PHOTOS: Zesty new Thai spot Zab Zab debuts in New Monterey.

It is a good omen when you see two chefs seated at a new restaurant.

So it was this weekend at brand-new Zab Zab Thai (747-2225) in New Monterey, which opened quietly late last month in the space formerly occupied by Henry's Famous BBQ.

The spare but cleanly appointed place is petit—there are only around 20 seats inside for now, though more will eventually fill the empty space in the center of the restaurant—but the menu and the heart behind it are huge.

First, the menu.

Five soups lead the way, including the hot and sour tom yum ($7.50 or $10.50) and the pho tak with Northeastern Thai-style sour clear broth and a spicy medley of seafood, Thai herbs and basil.

We tried the kang jead with noodle-like bean thread, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms, a mild and straightforward soup served in a flaming "fire pot" and providing enough for three at $9.50.

Seven "wok" dishes look awfully inviting, from the the basil-chili-onion-green bean-red bell pepper-brown garlic sauce pad ka prow ($9.75) to the ginger garlic wok with (yes) ginger, scallions and garlic sauce ($9.75) to the "Bangkok favorite" pad prik khing with green beans, carrot and special Thai chili sauce. Each comes with a choice of chicken, beef, pork, tofu or prawns (prawns run an additional $3).

We tabbed the pad phed pla for its mouthwatering description: crispy fish, red curry paste, kafir lime leaf and crispy basil ($12.99).

The bright and balanced sauce helped the lightly battered and fried chunks of tilapia disappear very quickly.

Six curries cover coconut, panang, red, green, yellow, pineapple and pumpkin ($9.95-$11.95 with rice)—and the X factor, a Mussaman beef with slow-braised beef shank, coconut, potatoes, onions and peanuts.

Six fried rice options also do a safe and popular diversity of curry-fried and basil-fried options, with the pineapple-fried rice ($12.95) looking adventurous thanks to the egg, tomatoes, raisins and onions served in half a pineapple shell.

Seven noodle dishes swing from pad Thai ($9.25) to flat noodle lad nah ($9.25) to silver-noodle Thai suki yaki with egg, calamari, chicken, prawns, bok choi, celery and a spicy bean cake ($11.95)

We tried the kung op wun sen ($12.95), which sounded incredible ("prawns baked in a clay pot with bacon ginger, cilantro, black pepper, celery, sesame oil, bean thread and green onion"). In practice it was deliciously robust on mouth feel and complimentary flavors, just a little skimpy on the prawns (four total) and bacon.

And it turns out a comma was missing. Bacon ginger isn't a thing. Yet.

Five slurp-friendly noodle soups deploy everything from egg noodles to roasted pork to bean sprouts ($8.75-$10.95).

There's even another page of plates after that, called "entrees"—and I skipped over the appetizers, which include usual Southeast Asian suspects like the chicken satay ($7.99), spring rolls ($7.99) and deep-fried tofu with plum sauce ($5.99), among others, and four salads including a spicy and crunchy green papaya number ($7.95).

The entrees hail from two places: the land, with the lemongrass-marinated barbecue ribs ($12.99), New York steak ($18.99), roasted duck ($16.99), braised five-spice spare ribs ($14.95) and Bangkok duck ($16.99); and the ocean, with a Gulf of Siam seafood combination ($14.99), red curry salmon ($14.95), cumin prawns ($13.95) and New Zealand mussels in a chili sauce ($11.99).

Desserts, teas, beer, wine and sake round out the considerable menu.

Now to the heart of the place.

Owner-operator Pui Fujun immigrated from Thailand as a young girl to live here with her aunt and uncle.

After more than a decade in the kitchen at Stillwater Grill at the Lodge at Pebble Beach and a long run at her second job at Crystal Fish, she has realized her dream—and clearly revels in the Northeast Thai-style restaurant coming to a reality.

She wasn't our primary server, but still gleefully spooned out our soup and chatted us up a couple times, even stopping and sitting down with the chefs' table. 

Her smile never left. 

"We love healthy food," she says. 

Her chef is none other than her auntie.

She's already had out-of-towners return just to dine there, an early indicator that Zab Zab has some legit staying power.

The portions aren't exactly big, but the menu, authenticity and the heart most certainly are.

And the name fits.

In Northeastern Thailand "zab" loosely translates to delicious, flavorful and spicy. (Yes, spicy and tasty are essentially interchangeable for the heat-seeking Thai peeps.)

So zab zab means double delicious.