At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Thai Basil as another typical, commonplace Asian restaurant—but nothing could be further from the truth. Thai Basil serves-up a truly unique Thai fusion cuisine that you won’t find anywhere else in Collingswood—or the surrounding area.

Thai Basil provides the perfect environment for enjoying a well prepared meal. Décor is simple, but charming, with dark wood furniture and several pieces of Asian art adorning the walls.

After being seated by an extremely polite and attentive staff, it took only a moment for a server to come take the drink order. And the server continued to be helpful throughout the meal—providing an answer for every question, and suggesting perfect dessert options to close-out the meal.

The meal began with a "Thai Basil Treasure" appetizer sampler—consisting of vegetable spring rolls, chicken satay, Bangkok shu mai and Thai chicken curry puffs. A perfectly seasoned satay provided a unique savory flavor, and Thai chicken curry puffs featured a light and fluffy crust with flavorful chicken inside.

While it can be easy to use too much curry in a dish, the talented chefs at Thai Basil only used the perfect amount, resulting in a truly exceptional appetizer. The only disappointment in the sampler were the vegetable spring rolls. Though the outer shell was perfectly prepared, the onion in the vegetable filling completely overpowered all other flavors.

The main course consisted of two dishes—the Pad Prik Khing and Thai Basil tom yom noodle soup. Both were excellent, but the soup stood out as one of the most interesting dishes I've run into in a long time. Thai Basil tom yom soup featured shrimp, mushrooms, tomato, bell peppers, bean sprouts and rice noodles in a lemongrass broth. The broth had a distinct, tangy flavor that was still influenced by both the tomato and the bell peppers—and all ingredients came together, forming a truly wonderful bowl of soup.

Pad Prik Khing includes shrimp, chicken, kaffir lime leaves, string beans, carrots, and bell peppers in Prik Khing chili sauce. While all the flavors played well together, about halfway through the dish, chili sauce began to overpower the others. A good dish altogether, but a milder chili sauce would've helped it cross the line into excellence.

One complaint that can be levied against both dishes was the inclusion of shrimp—with the tail attached. Removing tails was a rather inelegant process for both dishes, since the shrimp was mixed-in with so many other ingredients it caused a bit of a hassle. While it certainly didn’t make the meal inedible, it's definitely something to consider before one orders a Thai Basil shrimp dish.

For dessert, there was banana sticky rice accompanied by Thai iced tea. The tea captured a completely different flavor than any other iced tea imaginable. It had an extremely sweet flavor—provided by the inclusion of milk—and a raw-sugar taste with a uniquely bitter, tea-like undertone. It was thoroughly enjoyed, but its strong sweetness may not appeal to everyone.

Banana sticky rice, though difficult to explain, was delightful to eat. The rice itself had a somewhat doughy flavor similar to that of a pancake or biscuit. When combined with chunks of banana and drizzled with raspberry and chocolate syrup, the sticky rice made for a superb desert.

The Thai Basil experience is the perfect solution for anyone who's looking for a new, interesting cuisine in downtown Collingswood. Despite a few minor issues, Thai Basil provided a splendid dinner—and one that's sure to please just about anyone who enjoys Asian cuisine and exciting new flavors.