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Introduction
Voted as one of Thailand’s best restaurants since 2006, Nara Thai Singapore serves up age-old recipes with the highest quality ingredients to provide a truly authentic Thai experience. At Nara Thai, you’ll taste the best of Thai upscale home cooking while enjoying your meal in a sleek, contemporary restaurant.
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Opening Hours
Mon - Sun
11:30 - 22:00
Above information is for reference only. Please check details with the restaurant.
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For more food reviews, visit www.umakemehungry.comMissing some Bangkok Street Food? It's time to curb your craving now without flying all the way into Thailand. With the new and revamped menu that was launched lately by Nara Thai Cuisine, it will definitely change your Thai Cuisine Experience here.Having said that, my last experience in Nara Thai ION Orchard was about 1.5 years back and this now, the place was still well kept in its elegance decor. Kai Jiew Cha Om - Cha Om Omelette contains a herb (Acacia) like vegetables with a very strong and unpleasant smell when it is cooked. Having this plate of omelette was really a good kick off as it made us feel so at home with such mummy style cooking dish. Surprisingly, even the herbs smell may be smelly for some or even close the smell of Petai, there was slightly any trace of pungent in it.Instead these herbs give the egg a crunchy bite and it goes well with the chilli dipping sauce. If you notice Gai Tord Gra Tiem (Crispy Fried Chicken with Garlic) uses small Thai garlic chopped into finer pieces together with its skin. Plate of tender and crispy fried chicken was given additional fragrance with this. For additional flavours, dip them into the Chilli Dipping sauce. The star of the night is none other than this appetiser. Moo Yang Jim Jaew are barbecued pork neck . Containing 50% of fat and 50% tendon, these slices were lightly seasoned and grilled into its smokey condition. They were wonderful bites without being too greasy and made a fantastic marriage with the Tamarind Dip. On a side note, the dip was made with Thai Ingredients and herbs too. If you notice, the sauce was topped with some chilli-like powder. In fact they were made from sticky rice and larb, grinded into powder form. You can find this ingredients in most Thai dishes like their salad too.Blue is my favourite color and how awesome to have a plate of Kao An Chan (Blue Jasmine Rice) right in front of my eyes. How do we get the blue coloring? Blue was obtained naturally from Butterfly Pea plant, also it has health benefits like high in antioxident, good for eyesight and of course for those who want to stay young, eat more Kao (Rice)!Ruam Mit Talay Yang is a platter filled with seafood goodies featuring Bangkok Street food, bringing out the flavours of Bangkok street food, perhaps the only difference here is without the dust from the streets. Though the platter is expensive, it is good for group sharing. Individual Food Items can also be bought separately from the menu too.Ensuring the freshness, the Seabass was chosen by their own chef at Jurong Fishery Port during the wee hours when we were all deep in sleep. This Street Style Grilled whole sea Bass with Thai Herbs was stuffed with lemongrass, kaffir lime and galangal, and slowed grilled to its flaky skin Other assortments of seafood were fresh too. Enjoy them to the fullest by dabbing them with the given Thai condiments.Scrumptious meal ended well with Ma Muang Khara Mel, Caramelised Mango with Coconut Ice Cream and Basil Sauce. This comtemporary creation was amazing and managed to get some nods from the table. Apart from that, the Thai Mango was sweet and the fusion of Basil Sauce gave a perfect finished to the dessert!Nara Thai may be a tad expensive in its Cuisine as compared to the usual restaurant chains but I would say their food are of quality and worth the try. If you want to try Thai Street food in an air conditioned environment and comfortable settings with service from staff, you will find Nara Thai's New Menu as an good introduction on Thai Food / Culture to Singapore.
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Nara Thai is a well known chain of thai cuisine restaurants in Bangkok. Its first outlet is opened in Erawan, Bangkok in 2006 by Yuki Srikarnchana, bringing Thai street food into air-conditioned restaurant. In September 2013, it expands to Singapore with an outlet in ION Orchard and follows by another outlet in Westgate mall, and also an authentic Thai catering arm, Nara Thai Fine Banquets.Recently the restaurant has launched a new and refreshed menu with additional dishes inspired by Bangkok’s famed grilled street food. There is 15 new dishes in the new menu for to try out. Tonight I am lucky to get to try out some of these new dishes.Ruam Mit Talay Yang ($88.90++)Assorted Grilled Seafood Platter, serves 2-3 paxsIt consists ofPla Kra Pong Yang ($32.90++)Street-Style Grilled Whole Sea Bass with Thai HerbsThe sea bass is stuffed with lemongrass stick, kaffir lime and glangal, then slow-cooked on the grill. The result is a tender, aromatic flesh with a crispy smoky skin.Kung Yang ($28.90++)Barbecued Black Pepper Tiger PrawnsThe butterflied tiger prawns are place on the grill with a generous coat of crushed black peppercorns and minced garlic.Pla Muk Yang Jim Sauce ($16.90++)Street-Style Grilled Squid with Chili Lime Sauce, skewered scallops, and mussels with chilli lime sauce, served with Nam Jim Seafood Sauce (a tangy blend of Thai-sourced ingredients - coriander, lemongrass, fish sauce, galangal, kaffir lime and Thai palm sugar).Huge serving which is great for sharing. The seafood is fresh and juicy, just have simply have it with the spicy and tangy dips.Gai Tord Gra Tiem ($10.90++)Crispy Fried Chicken with GarlicThe skin of the chicken is crispy while inside the meat is tender. Topped with the crispy minced garlic, it is a hit with everyone. Served with sweet chilli sauce.Neam Moo ($13.90++)Barbecued Fermented Sour Pork SausageThe sausage is stuffed in-house, grilled, and served with ginger slices, coriander and bird’s eye chilli.It looks similar to the Taiwan sausage but with a hint of sour taste which not everyone take to it.Moo Yang Jim Jaew ($13.90++)Barbecued Pork Neck with Tamarind DipPork neck is used here as it is a favoured cut of Thais - slices of pork with a perfect balance of fat, muscle and tender flesh.Although the strips of meat looks fatty, it does not taste jelat and goes quite well with the spicy and sour dip. Interestingly the dip is topped with finely minced rice.Kai Jiew Cha Om ($12.90++)Cha Om OmeletteCha Om ชะอม is a shrub, also known as Climbing wattle and is common is south east asia. It tastes quite nice with the chilli sauce served with it. It is eating crunchy greens in omelette form.Kao An Chan ($2++)Blue Jasmine RiceIt is interesting have plain rice that have been dyed with blue jasmine. Kind of unusual.Ma Muang Khara Mel ($7.90++)Caramelised Mango with Coconut Ice Cream and Basil SauceThe mango is juicy and sweet, while the coconut ice cream is smooth and refreshing. The refreshing basil sauce provides a balance to the sweetness but not overwhelming. Interesting usage of basil here especially when one tends to associate it with savoury food.Overall it is interesting to know that Thai cuisine is not just only spicy and sour food such as Tom Yam Kung. There is a lot of choices available for those who do not take spicy food.
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Nara Thai is located at basement 3 of Ion Orchard. It has gained a reputation in Thailand for bringing Thai street food to a restaurant setting. Here, the flavours are more suitable for the international palate, with healthier versions of the Thai street food we know. The restaurant caters to the middle-upper class in Thailand and the menu is extensive, offering a wide range.The restaurant has a casual Thai dining feel, but prices are far from that. For one thing, the drinks are overpriced (Thai Iced Milk Tea at $5.90), so it is definitely not worth it to order, even more so since it is nothing impressive. I could get the same elsewhere and better for cheaper. Stick to the plain water served.Pad Thai with Prawns ($15.90)A must-try for me at any Thai restaurant would be Pad Thai, as it is a dish that you can judge culinary standards by, since it is so iconic and common an offering. The accompanying prawns here were succulent and fresh. However, I found the Pad Thai a little too sweet and mild in flavour for my liking, neither was there any lingering fragrance after eating. Easily forgettable. Portion-wise, the restaurant was most generous with this dish.Fried Soft Shell Crab with Sweet Tamarind Sauce ($16.90) It was surprising to see this on the menu, as I associate soft shell crab with Japanese menus. This dish turned out to be one of the best of the night. The soft shell crab was fried to the right level of crispness, not losing the moisture inside. The sweet tamarind sauce also complemented it, and the combination was not overwhelmingly sweet when eaten with rice.Fried Squid in salted egg yolk sauce ($13.90)The squid was cooked really well, retaining its springiness and not tough at all, as squids will be when overcooked. However, there was more salted egg than squid for this dish, and the portion size was small. The salted egg also came in sizable chunks, and it was hard to distinguish the egg from the squid. I bit on this entire salted egg chunk and nearly gagged from the saltiness of it.Green Curry Chicken ($13.90)The green curry was good, but again, the portion size was very small. The curry hit the right thickness and flavor, but the chicken meat inside was unimpressive as it was all chicken breast meat, which made it slightly tough to chew and dry.Fried Taro and Bean Curd ($8.90)Don't be fooled by the humbleness of this. The fried taro is exceptional. It is very very crisp and light, and biting into it was delightful- the crispiness coupled with the taro flavour. My favourite of the night.Red rubies in coconut milk ($6.90)We rounded off the meal with the dessert, Tub Tim Grob (Red Rubies in Coconut milk). As with all Thai desserts, this came very sweet, and again, nothing overwhelming,Amazingly (or shockingly), our bill for the night came to $115 for 4 people, which is exorbitant considering the portion sizes. The rice ('Jasmine Fragrant Rice') is priced at $2.50 per bowl, which is very very expensive. I would go back for the select few dishes that impressed, but definitely, I will be skipping out on the milk tea. Better value and food of equal if not better quality can be found at the likes of Aloy Thai and Zenso.For the full review, go to herpenandfork.blogspot.sg
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For original review, please refer to http://www.makeyourcaloriescount.com/2014/05/sg-nara-thai-dismal-attempt-at-thai.htmlPost-hype period of Nara Thai, we were quite surprised to find ourselves getting comfy seats right upon reaching. It was only about 60% occupied when we reached at about 8.30pm.While we've heard good reviews, we decided not to set our expectations high especially with an average visit to their BKK flagship store.To prevent customers like me asking for recommendations all the time, they've placed all their chef's recommended dishes onto the first page and this caught our eye for a refreshing appetiser.Pomelo Salad (S$13.90)This was an explosion of sour, savoury and sweetness combined. We didn't quite like the combination of fried onions coating the pomelo. The cashew nuts helped add a dimension of texture to it, though all these, tasted better while separated.Thai Herbs Fried Rice ($10.90)While captivated by its unique colour making it photogenic, its taste was a huge letdown. Lacking the herbs infusion, it seemed like just coloured steam plain rice we were having.Green Curry Chicken ($13.90)Finally a decent one, this was flavourful enough with tender soft chicken cubes. I would have personally preferred it to be less milky, though it's a good one for those who's unable to take very spicy food.Pad Thai with Soft Shell Crab ($15.90)A classic for any thai meal, this was quite a disappointing one. Lacking the spice and flavours, and with the noodles too wet, we ended up asking for chilli flakes and mixing it in ourselves to adjust to the right taste.Overall taste was quite a disappointment, making us crave for Ah Loy Thai instead for some cheaper and better alternative. Service was lacking as well, with several blind spots with its enclosed seating area, and while they'd forgotten our order of Tom Yum Soup, we'd decided to give it a miss given our dining experience.
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Had pleasant dining experience at Nara Restaurants in Bangkok and Singapore but this visit made me decided to boycott this Nara outlet for good. The restaurant was busy when we visited at lunch but it was certainly not understaffed. So there was no excuse for the lack of hospitable service usually extended to customers at Thai restaurants. We had to ask twice before we were served iced water and when we asked for chilli sauce and sliced chilli padi the waiter brought the condiments without providing any saucers. Always ready to put up with crappy service if the food is good, we remained in good spirits but we're let down huge time.The set lunch remains at $13.90++ but now does not come with soup or salad and a choice of beverage. A scoop of mango salad or pomelo salad for $3.90++ and a scoop of ice cream for the same add on price. Here is their signature Nara Thai Boat Noodles (see self explanatory photo) which was served with a deep fried chicken wing hacked into four pieces. If Nara Ion had a change of chef or the recipe for the dish that made the restaurant famous had recently been tweaked, it was a change for the worse. The soup was clear and tasteless. The pork balls were replaced by frozen fish balls that had a faint fishy smell. The minced pork had not been marinated, was overcooked and appeared as unappetizing clumps. Even fishball bak cho mee from a hawker stall or cooked by China staff at a food court looks and tastes better than what I was served at Nara Ion. I will leave it to my makan kaki to review his set lunch of Thai fried rice and his side order of pomelo salad. The side dishes are not worth the trouble, neither was the so called Boat Noodles that I was served that weekday.
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