Day 6 - Brunch at La Na Thai

i was reading my little frommer's travel guide and there was this thai restaurant in it called la na thai. its supposed to hav reallyy good thai food with great ambience. its located around the french concession, in a 1920's-style colonial red brick building, within the compounds of the Ruijin guesthouse gardens. when we entered the place, it was like a giant mansion. we were greeted by a huge garden with several buildings around the area. we got off the cab and tried to find our restaurant. in the end we had to walk really deep into the place, but it was really nice and the scenery was amazing. for awhile we forgot we were in shanghai at all.

so we finally arrived at our brick building and we were greeted by a hostess dressed in her traditional thai costume. she led us to the second floor where the restaurant was, and we had a seat by the window. the view was really nice, we could see out onto the gardens and it was so peaceful and serene. no sounds of traffic and people. we came really early on a weekday and so it was totally silent. we had the whole place to ourselves.

the restaurant. perfectly quiet and peaceful.

everything on the menu looked really good. i took quite awhile to check out the menu and finally ordered what i wanted.

prawn cakes - 8.5/10

We had the prawn cakes to start. A meaty and succulent prawn filling was filled inside these cakes. they were then deep fried till the outside was just nice and crispy. served with a tangy sweet and spicy chilli sauce that complemented the dish perfectly.

soft shell crabs - 9/10

these soft shell crabs were super meaty. usually the ones we eat back here in sg feel kind of hollow and empty inside. but these were bursting with chunks of crab meat which made them really satisfying

beef satay - 8.5/10

Large chunks of skewered beef were grilled to perfection. Served with extra finely ground peanut sauce and a side of sliced chillies and onions. The peanut sauce was so finely grounded that it became close to a puree. It went very well with the satay.

green curry - 9/10

this spicy to the touch green curry was extremely addictive. full of flavor and spicess with tender chunks of meat inside. fantastic.

crispy pork - 10/10

Crispy pork with vegetables. I loved this dish. reminds me of the crispy pork that i used to eat at this thai restaurant back in the states. this was really good. he pork was layered, with the top being extra crispy whilst being able to retain the meaty texture on the bottom, less fatty parts.

pad thai - 8/10

lastly, we had the pad thai. peanut-ty and slightly tangy at the same time, this was a great accompaniment to the meal.

overall, this restaurant was really fantastic. one of the best thai restaurants i've ever eaten at. i highly recommend it.