Love Authentic Thai Food? Krua Thai Will Redefine Thai Kitchen For You.

In this blog post, I cover Krua Thai, a new fine-dining Thai restaurant in Sector 67, Gurugram.

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Thailand? For a lot of folks, Thailand is synonymous with beautiful beaches, exciting Muay Thai, or countless 7-Eleven's. If you answered 'food' though, like me, you're probably a massive fan of the amazingly balanced and intricate Thai cuisine.

Kaeng Phed (Red Curry)

Thai recipes are popular all over the world. From Som Tam to Khao Pad, Thai food packs a punch with exotic notes in every dish, blending the choicest and freshest ingredients like lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves.

As a nation, Thailand is known to be hugely passionate about their food. Imagine if one of Thailand's largest conglomerates and food producers, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), decides to open up a fine dining restaurant in your city with the mission of providing the most exquisite and most authentic Thai food, how cool would that be!

Well, the good news is the CP Group is prepping for the grand launch of its first Thai restaurant in the country called Krua Thai. Expect age-old classic Thai recipes in a modern setting, made with authentic ingredients sourced directly from Thailand.

Krua Thai

Set in a modern, minimalistic ambiance in the new M3M Urbana mall of Sector 67 Gurugram, Krua Thai aims to bring to you an eclectic mix from all four regions in Thailand: North, Northeast, Central, and South.

Krua Thai - Interiors

Krua Thai, which literally means 'Thai Kitchen,' is part of the CP Avant group, a subsidiary of the CP Group Global. Headed by Mr. Kasinn Khaow Prasert, who is a Thai national living in India, Krua Thai is the first Thai cuisine property in M3M Urbana, designed on a covered area of 3500 square feet.

Krua Thai - Decor

From this space, 2500 square feet alone is dedicated to their commercial kitchen, headed by Head Chef Kiran Chauhan. What that means is the company can use the kitchen for both its fine-dining operations and its bulk catering or takeaway requests.

Goong Mangkorn

Merely 26 years of age, Chef Kiran is an ex Oberoi who specializes in Oriental cuisine. He has worked for Thai specialty restaurants like the Baan Thai restaurant in Oberoi Hotel, rated the best 5-star restaurant in Kolkata. He is ably assisted by Nikita L Nonglait, who is the Chef de partie (CDP) at Krua Thai.



Here are my top recommendations at Krua Thai.

Start your epicurean experience with the spicy Tom Yum Koong soup, flavored with Tom Yum paste, Thai herbs, lemongrass, lime, and bird's eye chili. This aromatic soup is made with prawns (Koong) and mushroom, but if you don't like prawns, ask the chef to replace it with chicken (Kai) or veg (Phak).

Tom Yum Koong

The Yam Som O, which is a Thai citrus pomelo salad, is the best I've had in a long time. I'd also recommend the Som Tam, a famous spicy raw papaya salad.

Yam Som O (Front) and Som Tam (Back)

Yam Som O

Som Tam

Meat lovers can go for Larb, a spicy minced salad with fresh mint, toasted rice, and chili powder.

Larb

For appetizers, choose from an exciting array of options, starting with the Por Pia Thod. Deep-fried Thai spring rolls with sweet chili sauce. Another good option is the Thod Man Pla, delicious curry paste marinated fried fish fritters.

Por Pia Thod and Thod Man Pla

Room for more? Savor the everlasting chicken satay, grilled skewers served with peanut sauce or the healthy Por Pia Sod, Thai rice pepper roll with chili tamarind sauce.

The Grill section is, in my opinion, the star of the Krua Thai menu with two potential bestsellers - Kai Yang, a Thai style grilled chicken with lemongrass, garlic, and coriander roots and Moo Yang Sapparod, a Thai style grilled pork with pineapple, honey, light soy, oyster, Tom Yum paste, fresh chili paste, garlic, chopped Thai herbs, and black pepper. The grilled pork is glazed with Hoisin sauce, which is a thick, fragrant sauce.

Kai Yang

The Krapow from stir-fry section is a must-have, made with chili and hot basil. Alternatively, you can go for the traditional Pad Thai Noodles, flat noodles with tamarind, peanut, and chili.

Krapow

Pad Thai Noodles

For Dessert, the Tab Tim Krob combines the nutrition of jellied water chestnuts with sweetened coconut cream. An unusual pairing but one that works nevertheless.

Tab Tim Krob

The restaurant does not have a drinks menu yet, which might be a considerable disadvantage considering summers are just around the corner.

Krua Thai aims to be more than just a restaurant; it's a celebration of Thailand and the true spirit of Thai food.