Issue 22

Looking for an ideal restaurant to hang out with friends or family in a busy city such as Singapore can be quite challenging, especially if all you want is a place where you and your companions can enjoy authentic Thai cuisine.

Included in Thailand Tatler's ‘50 Best Restaurants’ for seven years since opening in 2006, one thing you can rest assured with ThaiSELECT Nara Thai restaurant, is the quality. So much so that in September 2013, the owners decided to take their successful formula to Singapore.

“Our first outlet was at ION Orchard in the heart of Orchard shopping district,” says the restaurant’s managing director Christopher Tan. “Our next location was at Westgate, Jurong East, which began operations in April last year.”

Nara Thai Singapore aims to create the authentic taste of Thai cuisine, the taste that customers would expect in an upscale, traditional Thai home.

“We use quality ingredients and keep traditional cooking methods, just the way any good household would do,” says Tan. “We also ensure that all our service staff live up to the Nara values of being warm, attentive and easygoing hosts.”

Tan mentions that Thai cuisine is popular with the locals. “Singaporeans love spicy food, and Thai food fits the bill,” he says. It’s also proving popular with VIPs. “We’ve had many famous celebrities visit us, like the boy band, Boys Like Girls, and the well-known Thai celebrity, Poyd Treechada.”

Pu Pad Pong Karee (soft-shell crab yellow curry) is one of the restaurant’s best selling dishes, according to Tan. “It’s crispy on the outside, soft and succulent inside and smothered in a thick, eggy and buttery blanket of yellow curry sauce,” he says. “The dish is the perfect combination of texture and tastes.”

Tan claims that receiving the ThaiSELECT mark has definitely helped enhance the brand image as a restaurant that serves authentic Thai fare. But as important as the ThaiSELECT mark, is the restaurant’s focus on client satisfaction.

“Continually listening to our customer’s feedback and improving our recipes and processes has been an important factor in our pursuit of success,” he says. “We’ve also been supported by a number of loyal customers since we started out in Singapore.”

Nara Thai Cuisine Singapore
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn #B3-21, Singapore
+65 6634 5787
Westgate     
3 Gateway Drive #03-07, Singapore
+65 6710 5867
http://www.narathai.com.sg/

Words by: Manisa Phromsiripranee, Photos courtesy of Nara Thai Cuisine Singapore
Food Tips: Raak Pug Chee

Raak Pug Chee or coriander roots are used in many Thai dishes by either being boiled with other ingredients to make a broth or stock, or being ground to form a paste or to marinate meat.

Thai Select

Lemon Leaf

is endorsed by the DITP under its Thai Select scheme. The Thai SELECT programme was launched to certify and promote authentic Thai cuisine around the world. It is a seal of approval granted to Thai restaurants – both overseas and local Thai eateries that serve authentic food – and processed Thai food products. The objective is to increase the recognition of quality Thai restaurants and processed Thai food products as well as to encourage Thai restaurateurs and food producers to raise quality while maintaining authenticity. For more details of the scheme visit: http://www.thaiselect.com