In theory, Munch understands that restaurant workers need days off as much as the rest of us. But in practice, Munch sure does get cranky when Munch wants to eat out on a Sunday or Monday and the darn place is closed.

So when Munch wanted to get dinner with Ph.D. Student Friend of Munch and PHDSFOM had some sort of high-falutin film symposium meeting until 8 p.m. on a Sunday, Munch sure was glad to stumble onto Thai Tom Yum Kung in Edgewood -- open until 9:30 p.m. every day of the week.

Thai TYK is at 247 Edgewood Ave., Edgewood. Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 3 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday. BYOB. Call 412-731-0740.

Thai TYK (Munch won't claim credit, but the restaurant has indeed acronymed itself) opened last year in the same Edgewood strip mall that formerly hosted the excellent Green Mango Thai restaurant, which has since moved to more spacious digs in Regent Square.

In other words, Thai TYK is tiny (or Thai-ny -- ha!). Munch rolled four deep with PHDSFOM, Dear One of Munch and Carpenter Friend Of Munch and had to squeeze two tables together just to find a place to sit. By Munch's quick count, the restaurant has room for 12 diners, so the party of Munch and the two other diners filled up half the restaurant.

That said, the smallness of the place was actually sort of comforting, like being at a dinner party in a burgundy-walled living room decorated with plants and Thai trinkets. Certainly, Munch no longer felt as if Munch was eating in a strip mall two doors down from a laundromat.

Having waited until 8:30 on a Sunday to eat, the Munch party ordered two appetizers: fresh spring rolls ($4.50) and vegetable dumplings ($5). The spring rolls were amazingly fresh, and the generous portion was immediately inhaled by the table. The dense, ginger-flavored vegetable dumplings were completely different from what Munch had expected but proved to be a pleasant surprise.

Appetizers taken care of, the Munch party carefully selected entrees from Thai TYK's gigantic menu, which goes far beyond just the noodle dishes and colored curries common to Thai restaurants. PHDSFOM chose the Grilled Mint Beef Salad ($6.50), Munch chose the "Drunkle Noodle" ($8.99), DOOM picked the Yellow Sea (mixed seafood yellow curry, $10.95) and CFOM chose the Pad Prik Khing (spicy red curry stir fry).

Altogether, it was quite a range of flavors: the spicy-vinegar dressing of the mint beef salad, the sweet basil sauce of the noodles, the cinnamon-cumin taste of the yellow curry and the mouth-awakening ginger and spice of the red curry. Again, portion size was generous and all were pleased with their dishes, though PHDSFOM was a bit overwhelmed with the spice on her salad (she'd only ordered it to be a 5 out of 10 on the spicy scale). Munch liked the noodles, but after one taste of CFOM's Pad Prik Khing, Munch promptly forgot all manners and couldn't stop eating it off of his plate.

Munch was particularly pleased at the end of the meal, when the friendly waiter presented the table with Thai TYK wooden bookmarks instead of fortune cookies. Now Munch will have the phone number handy when a Thai food craving strikes on any given Sunday ... or Monday.