Taifoon blows into the fashion island dining scene

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AT A GLANCE

THAIFOON, Taste of Asia Address: 857 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach

Phone: [phone]

Hours: Lunch and dinner daily from 11:30 a.m.

Cost:. Appetizers $1.95-$6.95, Entrees $9.95-$13.50, $19.95 for whole fried fish

You, my dear readers, will want to rush right over to the new Thaifoon at the Macy's end of Fashion Island.

A group of us already have gathered around the table to taste and taste more. This is quite the nice addition to the Newport Beach dining scene. A bit smaller and more intimate than the first Thaifoon, which opened in April at the Irvine Spectrum, this is a swell place to unwind over one of their specialty cocktails and some Happy Hour bar food or a full meal.

We all know how relaxing water elements are and this room features an almost full back wall of rushing water sandwiched between massive glass panes. It's both an effective design statement and it partitions off the dining room from the kitchen.

Extensive use of wood throughout adds more warmth. One side of the dining room is a full wall of bamboo-yet another enticing touch.

The second factor to consider is that the good food is not at all expensive and the Asian path it takes allows us some...