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Nava Thai, Suchart and Ladavan Srigatesook on Fern Street in Wheaton


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Dean,

I agree, I haven't been as impressed the last couple of visits. Besides, you can't get a whole fish there.

They had whole flounder in a variety of styles on special, I just don't eat east coast flounder as it is overfished. But I odn't want to leave the impression that I didn't like my meal. The frustration comes from comparing what we had, a really good Thai meal on a par with our current favorites, to our former memories.

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They had whole flounder in a variety of styles on special, I just don't eat east coast flounder as it is overfished. But I odn't want to leave the impression that I didn't like my meal. The frustration comes from comparing what we had, a really good Thai meal on a par with our current favorites, to our former memories.

I also don't eat flounder for the most part. I much prefer a rockfish or snapper for a whole fish, whether it be Hunan style or Thai.

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Another frustrating visit to Nava Thai.

Had one stellar dish, spicy sour sausage salad with peanuts and much shredded stuff I was too tired to figure out what it was. This dish rocked as much as anything I have ever had there. Precise flavors & textures: sour, chewy, big crunchy peanuts fried just right, shredded vegggies to offset the hot. Perfect

Had the Floating Market Soup. IU was asked how spicy and I said spicy. Not as hot as it used to be. The sweetness level was down from my last order but it is still one hell of a sweet dish. But the broth lacked any meaty flavors under the heat, the pork was tough, the two meatballs were mealy and all in all it was just pretty good/ok.

But as I ate it, the server three times asked me if I was done. They also brought me iced tea instead of Thai iced tea. Small stuff but with the food just not what it used to be, small isn't as small as it used to be.

Not off my list, but here is my list for Wheaton outer colesvile

New Kam Fong

Kebab 'n Kahari

El Plugarcito

...

Max's for felafel or schwarma only {well the odd bowl of matzo ball soup as well}

Ruan Thai

...

Nava Thai

Irene's

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Went to Nava Thai yesterday after forgetting that Mi La Cay is closed on Wednesdays. What was supposed to be a simple lunch turned into a bit of a dining extravaganza. My companion and I shared 4 things - the chicken Tom Kha, the mussels hot pot, the duck kaprow (crispy duck w/basil) and the papaya salad. We found the mussels a bit bland and overcooked - my friend reported that the last time they had been cooked well and had more broth so perhaps this was an off day for the hot pot. Everything else was delicious. The soup and the papaya salad in particular were so nicely balanced b/w their sour, spicy, and sweet aspects. The papaya salad was probably my favorite (a surprise as I had been unenthused based on the description) with the nice crispness from the papaya and a generous amount of heat in the sauce that would really build with each bite. This sounds like the salad that deangold posted about, but I don't remember meat in our dish so maybe they've changed it or there is more than one version. The duck was rich and delicious as usual. Not exactly a cheap lunch, but we both took home small portions of leftovers. Oh, the jasmine tea was quite nice as well.

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I have no idea why my wife picked a photographer way out in the boonies but it gives me an opportunity to eat in Wheaton on the way home. Today we went to Nava Thai for a late lunch. The dining room here is spectacular compared to Ruan Thai. Service was so-so. Our waitress forgot my Singha. On the other hand, the only waitress at Ruan Thai did not forget anything.

Anyway, we ordered:

Hot Bean Thread Salad - Shrimp, chicken, veggies, and bean thread, tossed in chili lime sauce.

Twice Cooked Duck Salad - Deep fried duck, then tossed w/ veggies in a chili lime sauce.

Both dishes were rather spicy and sour. That flavor profile isn't my cup o' tea but at least the ingredients were cooked properly.

Floating Market Noodle Soup - after sniffling through the last rendition, I asked for it medium spicy - which translates to not spicy at all. The good news is that I can actually taste the food! Love the pork rind in the soup. The beef was tender but the meatballs are the same old store bought tasting bo vien.

Pla Pad Kaprow - Stir fried lightly battered fillet Tilapia w/ chili garlic & holy basil. Best dish of the day. The pungent basil flavor goes really well with the slightly spicy fried fish.

Crispy Pork w/ Chinese Broccoli - gotta eat some greens, and this was the most tempting since there's mo' pork rinds!

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Pla Pad Kaprow - Stir fried lightly battered fillet Tilapia w/ chili garlic & holy basil. Best dish of the day. The pungent basil flavor goes really well with the slightly spicy fried fish.

Crispy Pork w/ Chinese Broccoli - gotta eat some greens, and this was the most tempting since there's mo' pork rinds!

Last Saturday I ate at Nava Thai (haven't been there since they moved). I also order a crispy pork dish. Maybe I'm out of it, but I was expecting some actual pork! It was crispy but it was almost all fat! Is that the way it is supposed to be? The tilapia dish (with ginger) was great. Next time I'll try it with chili garlic and basil.

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I also order a crispy pork dish. Maybe I'm out of it, but I was expecting some actual pork! It was crispy but it was almost all fat! Is that the way it is supposed to be?

I've had this dish at several Thai restaurants (Thai Square and Sakulthai) and Nava's version actually has more pork. Other restaurants use pretty much all pork rind. The use of deep fried pork (with rinds) distinguishes this dish from a Chinese dish of stir-fried Chinese broccoli and sliced pork in black bean sauce (tasty dish if you can find it at an authentic Chinese restaurant). My wife was grossed out by the pork but she happily ate the broccoli. I did eat the pork and should go have my cholesterol checked. As for whether this is how it should be - I'll let someone more knowledgeable answer.

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Went last night feeling in the need of soup. Floating Market Soup was miles better than the last few times I have had it. Although miles less hot than usual, it also was not sticky sweet as recently has beent he habbit. Plus the broth was smokier/fuller bodied. My server recognized me so the lack of heat was not because they did not know if I like hot {in all fairness: it was hot by "other restaurant" standards... but FMS at Nava Thai has been "It's so hot, can I finish it?" hot.}. And of course witht he chiles on the table, one can remedy the heat situation easily.

But I am excited to go with Kay and have a full meal to see if they have regained the edge of old. The FMS certainly has.

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I had a restaurant.com coupon so I went with a group of friends after ice skating up at wheaton ice rink. We shared an order of curry puffs that were odly cold in the middle but tasty. I had The floating market soup whichdid not disappoint. Friends had pad Thai, pork noodle soup, duck noodle soup. My husband had the green curry with seafood, and said that the curry itself was pretty good the quality of the seafood was out of this world good. I enjoyed my floating market soup, very meaty spicy and delicious. I didn't taste any sweet notes in it though. The thai iced coffe/iced tea was very good. Service was prompt and observant, my water glass was never left empty

I'd have a hard time deciding if I like Ruan Thai over Nava Thai. I'd like to come back and try some of Nava's duck dishes.

Also worth a trip is the thai market next door, I got siracha, sweet chili sauce, several thai curries, rice noodles and spring roll wrappers for 12 bucks. It was crazy to see how much these items get marked up in a regular grocery store, everything was at least 1.00-3 dollars cheaper.

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I'd have a hard time deciding if I like Ruan Thai over Nava Thai. I'd like to come back and try some of Nava's duck dishes.

I give a slight nod to Nava. But Ruan's lunch deal is so good that it more than makes up for it, and Ruan's panang is superior in my opinion.

But Duck Kaprow at Nava is unbeatable.

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We've had very uneven service and food from Nava Thai lately, so much so that it's pretty much off our radar now. Our one experience with their delivery service was abysmal - after two hours of waiting, we just gave up and told them to cancel the order. For the last hour we waited, they kept promising the driver was "on his way". Honesty works much better than keeping your customers waiting and hungry.

We got take out from them last week and while the floating market noodle soup was OK, the portion size was about 2/3 it's regular size (price remains the same). The larb gai wasn't even the slightest bit hot (after asking for everything to be very spicy). The salted fish and chinese broccoli was in a cloyingly sweet sauce with what appeared to be large chunks of dried fish scattered on top. Our past experience with the salted fish at Nava Thai is that they at least attempt to hydrate it a little and cook it, so this was a little disappointing.

As much as I used to love Nava Thai, the floating market noodle soup is about the only thing that keeps me coming back. I'll go back to Ruan for everything else.

And, yes Daniel - Sabai Sabai Simply Thai is MUCH better.

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We had dinner at Nava tonight. No quibbles with flavor (good amount of fresh herbs, no skimping on fish sauce, etc.), but despite ordering everything "medium," there was really no heat to any of our dishes. I do like the little containers on the table that allow you to add spice as needed. Drunken noodles are probably the tastiest rendition I've tried anywhere.

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Went to Nava Thai for the first time with a small group of friends Friday night. We didn't have a reservation, and even though the restaurant was mostly full we only waited maybe 10 minutes for a table for six people at 8:30pm.

we went with:

Hot Sour Squid Salad: Good appetizer. squid was very tender. Good zip to the sauce, some heat but not overpowering. I would order this again.

Larp Gai: A solid rendition, but I've had better.

Floating Market Soup: After reading some of this discussion above, the soup did have a sweetness to it, but ordered medium and it was definitely kicking. Right on the edge of pain/pleasure. Pork and the meatballs were all good. I was expecting more of a large noodle bowl (ala Pho) this was more of a wide shallow dish with noodles/meat/veg and several ladles of brooth. definitely enjoyed it.

Penang Curry with tofu and veg: A good penang sauce, quite complex, the gf declared it one of the better penangs she has had.

Stir fired Kaprow: I believe my friend got it with chicken, but only see pork on the online menu. In any case...really good!

Drunken Noodles: I only had a small sample and it seemed fine.

we also had a couple tilapia dishes but the small bites I had weren't enough to judge them.

I will say, based upon one visit, I thought Nava Thai was head and shoulders better than Ruan Thai (only had Ruan twice, once for take out and once eat in). First time I had Ruan for take out and was thinking what's the big deal, I've heard such great things and this is not very good Thai food, chalked it up to take-out. Second time we ate at Ruan and again didn't think it was that great. Dishes were meek, some of the sauces watery, not any better than half a dozen other thai restaurants I've been to. Nava's food was much more bold, many of the dishes popped...given the choice between the two I would be much more excited to eat at Nava*

Note: this was the first I've been Nava and so obviously I never had their food at their old location and can't compare the "Old" Nava with "New Nava" locations.

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Stir fired Kaprow: I believe my friend got it with chicken, but only see pork on the online menu. In any case...really good!

Went a couple of weeks ago. This comes with either ground chicken, beef, or pork.

A variation comes with white rice on the side. Hadn't had this in a while and was pleasantly surprised that it came with more sauce than it used to.

They've definitely expanded their Japanese menu but I don't see a crab appetizer on it anymore that I used to like.

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I've had the drunken noodles at Nava before and thought they were pretty good.

Today I had the spicy squid salad, which was nice - a fair amount of spice and tender squid. However, the floating market soup had absolutely no heat (the temperature was fine), although I had asked for it spicy. The waitress came by to ask if it was spicy enough, and seemed sad when I said that it wasn't spicy at all...

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Funny, the last time the FMS was blindingly hot but bland and flavorless. At least it wasn't sweet and not hot like the time before! :unsure:

I have been going to Siriwan a lot and if you ask for it Thai Hot Hot they will oblige and their spicing is both complex & hot. But the menu is narrow and full of the same old same old. Golden Lao is great Issan, but SO far away and too close to Anangol to be on my regular Annandale etc rotation {which is now doen to OD Gad Jib for Dong Dong Ju and Anangol

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Table of 4 for lunch today.  I don't know if the waitress overheard us talking about the varying spice level some have encountered here with repeat orders of the same dish, but for the first time ever (and I have been a few dozen times I guess) she asked us how hot we wanted each dish, and each was served as requested.  Country curry and Floating Market were hot as ever.  My pork tom kha was of middle spice level I think, and I was able to add some little pickled peppers out of the jar without dying.  Last was the duck kaprow which has a chili pepper on the menu but is never particularly hot, perhaps due to the amount of delicious crispy fat.

All around great as usual, I expect I will be back several dozen more times.

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We finally made it here. Daughter has a basketball game nearby so we stopped in for an early dinner. Had the floating market soup and it was excellent and not overly spicy which I was a bit concerned about. Services was a little rough and cold but would happily return if in the area.

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Well, this is quite a roller coaster. They posted on their Facebook page today that they'll stay open until further notice:

Thank you for all the lovely message ❤️ At the moment right now we will continue staying OPEN until further notice! Any updates will be posted! Have a wonderful day 🙏

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