Food & Drink
Review: Owners of Absolute Thai-Sushi Bring Their Country’s Flavors to Towson
The restaurant’s current proprietors took over the sleek spot at The Shops at Kenilworth last year.
The Shops at Kenilworth—a compact mall in Towson—doesn’t have a food court. But it houses several locally owned restaurants, including Absolute Thai-Sushi. The restaurant’s current proprietors, Narissara “Narissa” Johnson and Theerayut Kesornjampa, took over the sleek, modern spot from its previous owners in March 2024.
The business partners, who hail from Thailand—Johnson from Pathumthani, a town near Bangkok; Kesornjampa from Chiang Rai in the northern provinces—can also be found in the restaurant kitchen, preparing their country’s traditional dishes. Johnson turned to cooking when she couldn’t find decent Thai food near her home. “Why don’t I cook it myself?” she decided. “We can make it as we like it and share it with other people.”
She and Kesornjampa focus on an array of traditional Thai food (the previous owners sold sushi, hence the restaurant’s name), including classics like pad Thai and drunken noodles, a popular choice at the restaurant. The colorful bowl features a base of soft rice noodles and crisp-tender vegetables like green beans, broccoli, and flower-shaped carrot slices in a tangy chile-garlic sauce that, despite its kick, feels like comfort food. Diners can also add proteins like chicken and pork or, my favorite, shrimp.
As is true of most restaurants, it’s always worth paying attention to the chef’s recommendations. Here, the crispy Kapraow chicken balances fried chicken nuggets and fried Thai basil in a pleasantly sweet garlicky sauce paired with steamed broccoli florets. A classic street noodle entrée is another success, with shrimp and ground chicken tossed with red bell pepper slices and slicked with a gentle coating with a hint of fish sauce.
If you feel like sampling a lot of different things, the selection of appetizers and soups could become full meals. The Thai dumplings showcase a steamed bundle of minced chicken, shrimp, and water chestnuts encircled by delicate wonton wrappers to be swiped in a thick plum sauce. The chicken satay still has me smiling. The four strips of grilled, marinated chicken on skewers are wonderfully satisfying by themselves, but they get a boost from the accompanying peanut sauce and cucumber sauce.
I’m a big fan of tom yum soup, especially Absolute Thai-Sushi’s version. It is a comfort dish with a soothing lemongrass broth bobbing with tender straw mushrooms and tomatoes. I like the plug of fresh ginger buried in its depths for flavor. You can also enhance the soup with additions like chicken, tofu, shrimp, or a veggie medley.
A crunchy papaya salad could be a beginning or an ending. A gorgeous mound of shredded green papaya, atop crisp lettuce leaves, is interspersed with green beans, tomatoes, and a toss of peanuts in a piquant lime dressing that is refreshing and spicy. Or you can end with a simple dessert of freshly sliced mangoes over sweet sticky rice.
A cart stationed in the restaurant also serves Baltimore’s Taharka Brothers ice cream. Johnson tried many brands before picking Taharka, saying, “We want to support local brands.”
ABSOLUTE THAI-SUSHI: The Shops at Kenilworth, 800 Kenilworth Dr., Suite No. 816, lower level, Towson, 410-881-9100 HOURS: Daily, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. PRICES: Appetizers: $5.95-11.95; entrees, $15.95-
21.95; BYOB, $7 corkage fee.