Cheap Eats 2007: Amina Thai

Reviewed by Cynthia Hacinli , Michele Kayal , Todd Kliman , Ann Limpert

Amina Thai

5065 Nicholson Ln.
Rockville, MD
Phone: 301.770.9509

Cuisines:
Thai

Opening Hours:

Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Nearby Metro Stops:
White Flint

Price Range:
Inexpensive

Dress:
Informal

Noise Level:
Intimate

Reservations:
Not needed

Special Features:
Delivery, Kid Friendly

Website:
Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes
Vegetable spring rolls; shrimp salad with lime and chili paste; larb gai; green shrimp curry; clay-pot mussels with lemongrass and Thai basil; salmon with scallions, Thai basil, and shredded ginger; eggplant with Thai basil; deep-fried bananas with vanilla ice cream.

Price Details:
Appetizers $4.95 to $7.95, entrées $9.95 to $13.95.


Arrive early for dinner and you might find owner Amina Toopet sipping soup at a table in the back of this blue-and-yellow dining room. A Muslim Thai, Toopet is the heart and soul of the place, a welcoming presence in her pink headscarf.

She’ll steer your meal to delicately crimped dumplings and perfectly fried vegetable spring rolls. Or to homestyle plates like tart shrimp salad with lime, beef stoked with chili oil, or creamy green shrimp curry that leaves a pleasant tingle. Specials like basil fish (tilapia) pungent with garlic are worth the slightly higher prices. In accordance with Muslim law, there’s no alcohol—or pork. Sweet Thai coffee and tea offer cool respite.

A marvel of a dessert is worth splurging on: banana slices wrapped in crisp rice paper sprinkled with sesame seeds and drizzled with honey and chocolate sauce. Have it à la mode with coconut ice cream for a Thai-style banana split.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.