Nayada Again At Last

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

It was nice to return to Nayada as it has been awhile. www.nayadathai.com, . I had been warned that some items on the menu had been changed slightly and were not the same, unfortunately not for the best.

We started out with three appetizers, Shrimp Sarong, Spring Rolls ans Garlic Wings. The wings really had a bite to them, not overly but still intense and very garlicy. Quite good.

We had a new soup, Tom Kah Kai, Coconut based with Chicken. Very tasty but I missed the Tom Yum soup which was one of the items that had been changed slightly. No straw mushrooms, they now used sliced button mushrooms and it has changed the flavor I was told.

An order of Pad Thai, Pineapple Rice and Chicken Curry were next to the table. The rice as always was good. Lots of pineapple, raisins and cashews. The Chicken Curry was not my thing. I had a very small amount of it along with a small helping of Pad Thai. I can get Pad Thai at any Thai place and it all tastes the same. When I am at a higher end Thai place lets go for the specialty dishes. But someone in the group requested it so we aim to please.

Crying Tiger Steak showed up. As always good flavor but it seems now that the meat is cooked well done and that is such a big turnoff for me, Ruins the flavor of the beef. I had been told that this is one of the dishes that the cooking has changed. Well cooked meat now.

Sauteed asparagus was a nice break. We needed some vegetable

One of my favorites was ordered, the Catfish with Apple Slaw.  This is still a great dish. Fish is light and moist and the slaw has a tang but does not overwhelm the fish.

Last dish was the Thai Baby Back Ribs, good flavor but again the meat is overcooked. The meat becomes dry and it becomes a dish that I wish had not been ordered.

Service was slow, seemed to have only one server tonight for the entire restaurant. And I think that the way the dishes came out of the kitchen was odd.  The leftovers were packed in all large containers so it was hard to split.

This seemed to be the night for white wines because everyone thought they would go best with the food. Strange that my RED Pinot Noir was the first bottle to be emptied.

2009 Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, HTC Chadonnay
2009 Huber, Sta Rita Hills, Pinot Noir
2008 Williams Selyem, Litton Estate Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir
2011 Eroica, Washington, Chateau St. Michelle & Dr. Loosen, Riesling
NV   De Margerie, France, A.Bouzy Grand Cru, Brut, Champagne
2012 Jules Taylor, Marlborough, New Zealand, Gruner Veltliner
2011 Joel Gott, Columbia Valley, Washington, Riesling
2012 Kim Crawford, New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc
2012 Hovey, Viognier
2008 McFadden, Mendocino, Coro
2012  Santa Maria Valley, Sierra Madre Vineyard, Pinot Gris
2012 Meville, Block M, Pinot Noir
2011 Buscado, Granacha