In a nutshell:

One of the best Thai food I have had in Delhi NCR so far, way beyond the usual red curry, green curry & tom yam.

Address & other details: Neung Roi, Radisson Blu.

Meal for 2: Rs. 2000 onwards

Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster.

Short Description – in case u r in a hurry:

We heard about Neung Roi form a friend who is a food lover but short of a foodie. So we thought why not try this out – since there r not too many authentic far east cuisine restaurants in Delhi NCR.

The restaurant has a simple signage at the entrance – metal on wood. The interiors r however very beautiful, though short of what I wud have described as opulent. The lighting in general was dim but every table had a soothing spot light just for itself.
The open kitchen was visible from almost all the seats of the restaurant & it was quite nice to observe the Lady Expat Chef from Thailand who was not only supervising the cooking staff, but also constantly doing things herself.

The food was Thai but not just restricted to green curry, red curry & tom yam. It was a very different take on thai food – Do not remember seeing so much detailing in a Thai restaurant in India. Thailand has 4 regions – The menu card is divided by cuisine from each region.(Read the last section for more details)

The service guys were very warm, knowledgeable & good.

The menu card was unique in the Indian context. It was an ipad. Yes, u got it right. The software was made in a way that u cud go to the header, see options, go into the pointers & then into sub pointers etc. The good thing is that it is a new thing & hence exciting.

However, there r ways to make the ipad experience way better – Firstly The ipad shud have drooling good pic of every item on the menu card. That is something that is not easy in a printed menu card. Secondly the whole menu cannot be accessed at one time like in the physical menu book. So if u want to look across & compare dish options from different regions, it is a difficult proposition – u have to do 5-6 steps to say go from starter of region a to a main course of section B. Food for thought for the Management.

Food was very good. Vegetarian options were aplenty & very good as well. Great cooks can only turn simple vegetables / simple ingredients to such lip smacking food items. It is worth few revisits for sure.

Detailed Description – In case u have the Time to NJOY reading:

We chose most of the food from a region called Isha (North East) – As u might have rightly guessed , this word has Sanskrit origins. We also added a dish from the Southern region.

As we waited for the dinner we were served a complimentary Amuse bouche – grilled aubergines and lemon chilli sauce on a base of tomatoes. For the uninitiated, An amuse-bouche is a single, bite-sized starter. Difference from appetizers is that amuse bouche is not ordered from a menu by patrons, but served for free according to the chef’s selection. The idea is to prepare the guest for the meal and also to offer a glimpse into the chef’s approach to the art of cuisine. The term is French, literally translated to “mouth amuser”.

The bite was mindblowing good. A veggie item that floored YUMMRAJ. I give this a 4.75/5

We started or dinner with tohu song Keith – It was tofu and betel leaf in pandanus cup with tamarind, palm sugar sauce and roasted coconut!!! Sounds weird? Paan leaf in a starter?

Well, yes. The paan leaf was cut into thin strips & added. The tofu was at the base of the pandanus cup (a cup made from pandanus leaf. Atop was roasted coconut. Wow. The palm sugar sauce gave a slight sweetish taste to the food in addition to the salt. The tofu was excellent – super soft inside & almost crispy outside. The whole thing eaten together was an experience – it was different that anything I have ever had – & thoroughly enjoyable as well. I wud give this veggie dish a 4.75/5.

Post this we had poo ja – It was stuffed crabmeat and minced pork served in crab shell, served with plum sauce. I am usually a big fan of crab. However the veggie dish mentioned above was so overwhelming that I just did not get the taste of the crab. It took me some vigorous mouth washing with my drink to remove the taste & flavor of the tofu.

Poo ja was good but not great. It was a bit dry within & had a pretty subtle taste. Even after my palatae cleansers did their job, the dish cud not impress me beyond just ‘good’. I give this a 3/5.

The third dish yam mamuang – raw mango salad with cashew nut. This was such a simple dish – cud b easily made at home & yet tasted so good. Super thin slices of raw mango marinated with sweet, salt, sour seasoning, thinly sliced green chillies & served with crispy cashew. Wow. I give this a 4.5/5.

After the initial starters we moved to Tom gati pla krob . It was banana blossom and coconut milk soup with fried fish. Banana blossom is pretty popular in Bengal & is known as mocha in Bangla. It is essentially the flower stage of fruit banana. The way in which the blossom is cut in Thailand is very different from the way it is done here.

The blossom was a bit bitter & it did make a major difference to the taste of the soup. The soup was awesome & of course the fried fish was excellent. Loved it & again give it a 4.5/5

For main course we had Pla yang kamin – grilled tilapia fish with fresh turmeric and tamarind sauce. This wasa dry dish with two very good fillets of tilapia. The fresh turmeric did not really make its presence felt in any different way than the ‘maach bhaja’ of Bengal. Tamarind sauce made a world of difference & we simply loved it. Once again I give this dish a 4.5/5.

The last dish in main course that we had was phad phed moo krob – southern style pork with white ginger, young pepper corn, basil and kaffir lime leaves. Once again, it was an outstanding thick gravy full of flavors. The beans were crunchy & perfect. Full bunches of black pepper were also present in the curry. The pork strips were soft & somewhat juicy inside & slightly crisp on the outer side. I wud again give this a 4.5/5.

Drinks on the table were Blue topaz signature mock tail & Cocktail blue sapphire. The mocktail had fresh lime, mint leaves, blue curacao in it. It turned out to be a bit more sweet than enjoyable, a bit more sour wud have increased the tanginess of the drink. Visually it was cool. The round sugar ball in the center made a huge difference to the looks of the drink. I rate this at 3/5.

The Cocktail called blue sapphire had johhnie black double, Bombay sapphire, Drambuie & blue curacao. It was just outstanding. Potent, intense, had interplay of flavors & very good to taste. I rate this 4.5/5

For dessert we had Sago pearls in warm coconut milk. I have had this in Thailand & the one here was almost the same. There was an element of sweetness & the coconut milk had some salt in it as well. We were asked to mix it up well & once done, it turned out to be a pretty good dessert. I loved it once again. The sago was a bit sticky & that is how it usually is. Tiny scoops of watermelon & honeydew melon added to the taste.I rate this at 4.5/5.

Rating of food & beverages at this restaurant averages out to 4.25/5.

I wud surely keep revisiting. Look forward to hearing what u have to say………….

Extract from the the first page of menu card – Regions of Thailand and their culinary styles: