On one end of Orubah Road, near King Khalid Eye Hospital stands "The Villa- Thai Restaurant". A very modest and non -descript restaurant which to my mind serves the best Thai food outside of Thailand. It may perhaps be difficult to get such lip smacking Thai food even in Bangkok !
I happened to see this restaurant in 2005 when I was visiting Riyadh for the first time and driving by with a friend. When we finally moved in to Riyadh, my friend who had since then visited this restaurant that I had shown him was raving about it. We have been addicted since then.This is one of those restaurant's where the focus is on providing excellent quality of food with no frills. Do not expect ambience here but some simply wonderful Thai Food. There is a small "Singles Section"and a commodious " Family Section".
Like in most restaurants around the world, not every dish on the menu is a blockbuster, you have to figure out the top sellers in this restaurant as well. The Menu Card has been recently revised with slightly higher prices but the food still remains moderately priced to get you hooked for life !
Let me begin with the soups and the appetizers- their Tom Yum Soups are great. One can either order Tom Yum Goong (Shrimp) or with Chicken or Vegetables as well. Depending on the size of the family, they have different sized servings. I chose the Tom Yum Vegetarian Soup for a change, it was just perfect ! The veges were crisp as they should be- to retain the flavor and freshness.We also had the Spicy Raw Mango Salad. The julienned Thai raw mangoes are mixed with roasted peanuts, a dash of sugared vinegar, lime juice and some onions. We enjoy this salad mild and tell them to not make it very spicy. The other appetisers that are recommended are the Prawn Tempuras and Spring Rolls.
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| Tom Yum Veg Soup |
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| Spicy Raw Mango Salad |
Villa has a very extensive menu, there is something for vegetarians as well. Let me share our favorites or blockbusters with you. There are small/regular and large portions available for almost every dish so you can specify at the time of ordering itself.
Chicken Panang - the Chicken red curry with coconut milk is a must for every die-hard Thai food fan and at Villa, this is divine. This curry goes well with steaming hot rice and often we can see some regulars just going for this single dish. The flavors of the Thai red chilli and kaffir or lime leaves can get addictive indeed.
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| Panang Gai or Chicken Red Curry |
Chicken with Basil and Hot Spices- is minced chicken with some basil, thai red chillies and spices. Our son who cannot even handle regular Indian food is in love with this dish and he only eats this with steamed rice with regular sips of Sprite. The picture shown below is devoid of red chillies as we ordered it that way.
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| Chicken with Basil & Hot spices |
Pla Sam Ros- is fish in chilli sauce with pieces of pineapple thrown in and garnished with cilantro. We usually request for fish fillets instead of the whole fish as it is so much so easier to eat it. The dish is spicy and not for those who dont enjoy hot food. There is a riot on your tongue when you bite into the fish pieces with sauce along with the pieces of pineapple, the hot v/s the sweet and the result is sheer ecstasy...
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| Pla Sam Ros |
The other fish dish that we really enjoy is the Pad Pet Pla Duk. This is a spicy dish and is garnished with fresh green pepper. I certainly recommend this and you will love it as well.
For the vegetarians, the dishes recommended are Pad Phak Kanar Fai Daeng or Stir fried broccoli leaves with oyster sauce and Phad Phak Boong Fai Deng- Stir fried fresh morning glory with oyster sauce. Both these side dishes are refreshing and light. You can also request them to make the Panang Red Curry with veges. The Green Curry is just average and we really dont recommend it.
The restaurant also has some sizzling dishes which are not exactly Thai preparations but nevertheless a favorite with a lot of our friends. The Sizzling Chicken or Sea Food is served on a sizzler and really good. We have never tried any desserts here and I dont think they are anything to write about. The best thing is to treat your protesting tongue with an ice-cream at Baskin Robbins, isn't it ?
A few other tips, Wednesday and Thursday evenings the restaurant is usally packed and waiting times can be long for getting the table as well as service may not be the best.
One of the best compliments for this restaurant that I shared with another die-hard Villa fan is that this is one place that we will certainly miss when we leave Riyadh...
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