Going to Neath's is like visiting a beloved aunt who loves to prepare the out-of-this-world dishes that she knows are your favorites. You don't see her often, so each meal offers both a surprise and a bit of déjà vu.

The thing is, Neath's restaurant has a very limited menu -- only seven main dishes, plus a couple of nightly specials, and no patronizing us with pastas. It's easy to eat your way through the menu, zeroing in on the entrees that really speak to you, and returning for them. Which is what I did recently.

If you don't know what you're walking into above the downstairs lounge, the several Southeast Asian black and white block prints present an orientation: elephants, musicians, water-carrier. Neath Pal (his first name is pronounced "Knee-it") was born in Cambodia; adopted, he came to the states in 1975. Working in a Newport restaurant, he discovered that he wanted to be a chef. He didn't fool around with this ambition and trained in well-reputed Paris restaurants, such as the regional-inspired Sousceyrac, where he learned French subtlety with orchestrating complementary flavors and appreciation of fresh, local ingredients. Back in Rhode Island, Neath worked at Al Forno for a year, then helped establish such first-rate restaurants as L'Epicureo and Grappa before setting up shop himself.

Neath's is housed in a big, open room with a wide-open kitchen on the other side of a half-partition, across from a second-story view of the Providence River. Even with the view, you'll mostly be looking at your plate. The wine list is sensibly chosen, rather than voluminous (among reds by the glass, nothing more robust than a Merlot, since there's no Cabernet-appropriate steak available.) For starters, the one-page menu lists only three salads and a half-dozen appetizers.

We've enjoyed beginning with the steamed dumplings ($9) filled with shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. The enormous roasted oysters ($12) on the next table looked great, but we couldn't pass up the steamed littleneck clams ($10). This simple dish demonstrates what Neath is all about: he takes a familiar dish, such as grilled pork chop, and lets you re-experience it in an Asian idiom, marinating the pork in anise and five-spice mixture. The half-dozen cherrystone clams come in a magnificently rich broth that finesses the absence of a soup course on the menu. Strips of julienned snow peas and shiitakes are plentiful in the sesame oil-enhanced miso broth, which the tasty French bread sops up nicely. Or do as I did and spoon it up as well.

As I recall, their wood-grilled chicken breast ($21) is fine, savory with lemon grass, but Johnnie chose another dish that comes alive with that last ingredient. The "Key West pink shrimp" ($24), as it's billed, highlights a wonderful balance of stark and subtle flavors. Lime brings out the shellfish taste, and there's also a sweet and tart combination from pieces of pineapple and teardrop tomatoes. Jasmine rice is at the service of the broth, which has a spicy heat not mentioned in its description, but which binds the flavors.

The red curry hotness warned about in the description for my Point Judith lobster ($27) was actually milder than the spiciness of those shrimp. Again, care was taken to optimize its level in the context of other flavors. Ah, those flavors, accompanying more strips of snow peas and shiitakes. In New England most of my life, I've had my share of lobster, but Neath's preparation is on my life list of favorites. Shelled and placed atop a mound of wide, herbed, and garlicky chow foon noodles, the crustacean's delicate taste nevertheless comes through loud and clear, perhaps because of the sweetness of the coconut milk in the sauce. Wonderful.

As for dessert, you won't want to pass up the chocolate wontons. They are labor intensive and thus pricey, at $9 for three, but you'll probably want to spring for a fourth for another $2.75, as our waitress suggested. ("I don't want to have to break up any fights," she chirped.) A melon-ball-size scoop of kitchen-made gelato sits like a jolly sidekick next to each flash-fried little wonton, which spills out warm semisweet chocolate ganache. If Neath's has banana ice cream, as they did the night we were there, you might order that as well, since it complements chocolate almost as well as ginger. I'm confident that the passion fruit crème brûlée, and fresh mango with sticky rice and coconut crème anglaise, $7 each, are perfectly respectable, perhaps even exciting. But I couldn't forgive myself if I let you pass up the chocolate wontons.

My work is done. You are assured of a culinary glimpse of heaven, if heaven has a kitchen -- and if you trace the above steps precisely. Eat well, my children.

Bill Rodriguez can be reached at billrod@reporters.net.

Issue Date: November 29 - December 5, 2002