SPEND A LITTLE, ENJOY A LOT OF THAI AT CHIANGSAN.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

CHEAP EATS don't get much better these days than the Thai fare at Chiangsan in North Hollywood.

Here's where the only item over $10 is a shareable, assorted appetizer platter that holds egg rolls, fried wontons, fried shrimps, fried vegetables and other things.

The next tier down pricewise is a trio of $8.95 seafood dishes. Stay away from these and you can really save the bucks.

But don't expect a fancy dining place at these prices. Chiangsan, which replaced Erawan Gardens, has a no-frills decor with the basic red carpeting, stalwart wooden tables and captain's chairs in a rustic, converted residence.

Without its pin lights and the grand opening banner, you could drive right by it at night without realizing that a restaurant operates there.

The neighborhood obviously knows it. Even when the dining room has several empty tables, there appears to be a constant stream of people arriving to pick up their takeout goodies.

With its policy of free delivery within a five-mile radius, Chiangsan probably does substantially more business.

As for its food, it's respectable Thai cooking with plenty of choices (88 items on the menu).

I've always liked a kitchen that doesn't hold back its spicing. Order a spicy dish here and you get it that way. Hot means hot. Medium means medium.

If you're truly scared of chile heat, don't try anything but mild.

I particularly enjoyed the pork in green curry dish ($6.45). Almost soupy, it had eggplant and basil leaves helping the green look along with enough coconut milk to take some of the sharp edges off the peppery heat.

The pork had a touch of crispness. Very tasty.

Beef is a tossup.

On the spicy beef salad ($6.45), it was quite stringy. But as grilled beef slices sprinkled with sesame seeds it was chewable, evem tender at times - and nicely flavored.

Chicken comes forth best as satay ($6.45) on thin wooden skewers served with refreshing cucumber and peanut sauce accompaniments.

The traditional mint leaves and chili preparation ($6.45) with chicken as the main ingredient choice provides a satisfying main course plate, but the chicken in the tom kah kai soup ($6.45) was a tad dry one night.

However, on another occasion, the tom yum kai ($6.25) - basically the same soup without the coconut milk - had more tender, moist chicken pieces in it.

Chiangsan's busy kitchen makes all the most popular Thai dishes like pad thai, mee krob and a yum yai salad, and 13 vegetarian plates.

I heartily recommend its refreshing, clean-tasting larb ($6.45), the Thai cold salad dish of ground chicken with chiles, finely chopped onion, mashed toasted rice and lime juice.

For those in Chiangsan's neighborhood at lunchtime, it offers 18 lunch plates at $5.95 each that come with rice (fried or steamed), soup or salad, egg roll or wonton and a soft drink.

A true bargain.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com

CHIANGSAN

Food: Three stars - Service: Three stars - Value: Three and one half stars

Where: 5145 Colfax Ave., North Hollywood.

Hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Recommended items: Tom yum kai soup, chicken satay, larb chicken with mint leaves and chili, grilled beef slices, pork with green curry.

How much: Everything under $10 except the assorted appetizer plate. Lunch specials $5.95. No alcohol. AE, MC, V, Discover.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

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If you want to stay away from fried items, give the steamed fresh egg roll a try at Chiangsan.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News