I eat a lot. A whole lot of f Thai food that is. I have an obsession with Thai dishes. If I was on death row for committing a capital crime, my last meal would be Kra-pow gai. That's basil leaf chicken for non kon-thais (thai people)
A long time ago my ex and I would always giggle whenever we heard people say "Can we order the FAT Thai. I know sometimes the menu reads FAT thai, but really you should pronounce it phut thai or pad thai.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Review: Nariya Thai 05-05-2012 6099 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles CA
Nestled up two flights of narrow stairs is Nariya Thai, a staple among Thai joints in a place filled with Thai restaurants. That place is Sunet Blvd; colloquially known has “Thai Town.” Nariya Thai is on the Corner of W. Sunset and N. Gower St. on the second level of a two-story plaza.
I originally came to Nariya Thai in the middle of 2011. After waiting in a long line for Roscoe’s’ Chicken N’ Waffles, i grew tired and walked down the street to Nariya Thai; my savior.
Well last night Nariya Thai was able to save the night yet again. I took my mom to see this play called Pedro Infante y La Suegra Triunfante by the Bilingual Foundation in Downtown, except the organizers must have canceled it without notice to the public. Because when I got to the theater it was dead silent. I thought I was going crazy, but I kept the news paper article that verified the Date/Time address. It was disappointing but maybe just maybe, If I took mom for some Thai I could redeem myself.
Enter Nariya Thai. The ambiance is dark and very modern-chic even though it wouldn’t seem like it form the outside. Attached to the restaurant is a heated and covered patio where resident musicians cover the latest top 40 hits including some catchy Thai artist. Talk about variety.
My Favorite dish during my dinner at Nariya Thai was the Rad Na. Rad Na is long flat white noodles served with a savory brown gravy, Chinese broccoli, and thinly sliced beef. The noodles and sauce were spot on. The meat fresh and veggies almost raw. 4/5
I ordered Tom Yum Kung—a spicy and lemon grass infused little number that always wakes me up. It had a bunch of mushrooms and some rather pointy blue ginger slices that I had to watch out for. It took me a while to like Tom Yum and I feel Nariya’s was true to the soup. If anything it was a bit too sour. 3/5 Because I’ve had better Tom Yum at Uncle Tim’s Thai in West Covina.
The Papaya Salad was forgettable. It had a not-so-fresh taste to the papaya meat. Papaya is suppose to be cut then served immediately. If it isn’t, what I have found is that the fish sauce will settle into the sliced papaya and give it and overly fishy-sweet flavor. Papaya is best fresh and very tarty. The salad was served with raw jumbo shrimp filleted down the middle which even I wasn’t fond of. Most shrimp served with papaya salad is dehydrated and crunchy or grilled. (1/5)
I Think I had bad luck at ordering, If i order more conventional Thai-food like pad thai or pad see ew, I’m sure i’d rate this place a lot higher.
I give Nariya a 3/5 but partly its my own fault for going off the old beaten road when ordering. I think the live music, location and ambiance when paired with some typical Thai offering would boost this place to a 5/5.
