai curries have the constitution of gravy or stew because that’s the texture we expect from anything meant to be poured over rice.

Texture aside, the red, yellow and green curry flavors are excellent, and all curry prices are the same as the fried rice, dependent on which protein you select. Some might also quibble about the size of the curries, presented in a small soup bowl geared more toward a true human-scale Thai appetite than our supersized expectations.

The solution for all lies in a dish of gaeng kieow waan ka-nom jiin, green curry with a twist. The curry is served in a big bowl over Thai vermicelli noodles with chopped cabbage, bean sprouts and basil. I describe it as the equivalent of green curry ramen or Thai-style pho. No matter what you call it, it’s comforting and satisfying.

During this grand-opening period, dessert has been offered free. On two visits I was able to enjoy sweetened black rice with lychee, and tapioca pudding dotted with kernels of sweet corn.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.

BITE SIZE

Ono Seafood has poke, much more

Kapahulu Avenue is lined with restaurants, but a lack of adequate street parking means there’s a high turnover rate. One of the little shops that has withstood the test of time is Ono Seafood, across the street from Thai Chili.

Poke is available by the bowl ($7), served over white or brown rice, and including a soft drink; or sold by weight for your backyard or garage gathering, at $18 per pound for ahi or $15 per pound for tako poke.

For the bowls, choose ahi or tako prepared in four styles: shoyu, wasabi, miso or Hawaiian style with sea salt, green and white onion, limu, kukui nut and chili pepper. Add 50 cents for two poke styles.

Although the little takeout shop is best known for its poke and poke bowls, you’ll also find everything you need for setting a Hawaiian table: chili pepper water ($4), raw white crab seasoned with salt and chili pepper ($3.50 for 8 ounces or $6 for 12 ounces); dried ahi ($4 for 4 ounces); Hanalei poi ($9.50 per pound); and market-price opihi.

Ono Seafood is at 747 Kapahulu Ave. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. Call 732-4806.

Bite Size highlights the new, the small, the unsung.