In a nutshell:
A fabulous lunch in a beautiful restaurant with professional service that felt very very warm
Address & other details: nara thai
Global – nara thai
Instagram : nara thai
Facebook: nara thai
Meal for 2: ₹2000 onwards
Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian
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YUMMRAJ rates all the food items & then gives 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 have always heard about nara thai from my sister – she lives in mumbai & has lost count of how many times she has dined at nara thai mumbai, she says…..😊 so when we heard nara thai was opening in Gurgaon, we decided to drop by.
Like always, we tried booking through Zomato, tried to find a phone number on Google to book seats. We could not get a seat on first two attempts (2 different occasions) as the restaurant seemed to be constantly fully booked.
As we reached the restaurant we were soon allocated a seat that looked like a jhoola (no, we were not swinging at the restaurant. The jhoola was fixed).
As we settled down, we looked around. The super high ceiling & the full glass wall gave an open air, outdoor visual feel while we enjoyed the comfort of air conditioning & low AQI levels ……
The interiors were beautiful, subtle & reminded us of Thai rooted modern aesthetics.
The staff members were very efficient & very warm at the same time. While one person took direct care of us throughout the lunch, others came by, spoke to us, asked feedback & we also enjoyed our chit chat with some of them. It felt like being a guest at a large joint family get together where multiple members of the host family interacted with us, at different points in time, with immense warmth.
We were pleasantly surprised at the very fast service, even when the entire floor was full.
The menu card had pictures of every dish & a description.
We ordered every dish separately so that they stay warm while we eat. So we stayed here for close to 2+ hours.
Loved the food here. Each & every dish. Have already made mental notes on which dishes to try the next time…..
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
My partner tried Bankok burn – a cocktail with gin, tamarind, thai chilly, coriander & lemongrass – the balance was just outstanding. Unputdownable. The surprise was prized. Rate it 4.95/5
Soft Shell Crab with Garlic – Lightly battered soft shell crab tossed in fried garlic & chillies – the ‘Fishiness’ or ‘crabbiness’ of this seafood was intact. The crabs had a strong garlicky flavour to complement the crab flavours. It had a hot (scoville factor) aftertaste, perfect balance of seasoning & was very good to taste.
Rate it 4.5/5
Braised Pork Belly with Pak Choy in Oyster Sauce was cooked with excellent pork meat, with perfect combination of meat & fat. Loved the sauce. The pak choy was cooked perfectly – retained the right crunch. The sauce that stuck to the edges of the meat & the bok choy became somewhat charred (mildly) & elevated the dish.
Rate it 4.5/5
Thai Fish Cakes with Cucumber Relish came next – these were Crisp-fried fish & prawn cakes with aromatic Thai herbs. Still salivating remembering how extremely juicy it was. The fish cakes were soft in the middle & had bold flavours of fish. We loved it as it is & also with the sweet cucumber sauce ‘relish’.
Rate it 4.75/5
We then ordered Grilled John Dory in Kaffır Lime.
The dish turned outstanding due to the very good fish & the perfect cooking technique. The fillets were flaky & very juicy. Bold flavours of the marinade & also of the fish complemented each other very well.
I personally usually like John Dory the western way in which flavours of the fish rule. Here the kaffir lime added a new dimension to it. It took away some flavours from the fish but added back a lot fun surprise to the dish. Grilled to perfection.
Rate it 4.75/5
After having 4 dishes, we still were craving for more. So we ordered Roasted Duck in Red Curry.
The curry had a hint of sweet, a thick meaty flavour, shredded duck pieces & chillies floating all around. Loved this dish.
The duck meat had the typical bird meat smell of far East Asian food. For those who do not appreciate this flavour, I would suggest you skip. We both enjoyed this as it is.
Rate it 4.75/5
For dessert we had Tub Tim Grob
It was a dessert with Red water chestnut rubies in sweet coconut milk & crushed ice.
Absolutely mind blowing. What an end to a super happy meal. Low on sweet, high on coconut milk flavour, red water chestnuts that had a distinct texture. Just too good. Rate it 4.95/5
My partner ended the meal with Hakutsuru Awayuki Sparkling sake – a sweet, smooth dessert like sake. Outstanding. (Not rating this since it was not cooked / made in the restaurant kitchen).
Overall rating of nara thai averages out to 4.74/5
Look forward to trying out the entire menu in the next few visits….. curious