Blue Elephant: Nice Little Thai Restaurant Near Solli

"Blue Elephant" is the name of a group of very classy Thai restaurants that you can find for example in London or Copenhagen. When my wife heard there was a restaurant called "Blue Elephant" in Oslo, we were quite curious to see whether this restaurant was a part of this group or not. So we went there a few days ago.

The restaurant is not a part of the mentioned restaurant group and is more modest. Not as "chic" and smaller. It is located near Solli, just behind the Niels Juels Gata tram stop.

I decided to start the meal with a glass noodle salad.

Thai Glass Noodle Salad, 149 NOK

It was a wonderful dish. Both my wife (who tasted it) and I liked it. The glass noodles were actually served warm (something new to me), the dish had some chili but not too much (just a bit spicy) and it had just the proper amount of lemon/citrus juice. Another thing that I hadn't had in other restaurants: it was served with rice.

The only thing about this starter is that it is big, and I believe I could have contented myself with it. Or maybe order it to share between several people.

My wife went for fried spring rolls because she had seen a stunning picture of them on the website of the restaurant.

Springrolls, 69 NOK

There was nothing wrong with these spring rolls but the presentation was very basic and it was therefore a small deception for my wife. The salad with the spring rolls has a sweet dressing which did not convince her either.

Our son was not too hungry so we didn't order a starter for him. The restaurant didn't have a children menu, so we ordered some fried rice.

Fried Rice, 135 NOK

The meal was quite good but there was one issue with it: a bit too much pepper from a general perspective and as it was intended for my son (the waitress knew it), this was way too much pepper. A shame because otherwise, it tasted nice.

My wife chose a green curry as her main dish.

Green Curry, 135 NOK

The taste was good. Just the level of spice my wife wanted (not so spicy it burns the mouth but still enough spice to make it a curry). The only bad thing about it is that it was a bit too liquid.

I had chosen a noodle dish myself

Pad-Se-Ew (Fried Noodles), 145 NOK

The noodles looked a bit "dark" but the dish was good. A bit sweet but not too much thanks to the fresh lime juice.

The service was nice and friendly. When we arrived in the restaurants, we were the only guests so the food came quickly but after that the restaurant became quite crowded and the waiting time increased (the kitchen isn't that big).

A concern of mine iss the lack of children menu or "small children"-friendly dishes. Otherwise, this is a nice little restaurant.

Thai Orchid: a Nice Place for Thai Food in Oslo

My wife has a friend who has lived in Thailand so when this friend recommended the Thai Orchid to us, we were quite excited to try it. The restaurant is in the Oslo S area, not far from Storgata. This is a nice place for Asian food, both in terms of restaurants and food stores.

Here is a photo of the restaurant:

Typical Thai design

My wife when for a "Pad Pak Ruam Mith Moo Krob", which is pork fried with vegetables in oyster sauce.

It tasted good. The sauce was a bit sweet and the pork had a small BBQ-flavor (not sure how they did it).

I went for a recommendation from my wife's friend: papaya salad with fried chicken and sweet rice. When i ordered it I was asked how many chili I wanted and I said one.

This dish was really good too. I liked the salad (quite original thanks to the papaya), I liked the fried chicken and I liked the rice (wasn't really sweet). The dip sauce was nice too. Be careful though when choosing the number of chilis you want. It was quite spicy with just one!

Our son got something a bit less original: fried rice with chicken.

It was quite good too.

So all in all, we were really satisfied with the meal and we will probably go there again in the future.

Website of the restaurant: http://www.thaiorchid.no/hovedretter/

Address: Calmeyersgt. 11, 0183 Oslo

Eating Vietnamese at Far East (Oslo)

Far East is a Thai-Vietnamese restaurant located in Oslo city center (close to Oslo S). It took me some time to try it because I wasn't so convinced about the combination Thai/Vietnamese (I had tried a Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant in the past without finding anything Vietnamese) but I let me convinced by the fact that the restaurant is often quite full. I don't regret it.

About the menu, the restaurant really proposes Vietnamese dishes: Pho, Bun Bo, Bun Cha Gio etc... It also has some Thai dishes (Pad Thai, some Thai soups, ...). We generally have Vietnamese food when we go there.

Their springrolls are really nice:

Cha Gio (springrolls) 78 NOK (or 54 NOK for 3)

The only thing is that I find the sauce a bit spicy which I don't find necessary for springrolls.

Here is a Bun Bo (sorry for the lack of focus, I am a terrible photograph). It is a dish composed of rice noodles and beef with a lemon taste.

Bun Bo 98 NOK

My wife generally order the Pho Bo (noodle soup with beef) but last time we went there, she went for some skewers with shrimps and beef.

It is an original combination in my opinion but it worked nicely and she really enjoyed it. 

We ordered some fried rice for our son. The kingprawn was ordered in addition to the normal dish.

All in all, we really enjoy the food there. We will have to try some dishes from their Thai menu too.

Otherwise, the restaurant itself is quite modest, maybe a bit outdated. Beware that the restaurant can get quite full during popular hours (Friday evening, Saturday evening, ...). 

Nam Fah: a Nice Little Thai Restaurant in Oslo Sentrum

There are many Thai restaurants and take-aways in Oslo and we decided to go to one called Nam Fah last Thursday. It is located in the city center, not far from the Stortinget station and very close to Steen&Strøm building.

We went for a dish called "Pad Se Eew moo" for our son.

Pad Se Eew moo: fried noodles with pork, 158 NOK

It wasn't spicy at all. On the contrary it was quite sweet. So a good choice for a child but I would have found it too sweet for me.

My wife went for "Pad Poong Karrii gai", a curry-based dish.

Poong Karrii gai, 168 NOK

Surprisingly, this wasn't really spicy either. A good thing for my wife who cannot eat too spicy food but if it was for me, I would have expected a curry based dish to be a bit more spicy.

When it comes to me, I had "Ratnah gai":

Ratnah Gai, 178 NOK

It is also fried noodles but has much more sauce than the "Pad Se Eew" we had for my son. I liked it but this is more for people who like sauces in general.

All in all, Nam Fah is a nice little restaurant in city center and a good choice if you like Thai food.