HARD TO TOP TOP THAI.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

THE PROLIFERATION of Thai restaurants has produced an untold number of little cafes where, seemingly, the menus hardly change, with only the name of the place being different.

So it becomes exciting to discover that the new owners of Top Thai, a little cafe in Reseda, are specializing in Northern Thai fare. Its specialty is the regional style of food found in and near Chieng Mai.

This doesn't mean that such mainstream Thai dishes as pad Thai, mee krob, yum yai, larb and various curries aren't here for the asking. And that the more popular Thai-Chinese offerings purveyed by the previous owners - like chow mein, spring rolls, cashew chicken, shrimp fried rice, and sweet and sour fish - continue to please longtime customers.

A real adventurous palate might be able to conquer a plate of quite strong-smelling kang hoh ($5.50), which, once past the nose, has good tastes provided by mixed vegetables, glass noodles, a meat (we chose chicken), and some unknown spices and oils.

But this won't please everybody.

And then there's the kick-you-hard, spicy stuff for certain heroic types.

One of them, nam-prik oong ($5.50), is a fiery chile paste mixed with ground pork and tomato served with cucumber, cabbage and other vegetables.

A similarly red-hot mixture called tum kha-noon ($5.50), probably based with the same ground pork, tomato and chile pepper ingredients, has the tempering effect of jackfruit to make it slightly more friendly to the less brave.

On the much more moderate side, there's a satay-type pork item from Northern Thailand called mu-ping ($5.50) that brings several seasoned, grilled ovals of pork on wooden sticks as a nifty appetizer with a nonabrasive dipping sauce.

Sliced Northern Thai sausages called sai-uua ($5.95) flavored with lemongrass and other Thai seasonings are definitely worth a try.

However, my No. 1 choice of this interesting selection consists of several small patties of marinated, ground chicken blended with roasted rice, flavored with chiles and lime juice and deep-fried to a dark-brown tone.

Larb thod ($5.95), as it's called, has crispness, meatiness and piquancy plus a touch of spicy heat in the background. And Top Thai's chef finishes it off with a sprinkling of crunchy, deep-fried basil leaves. It's a great combination.

Salads here can be cool and soothing like the salad khack ($4.25) with crispy bean curd, tomato, cucumber, lettuce and a peanut dressing.

Or there's one with a bit of zing titled som-tum papaya salad ($5.75) that brings together fruity, fresh papaya strips with some tiny marinated blue crab pieces, tomato, lime juice and fresh chiles.

At the top of the Northern Thai list one can find a cool, somewhat saladlike grouping named mieng-kum ($5.75) presented in a small lazy susan.

The partitions contain peanuts, dried bay shrimp (rubbery and tasteless), chopped and toasted coconut, fresh ginger, red onion, little cubes of fresh unskinned lime and lettuce leaves for wrapping purposes.

The dipping sauce is honey sweet with a touch of heat.

It's actually a fun way to start a meal.

Later, when it comes to fish, the Northern Thai way can produce a dry, crispy ``mudfish jerky'' ($5.95) that's actually our old friend, the catfish.

This won't be everybody's first choice, either.

But you can ``splurge'' and order the most expensive of the Northern Thai house specials with the name maw-din ta-lay.

Up will come a nice, deep bowl of seafood (mussels, calamari, shrimp, fish) in a sort of soup-noodle arrangement with glass noodles, celery and ginger dominating. And its price: only $9.95.

As for dessert, you can cool off your palate at the end of a spicy evening with Thai tea-flavored ice cream ($2.50).

Yet after a satisfying dinner featuring many new tastes, the remarkable thing about eating here is the bill.

One evening five of us pigged out at a table packed with Northern Thai and regular Thai dishes (including beer and wine) for a couple of hours and it cost us less than $15 a person.

It's a veritable steal.

Food: Three stars. Service: Three stars. Value: Fours star.

Where: 7333 Reseda Blvd., Reseda.

Hours: Open for lunch daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., for dinner from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. nightly, to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Tuesdays.

Recommended items: Papaya salad with blue crab, cashew chicken, grilled marinated pork on sticks, deep-fried crispy ground-chicken patties, spicy mashed chile paste with jackfruit, baked seafood combination, Thai tea ice cream.

How much: Starters from $4.25 to $9.95, main dishes from $4.95 to $9.95, desserts $2.50 and $3.50. Beer and wine. AE, MC, V, Discover.

Wine list: Minimal offerings. One day only an unnamed chardonnay was available, another day it was a fairly refreshing Pine Ridge chenin blanc and viognier blend. Chilled bottled beers are usually the best companion to Top Thai's spicy dishes.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 4) Dishes at Top Thai include kai-yang (barbecued chicken), larb thod (deep-fried ground-chicken patties) and nam-nguew (rice noodles with spicy soup).

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer