It never occurred to me that someone in my family had not eaten fresh Thai food until I told my sister I wanted her to accompany me to Ruen Thai, 1470 Eureka Road in Roseville. She confided that she wasn't sure about trying the original dishes, but seemed to relax when we entered the restaurant and manager Bee Souliyonh greeted us.

"Everything is so clean. The atmosphere is very cultural and relaxing," she said as she noticed the wood-laced walls and Asian ambiance. "I have never been to Thailand but this has got to be close."

Knowing owners Nirun "Toy" and Jai Thongpet are particular about serving only fresh ingredients, I pointed out that any meat dish could become a vegetarian or vegan meal if so ordered.

"The ingredients stay pretty authentic," Souliyonh says. "We grow the herbs and don't use MSG. It's all about the experience."

Toy is careful to provide a preferred list of various wines or commercial and Asian brews for his diners - as well as teas.

For a shared appetizer we ordered No. 7 goong tod, golden fried shrimp with house sauce. I try to avoid fried dishes most of the time but the process Ruen Thai used in the kitchen resulted in a light coating, not oily at all.

A word to the wise, when ordering Thai be specific about the level of spiciness that is tolerable to the palate.

"We have a ranking system here," Toy says. "It's one to five, and five is the hottest. Mild is more toward the medium level, so let us know ahead of time."

I ordered No. 21 off the salad menu. The yum pla muk - or calamari with lemon grass, mint leaves, cilantro, limejuice and chili powder.

My sibling asked for the house salad, a mix of baby greens, carrots and tomato, with peanut dressing - still staying on the safe side.

The soup list included a favorite of mine - No. 11, hot and sour soup with coconut milk, mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass.

Since we usually have beef, chicken or pork, we opted for numbers 39 (a yellow curried boneless duck with chili paste, coconut milk, eggplant, tomatoes, pineapple and basil leaves) and 62 (ba mee ped hang is boneless roast duck in garlic oil and vegetables).

Both were delicious and quite distinctive. Again, the "heat spice" level depends on the tolerance of the consumer. I love a bit of zing, so I went with medium spicy. An order of steamed rice helped even it out. It was almost too hot - but oh so good - as others among us agreed.

"We have eaten a lot of Thai food," said Garret Arney-Johnson, who also ordered No. 62. "I like No. 62 because of the pineapple and basil hodgepodge. If no one told you that this was duck, you would not be aware of it."

"This is our place," said his companion Breanne Heighley. "When we want Thai food, we come here. As you can see it is most appealing, organized and very clean."

So far my sister was pleased I brought her to Ruen Thai, but would she be more convinced with dessert - more specifically ice cream with fried bananas?

"We have five flavors," Souliyonh says. "Coconut, green tea, vanilla, strawberry and mango."

Without hesitation, I cried, "Mango."

Sis ordered green tea.

I don't like mangos, but the mango ice cream is a different story. With fried banana it danced across my taste buds.

So, with the meal complete, I asked for an evaluation from the first-timer who accompanied me.

"I really liked it," she says. "I don't usually like to try anything new, but bring me back here and we'll go for more numbered meals."

Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday or 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Reservations are not necessary, but for larger groups, it is best to call ahead at 774-1499.