Photo by David Moore Monkey balls

They may not serve up authentic street food, but with cheeky names and affordable prices, Siracha’s dishes are Asian fusion made fun.

When “street food” is put into such a stylish setting as it is at Siracha Lounge, it seems less like a crossover and more like confusing.

Because even if one of the biggest dining trends for 2010 is the fancying up of quick, casual bites like spring rolls, sliders and chicken wings peddled from carts on corners, there’s something that feels insincere when we’re eating it on a black leather couch beneath glittering chandeliers.

Yet so it is at Siracha, which opened with a Pan-Asian-fusion street food theme in November in downtown Chandler, in the space that used to house KiZake Sushi & Martinis. The lounge is ooh-la-la, with rich red walls, sexy white sofas, a scattering of black tables, and a full bar accented by a big circle of exposed brick.

What street is this, meanwhile, that slings silky-sumptuous coconut green curry linguine studded with shrimp, calamari and green mussels ($12), or gussied-up tom yum soup ($24) chockfull of tilapia, calamari, shrimp, mussels and lobster? I’m not really complaining. The young set will love this place, with its loud music and crazy cocktails.

A few fancy dishes and the trendy club vibe aside, Siracha Chef/owner Virakon Vongphachanh keeps much of his cooking real, and so, too, are most of his prices. Most everything comes in around $8 to $12 for hefty, highly shareable plates like the Virakon Special ($12), brimming with meaty Korean short ribs, chicken sate, pork spare ribs and shrimp fried rice. While questionably named, Long Big Wong Noodles ($9) are enough for two hungry diners, in a delicious slippery mound of Chinese flat noodles tumbled with tender chicken.

Long Big Wong Noodles with signature martini

Siracha refers to a city in Thailand, though the menu also ransacks Korea, Vietnam, Japan, China and a bit of who-knows-where. The Laos-born chef previously worked at Mikado Restaurant at The Mirage in Las Vegas and at the pseudo-sushi palace Blue Wasabi in Gilbert, and his flashy training shows in a few offbeat bites stuck in among the first-rate pho ($6-$9) and Philippine chicken adobo stewed over garlic rice ($9).

Some of the wacky dishes work surprisingly well, in particular an addictive-as-can-be chimi chang roll ($10) of spicy tuna, avocado and lots of jalapeño rolled in a flour tortilla, fried crispy and sliced. Try the slow-simmered oxtail and sliced beef soup ($14), which features flames shooting from a tureen tempered by tasty, deeply seasoned broth.

But a Happy Ending dessert of tempura-fried Snickers bar ($6) is a mess, and the only way to really justify eating Monkey Balls (coconut puffs filled with salmon and cream cheese, $7) is to pair it with a fruity-sweet Dragonbreath rum-vodka-cranberry-pineapple-orange martini ($8) and admit you’re just being cute.

Street? Siracha isn’t really. But as a fun lounge with some tasty treats, it’s definitely a tough act to follow.

DETAILS

Siracha Lounge
Cuisine: Asian fusion
Address: 95 W. Boston St., Chandler
Phone: 480-857-1409
Website: sirachalounge.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight,
Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Friday and Saturday
Highlights: Tom yum soup ($24); Long Big Wong Noodles ($9); Philippine chicken adobo stewed over garlic rice ($9); chimi chang roll ($10); oxtail and sliced beef soup ($14)