Wednesday, June 18, 2008

One of the Best SE Asian Cuisine @ Renu Nakorn (Norwalk)

Part 1 of the Renu Nakorn series


This Thai restaurant was one of Jonathan Gold's favorite back in 2005, but was not on his Essential 99 list the past two editions because the place was closed for two years due to constructions and remodeling of the plaza which the restaurant is located at. They changed the street numbers of the place, but the exact location and phone numbers remains the same.

When I visited the place a few years back, I really thought the place should be bulldozed and make way for some rinky dink shopping center because it was very run down. Now, I'm just glad they are brand spanking new with a much bigger space. The restaurant itself has brighter colors and more vibrant decor to suggest much more happier mood.

Back then, the place probably will sit only 25-30 people for one big party. With the addition of additional space, it now has possibilities to hold more than 4 large groups. I was happy to see about 8 booth tables on both side of the walls with 4 rows of smaller tables in the middle of the room that can be combine to 4 long tables for larger parties.

The food itself has always been on the spectacular side. It never seemed to let me down and always got me curious on what to order. I love their traditional Northern cuisine which tends bring out the best flavor in their dishes.

Some of my favorite dish that I like to share with others were:

Roasted Duck Curry

I love the scrumptious of the duck with a careful lathering of the curry pouring over it.

Scallop Panang (steamed scallop with creamy curry sauce with cognac)

This dish has this unique creamy curry sauce made it worth possible because of a dash cognac added on to it. Probably is my favorite seafood dish here.

Sai Qua (Northern Sytle sausage)

This particular dish has so many different components into stuffing this sausage. It made molecular gastronomy a forgone conclusion. Even the this Northern specialty had me guessing what is involved in this unique sausage.


Peek Kai (Stuffed Chicken Wings with ground pork)

Speaking of molecular gastronomy, this chicken wing with pork inside made Turkducky a common happenings. Having two meat going in as one big wing will make me forget Kyochon's big mess.


Mee Krob Rad Na
(crispy egg noodle topped with superb sauce, shrimp, chicken, straw mushroom, and vegetable)

Last, but not least, a personal favorite of mine whenever I stopped by was this noodle dish they have. It is a crispy egg noodle topped with superb sauce, shrimp, chicken, straw mushroom, and vegetable that if they ever decide to do a stir fried, I would have totally go ga ga over it.

This was one of my favorite thing about experiencing Thai food was having something unexpected that pulled my imagination and come up with something else altogether that was very unique. There are plenty of other dishes that I have ordered (you can browse through the photos) that really put me in a transfixing mood with my eyes gazing fixed upon it.

This restaurant also catered to the working folks who are looking for quick and cheap, they do have an excellent price for lunch combos also. They have the traditional Northern cuisine for the folks who want to try something that hardly get served here and traditional BBQ stuffs for the folks who are looking for something that is very common. You can't really lose on either front.

**POST NOTE: (11/14/2008): This restaurant is back on Jonathan Gold's Essential 99 List for their 2008 edition after a two year lay-off due to remodeling.

Renu Nakorn Restaurant
13019 Rosecrans Ave
Ste 105
Norwalk, CA 90650
(562) 921-2124

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