It’s a definite upgrade from fast food outlet Burger King at ION’s B3, but we’ve yet to be completely won over by this 112-seat Bangkok import popular with the locals and Thai expats. There’s the spotty service and too-sweet curries that are hardly poster dishes for fiery Thai fare, although a couple of gems in the bulky menu are still worth unearthing – an unusual pomelo salad seasoned with fish sauce ($13.90) strikes a happy balance between sweet and salty, while the tom yum kung ($19.90), succulent river prawns swimming in a rich, zippy broth of lime and lemongrass, fires up the palate.
Expanding out to the heartlands with its Westgate Mall outlet, Nara Thai adds four new additions to the menu. The fried tom yum fried rice dish (phad tom yum, $13.90) and tom saap hot and spicy spare ribs soup ($13.90) are outlet exclusives, and making its debut across all Nara Thai restaurants are the spicy, tangy seafood poh tak soup ($17.90) and kua kling turmeric chicken ($13.90).