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A culinary journey from Bangkok to Mumbai with Nara Thai
Summary
Nara Thai, now in eight countries, has adapted its menu for Indian tastes, emphasising vegetarian options
Narawadee Srikarnchana built the restaurant Nara Thai as a retirement project. In 2003, she was part of the family business, the luxury watch retailer Pendulum in Bangkok. She used to pass by the Erawan Mall everyday while shuttling between her office and watch shops. One day she thought it would be good to have a restaurant serving Thai food in the mall, because there was nothing like it in that locality. “It was a humble dream. I thought it would be nice to run one or two Thai restaurants when I retire. But it grew beyond anything I imagined," shares the sextagenarian. She met me at the month-old Nara Thai in Mumbai’s Worli, styled elegantly in a voluminous white blouse, pearls and the classic Bvlgari Serpenti watch.
Nara Thai has expanded to eight countries—including Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Phillipines, among others—and its franchisee in India is owned by Aditya Birla New Age Hospitality. Srikarnchana, who prefers to be addresed by her nickname Yuki, was visiting the newest brand of Nara Thai in Worli for its opening last month. The first outlet of the restaurant in Mumbai launched in 2017, and during the research process Yuki discovered the preference for vegetarian food. “About fifty percent of our menu had to be vegetarian. It’s interesting because I like vegetarian food. It was not hard to design the menu; you can still have the vegetables, flavours and all the other condiments, and only the protein component has to be replaced or removed," she explains. The Thai summer rolls are typically stuffed with crab or pork, but tofu is used for vegetarian diners in Mumbai. Satays, pork skewers, are extremely popular street food in Bangkok. In the Mumbai menu, there’s a vegetarian version with succulent Eryngii mushrooms. These are imported from Bangkok along with other essential ingredients such as dry shiitake mushrooms, small aubergines for Thai curries, and the seasonal Nam dok mai mango for sticky rice.
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“Only this variety is used for Thai mango sticky rice. It literally translates to floral aroma mango. It’s fleshy and watery which makes it the perfect accompaniment for a dessert," she explains. This dish is a hotseller and guests ask for it through the year. When nam dok mai is not in season, the restaurant has to make do with similar mangoes available locally.
There are a handful of dishes with a royal lineage. The pad thai noodles wrapped in a delicate string-like egg foil or net is one such item. To make the egg net, the chef requires practice, skill and speed, points out Yuki. Mee Krob, or fried noodles, is another royal dish. Yuki speaks of the regional variations in Thai food. She hails from Bangkok which in central Thailand, and is known for curries, like the classic Thai curry and massaman. The north is famous for egg noodles in coconut milk and crackling pork dipped in chilli sauce. Grilled dishes are popular in central Thailand, and fiery chillies are essential in food from the South. There are no chopsticks and food is usually eaten using hands in Thai homes. “In Thailand, grilled chicken has chopped pieces; it’s not a steak. It explains why we don’t use dinner knives. Also, soup is served with the main course and usually paired with rice. The food is not heavy on soy sauce. And, we need to use it, we stick to the light version. Instead of soy for the umami element, we put in fish sauce. There’s palm sugar for sweetening and bit of tamarind for sour," she says while explaining the characteristics that make Thai food stand out.
With Nara Thai, her goal is to champion authentic flavours for a timeless menu.
