Best of 2003: Best Thai

Celadon Royalty Thai
540 University Avenue, Hillcrest
619-297-8424

The chef cooked for the Queen and Princess of Thailand, and she'll cook for you, too. One menu page lists all the specialties, such as "Choo Chee Duck" in a terrific red coconut-curry sauce, and a "Pineapple Fried Rice" so elaborate, it looks like it came from the palace jewel box. Even "regular" dishes like seafood-laden "Soup Talay" and stuffed chicken wings are prepared with special care. And at the end of the meal, the queen's banquet comes at a price that "workers" can afford.