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301-990-3699

Fax: 301-990-3688

Style of cuisine: Thai

Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-10 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-10:30 p.m.; Sat. 11:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.; Sun. 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m.

Dinner entrée prices: $9.95-$15.95

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www.thaitaniumrestaurant.com

Look up the word ‘‘titanium” in the dictionary and you’ll find adjectives like strong, stable and lustrous. Thai Tanium, a restaurant that opened last year in the Kentlands, is doing everything it can to live up to its name, according to co-owner Pattarapong Sebamonpimol.

‘‘It’s a catchy name, easy to remember,” says Sebamonpimol, noting it might be harder for patrons to remember the restaurant if it were named for its owners. There’s also the play on words between ‘‘Ti,” the chemical symbol for titanium, and ‘‘Thai” food.

Sebamonpimol says there was a demand for more traditional Thai food among people who don’t necessarily want to drive into the District to get it. He opened the restaurant in March 2006 with the help of his partner Suriyan Scorsat, who runs D.C.’s Thai Tanic restaurant. Sebamonpimol, who had known Scorsat for many years, suggested they open a restaurant in the Kentlands that served the same food offered at Thai Tanic.

‘‘We serve a lot of different dishes that other Thai restaurants don’t,” Sebamonpimol says. Standouts include Nua Ka Ting, spicy beef in a special Thai chili paste with a touch of basil.

‘‘This one comes with a warning,” Sebamonpimol says. ‘‘It’s very, very spicy. Customers love it.”

He boasts that Thai Tanium’s food is very close to food served in Thailand, but some Thai customers ask that their fare be served even spicier. As long as they’re prepared for the results, Sebamonpimol is happy to comply.

‘‘Some customers might ask for 10-star” on the spicy scale, he says. That’s too hot for Sebamonpimol, but one customer ‘‘showed me that he can take it.”

Other authentic dishes include Thai Tanium lemon grass, chicken stir-fried with special yellow curry sauce, and Shrimp Siam, grilled shrimp with a chili sauce Sebamonpimol describes as ‘‘medium spicy.” There’s also a grilled catfish in yellow curry with green tea rice.

He credits his partner’s wife, Ruttana Scorsat, with creating the menu and running the kitchen. She had run the Thai Tanic kitchen for five years, but now, ‘‘she’s in charge here five days a week,” Sebamonpimol says. A native of Thailand, she learned to cook from her mother and grandmother.

The restaurant’s attention to detail is not reserved solely for the food. Creative touches are everywhere, from the sparkling, happy-hour-friendly bar to the festive fountain that welcomes patrons into the dining room and the custom-made tables with individual gold-laden artwork laminated into the tops.

With the help of an architect, Sebamonpimol and his partner designed the restaurant themselves. Even the high-tech restroom sinks they bought from a supplier in Bethesda are distinctive enough to draw customer comments.

Sebamonpimol says he is pleased the restaurant has been so busy. The business lunch crowd has probably doubled in the past year, he says.

Now 31, Sebamonpimol studied civil engineering and computer science. He held engineering jobs for a few years, but another way of life beckoned.

‘‘I have fun in the restaurant business,” he says. ‘‘It’s busy every day, and there are new things that challenge me.”

Sebamonpimol lives in Germantown with his wife of seven years, Sirinee Chiamvichitr, who helps manage Thai Tanium. Born in Thailand, he grew up in the town of Suphanburi and came to the U.S. in 1999 for graduate school. He moved to Montgomery County to be near his aunt, who lives in Darnestown and recommended checking out the Kentlands for his restaurant venture.

‘‘It’s a nice neighborhood,” Sebamonpimol says. ‘‘We like the way the shopping center looks, the people here are nice and there are not a lot of Thai restaurants here.”

With a name like Thai Tanium, the restaurant has a good shot at making its presence known in the Kentlands and beyond.