Sunday, August 19, 2012

Naree Thai: Second review

Date of the meal: 19/08/2012
Number of people: 2 adults
Website of the restaurant:  http://www.nareethairestaurant.no/  (the website is in Norwegian but the menu is in English and Norwegian)

I have already reviewed Naree Thai here but we went there again tonight and I thought I should share our dining experience. If you read the previous review, you know that like this restaurant and I believe it is a great value for the money. Unfortunately, tonight, we were a bit disappointing with the food.


10. Fried Spring rolls, Thai style (home made) - 54 NOK

40. Clear noodles, pork, onion and shrimp with chili and lemon juice - 86 NOK

For the starters, we order some Thai spring rolls and a clear noodle salad. The spring rolls and the sauce for the spring rolls are home made, which is a good thing but we did not find them wonderful. The clear noodle salad was good but I would have liked it with a little more "lemony" taste. 

For the main dishes, my wife had Fried pork with mixed vegetables, I ordered fried Ba-Mi noodles  and we took some fried rice for our son (from the children menu).



62. Fried pork with mixed vegetables - 141 NOK

124. Fried Ba-Mi noodles with chicken, pork or beef (beef in the photo) - 84 NOK

The fried pork with mixed vegetables was not really good. The sauce was too much diluted (water) or had probably not been cooked for long enough.

On the other hand my dish was good. My wife tasted it and liked it too. It was the first time we ordered it but we will probably order it more often. I did not know what Ba Mi noodles were so I had to look it up on Google. Here is the answer if you don't know it either: "In Thailand, wheat noodles are also known as bami (Thaiบะหมี่). It is eaten mainly in noodle soups and in Chinese style stir-fried noodle dishes."



900. Chicken fried rice, Thai style, children menu - 46 NOK

The fried rice for our son was not a success either. Not so much taste, and too sticky in my opinion. My wife agreed on the taste problem but did not think the consistency was worse than usual. We have ordered this dish several times in the past and this was the first time we didn't like it.

Conclusion: today was a small disappointment. The clear noodle salad and the fried Ba-Mi noodles were good, the spring rolls were not bad but the fried pork with mixed vegetables and the fried rice were not good. As we have tried the fried rice several times before (also from the children menu, and every time with chicken) and were never disappointed with it, I suspect there was either some problems in the kitchen (fire not strong enough, for example) or the fact that the chef was on holiday (Sunday, August, ...). Let us hope that the quality of this restaurant will be back very soon.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Salza Steakhouse: Nice Dining Experience

Date of the meal: 09/08/2012
Number of people: 2 adults
Website of the restaurant: http://www.herlige-restauranter.no/salza/salzasteakhousebarforside.cfm (available in English)



When Salza opened up a few years ago (actually reopened after some renovation), it was a big news in Stavanger. Many people were speaking about this place. Unfortunately, its success prevented me from trying it. Always full unless you booked in advance. After that, the place got a bit more quiet and it is now possible to get a seat without booking in advance just by avoiding peak hours (Friday evening or Saturday evening).


The place is both a steakhouse restaurant and a nightclub. I will only review the restaurant part of this place. As you can have guessed, this restaurant is mainly about meat, but it is not limited to steaks. There was one fish dish, and several burgers in the menu too. Maybe steakhouse was a better wording than meathouse...

About the place: as it was renovated recently, it is beautiful and clean. The restaurant is on the first floor without problems for strollers. Something a bit strange is that the restaurant has only one toilet which is common for both men and women. The menu is available in both English and Norwegian.


We were hungry and ordered a starter and a main dish each (probably a mistake), especially because the waiting time we were served warm bread and butter (quality butter with salt/pepper). I had Grilled asparagus and “St. Kristina” ham (165 NOK) which was really nice. The asparagus were perfectly grilled, the ham was tasty.


My wife had KFC Kristoffer's fried chicken, served with bell pepper mayonnaise (115 NOK). It was home made and my wife liked it.


For the main, I went for the "Jack Daniel and brown sugar glazed beef" (245 NOK). It was served with grilled tomatoes, lettuce, and French fries. A home-made tomato sauce was served for the fries. The meat was good and too much in quantity in addition to the starter. The sauce had some honey taste, which made the dish a bit sweet. The two things I appreciated less were the lettuce which was served without dressing and was particularly good and the sauce which, despite being good, did not seem to fit too well with the fries (I ended up asking for mayonnaise).


My wife went for the "Blue cheese dressed burger from the grill 180gr" (195 NOK). It was also served with French fries and the home made tomato sauce. The meat was good and the blue cheese taste was quite subtle (maybe too weak for people who love blue cheese, but not so strong as being disgusting for people who simply like it). The burger was also big and my wife had a hard time finishing it.


All in all, Salza is a nice restaurant for a dining experience, especially for people liking meat.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Gådjå: an African restaurant in Stavanger!

Date of the meal: 02/08/2012
Number of people: 5 adults and 2 children (1 yo and 2 yo)
Order: several dishes we shared and 3 sodas (no alcohol)

Price: about 150 NOK per person, drinks included
Address: Brødregata 6, Stavanger


As I wrote in my previous note, my wife and I tried and enjoyed the food at the Gådjå stand during the Gladmat festival. Yesterday, we decided to go to the restaurant itself with some friends.

The restaurant is located one street behind Food story in city center (not far from Wayne's coffee). It is a new place that opened only 1 month ago and the first thing to say is that the interior is beautiful, colorful and gives an African atmosphere.



If you like the food you are used to and don't like to try cuisine from other countries, don't go to Gådjå. Except the children menu, there is probably not a single dish you will recognize (unless you have tried Ethiopian cuisine before).

As an example, here is one page from the menu:



We decided to order a menu for 3 people (number 11 in the menu), 2 separate dishes (number 4 and number 8 in the menu) and share everything.


The food came in a big common plate and it was apparently not in the spirit to ask for individual plates. Some spoons came with some of the stews-like dishes but mainly, it was to eat with your hands (better wash them very good before eating).


The food in general was mild, with only 2 dishes being slightly spicy (all of us managed to eat everything without problems). As we ordered several different things, we had many types of meat: chicken, pork, beef and lamb, served with different things like eggs, lenses, potatoes, salad, spinach and cheese. The chicken "stew" called Gådjå Wått (on the right of the photo above) was one of the dishes proposed during Gladmat.
I can say we were all very satisfied with the food. It was good, very tasty and seemed completely authentic (one of my friend has Rwandan origins and confirmed it was tasting similar to some Rwandan recipes). The service was modest but great. the atmosphere was not formal or intimate but I don't think that would have fit the African spirit of the restaurant. The price was nice, lower than average in Stavanger (around 150 NOK per person, even though we ate a lot).


All in all, I think Gådjå is the perfect place for people who like African cuisine in general, or simply like to taste different flavors. It is especially good for group of friends willing to share a culinary experience.