By Pamela Brownstein
Indulging in delicious Thai food for lunch sounds like my idea of a super afternoon, and that’s exactly what the Lunch Bunch did last week at the new Amata Thai Fusion. Located next to Kmart in Beaufort Town Center, the restaurant serves a great selection of Thai dishes that come in big portions and reasonable prices. Owner and manager Rak Tocharoen brings years of restaurant experience and is excited about his new venture.

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We tried several mouthwatering appetizers. The Fresh Fusion roll and the Amata Spring roll were both savory, but the crab won tons with sweet and sour sauce were the yummy favorite. The special peanut sauce on the Amata chicken satay was also awesome.
Kim ordered the Pad Kra Prow — stir fry with garlic, onion, string beans, Thai chili, bell peppers, basil leaves — and added shrimp.
Elizabeth had the Pad Kee Mao — stir fried rice noodles with garlic, chili, onions, cabbage, broccoli, bell pepper, green beans and basil leaves with chicken. She said it is her favorite Thai entree that she always orders.
Buck tried the Med Mamuang Himmapan medium spicy that is stir fry with cashew nut, onions, celery and bell peppers made with special chili paste.
April went with the traditional Pad Thai — thin rice noodles with tamarine sauce with bean sprouts, green onion and ground peanut. We knew it was good if April liked it because sometimes her tastes are particular.

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I had my favorite: Massaman curry, which is mild yellow curry with potato, carrots and onions over rice. It was so indescribably good. Although everyone enjoyed their meals, we all agreed that the Massaman is a must-have.
We were all crazy over the desserts. The black sticky rice pudding was really good, and was Elizabeth’s favorite. Then we tried the fried green tea ice cream and it was outstanding, and Kim ate most of it. Last we had fried bananas with coconut ice cream and it was out of this world. I can still taste the warm, sweet fried bananas, it is definitely a must-have.
Amata Thai Fusion is open Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m.; closed Sundays. For more information or to order take out, call 843-379-9197 or email amatathaifusion@gmail.com.