Thai cuisine is at its best when ingredients are fresh, and best is important to Nirun "Toy" and Jai Thongpit, owners of Ruen Thai at 1470 Eureka Road, Roseville.

"Everything is fresh, even the coconuts," he says. "Nothing comes out of a can. We shop for fresh produce every two days."

Thongpit says the result of using newly picked produce is evident in all menu items, especially homemade curries and hand-squeezed coconut milk.

"In many Thai restaurants the different dishes all taste the same," he says. "It's because they use canned ingredients."

The word Ruen means "Thai house," traditionally one that is made with golden teakwood architecturally designed in a style popular in central Thailand more than a century ago.

True to the name, when my dining companion and I arrived at Ruen Thai, we stepped into a restaurant that resembled temples I saw when I spent time in Bangkok. Its warmth is welcoming.

For an appetizer we ordered Ruen Thai's fresh spring rolls stuffed with noodles, shrimp and vegetables. The house peanut-based sauce for dipping contained just enough spice to compliment the rolls.

We couldn't decide between soup and salad, so we ordered both.

My friend ordered the Pok Tak soup, a delicious combination of shrimp and calamari with lemon grass, kaffir lime leaf and juice with fresh mushrooms. The lime gave the potage a zingy, refreshing taste.

Now for the yum pla krob salad.

This is one of those plates about which you say, "That doesn't go together," but find you are terribly wrong. Crispy pieces of white fish among bits of green apple, topped with cashew nuts then moistened with the house sauce make a tantalizing combination.

Our entrees, which we shared family-style, were on the spicy side - well they were hot - because, when given the choice I asked for them to be medium on the heat scale. Thongpit warned me that Thai medium is more like the American "sizzling," but I didn't heed the warning. However, it was not too hot to deter us from finishing the Pad Vun Sen, sliced meat (we chose chicken but even tofu is available), with stir-fried clear noodles, cabbage, carrot slices and Napa cabbage. This is worth ordering many times.

We also selected the Pad Phed Ta-Lay - which is a stir-fried combination of scallops, calamari, prawns, imitation crab and mussels, smothered in basil-basted chili sauce.

While we dined, Dr. Bruce Winter of Granite Bay and his wife Carlette stopped by our table to say "hello." The couple dines at Ruen Thai almost every Friday night.

"They grow their own herbs and all the food is homemade," he says.

"I'm a vegan," she adds. "They leave the fish sauce out of my order and use all fresh spices for me. It's great."

Thongpit says it's not difficult to prepare vegan dishes when all the fresh ingredients needed are on hand.

Hours are daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Dress is casual and reservations are not necessary, but for larger groups, it is best to call ahead at 774-1499.