The food is fresh, made to order and flavorful at Aroy

Every town has one. A location where one business after another opens and quickly closes. In Stonington, it’s on South Broad Street in the Pawcatuck section of town near the post office, where a 1,200-square-foot building has housed a variety of eateries over the years, including but not limited to a hot dog joint, a deli, and a breakfast café.

So excuse my skepticism when I saw that Aroy Thai Fusion Cuisine had opened in the seemingly doomed location about three months ago. Give it time, I thought, silently praying that Aroy would break the curse but honestly doubtful.

Early reports on Aroy from friends were mixed, but with several great Thai restaurants just across the border in Westerly and rumors that the proprietors had worked at these other locations, we decided to give Aroy — the name translates to tasty or delicious in Thai — a try.

Our first foray wasn’t promising. We decided to start with take-out on a Friday night and were disappointed when we called in our order to hear it would be 45 minutes before our food was ready. We waited 50 minutes, and when we arrived, we learned our order still wasn’t ready. We were hungry and angry — hangry — even more so with food in hand and, back at home, we realized we didn’t get exactly what we ordered.

We did get the Sai Ua ($16), which as advertised was very spicy. This dish includes housemade northern Thai sausages served over Kee Mow fettucine. There was no false advertising here, the dish was fiery hot and spicy.

We also tried the Palo Short Ribs ($22), a braised five-spice rib served with pesto fettuccini and topped with onsen tomago (hot spring eggs) and cracked red peppercorn. This dish was flavorful, and the rib serving plentiful. Another tasty choice was the Hoy Jor ($8), or deep-fried crab dumplings. They were moist inside, with just the right amount of crunch on the outside. What we didn’t like was the Lemongrass Pork ($18), which was marinated pork with chicarron (a fried pork rind) and purple sticky rice. The pork was dry and the rice terrible, tasteless and a big lump, but perhaps it would have been better if served in-house, not taken home.

We talked it over and agreed we needed to visit the restaurant in person to really get the true taste and flavor. So we went back about 2 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon when it was quiet and told our waiter, Joe, we wanted his advice making selections. He was more than helpful, explaining the menu, spice levels, and translating whatever we didn’t understand.

He suggested a variety of proteins and directed us to house favorites. This time, we picked mostly from the lunch menu, which is a real bargain. With the Classic Thai Combo ($12), diners get a choice of a starter, a protein and an entrée. We selected two combos, plus a Miso Ramen bowl, and added two more appetizers. It was a lot of food, but we wanted variety, and waiter Joe promised we might be full but we wouldn’t be unhappy.

We started with the Masala Coconut Shrimp ($7) that are served with coconut flakes and tomato curry aioli. They were a bit overcooked in our estimation but still enjoyable. The big hit with the appetizers was the Thai Shumai ($6), luscious little dumplings filled with shrimp and pork.

With one of the combos, we got the veggie dumplings and Pad Thai with chicken. The dumplings were good, although not the best we’ve ever tasted. The Pad Thai, however, was perfectly cooked and incredibly tasty. We will definitely order that again.

For the other combo, we got the spring roll and a red curry rice bowl with chicken. The spring roll, filled with glass noodles and spring vegetables, was huge, halved and nestled in a delicious sweet and tangy sauce. When we asked Joe what it was, he told us it was a family recipe and said it was likely the tamarin we were tasting.

By the time our food was being served, we were the only customers at Aroy and Joe gladly answered our questions. The restaurant is a family operation with a younger brother in the kitchen and other relatives, including their mother, helping with food preparation and other things.

Combined, the family members at Aroy have multiple decades in the Thai food business, and it is true that they worked at some of Westerly’s popular Thai eateries. The business is too new now to add extra help, so family members are doing it all, including dishwashing.

At Aroy, Joe explained, every dish is made to order with fresh ingredients. There is only one wok and two stoves in the tiny kitchen; when all eight seats at the six tables in the restaurant are full, diners should expect to wait at least 30 minutes for their food after placing their orders. That explained the hour wait for our take-out on a Friday night. The place was filled when we went to get our order.

Joe said the family takes pride in its food and its preparation. There is no microwave at Aroy, he said, and every dish is inspected by the chef before it leaves the kitchen. When our Miso Ramen ($12) arrived, the chef came out to ask if everything was to our liking. Yes, we told him, it was. The miso was served with onsen tomango, seaweed, pork belly, pickled red peppers, tofu, and bean sprouts, and my dining partner lapped it up.

We were stuffed, too full when Joe came to ask about dessert, but when he presented our bill, he offered guava and lychee candies. Had we opted for dessert, among the choices are Mango Sticky Rice ($8) and Mochi Ice Cream ($6).

While we were there, Joe suggested we post our impressions of Aroy on Yelp. He didn’t know we were there to review his family’s restaurant. But here’s what we would say if we posted on Yelp: “This restaurant location has had a series of occupants over the years and perhaps Aroy will be the one to break the cycle and find success there. We hope so. The food is fresh, made to order, and flavorful. Don’t be in a rush, good things take time, and don’t hesitate to ask your server for recommendations.”