Hospitality | Aroy Thai Restaurant
The return of Aroy Thai By Cheryl Colley
Aroy Thai Restaurant is returning. I wonder how many other people let out a whoop of delight as I did when I learned that news. In fact the restaurant is just a few weeks away from opening again at the end of August in the same location as before, but in a brand new multi-million dollar building featuring the latest in earthquake resistant technology. Aroy Thai means delicious Thai food and the unpretentious little restaurant on Victoria Street opposite the casino delivered just that in the hands of owner and maitre d’ Damian Radburnd and his very talented chef and wife, Jamnong. Its home twisted in the earthquakes and had to be demolished. So, three and a half years later, a new Aroy Thai Restaurant is about to arise and once again delight the palates of its many devotees, including me, who have missed it immensely. “It’s been a long process and a long wait,” says Damian, “but we were determined we would be back in Victoria Street. We toyed with the idea of opening somewhere else in the intervening years since the earthquakes, but just couldn’t find the right place. That simply doesn’t matter now as we have these wonderful new premises to set up.” The floor area of the new Aroy Thai is greater than its predecessor and the restaurant will now have capacity to seat up to 80 diners. It will have a separate bar and a reception
counter and a much airier ceiling height, but otherwise it will look little different from before. This no doubt will please its regular clientele who had great affection for the casual, understated and homely ambience of the former restaurant. The same dark leather chairs and grey formica topped tables will find their way into the new space, along with familiar pictures, mirrors and accessories. “We intend to decorate with warm creamy wallpaper that has an Asian influence and will do a little Thai theming in the bar, but really we want to grow into the new restaurant and decorate it more later. The important thing is to open and to start serving our customers the food that they love and that brought them back time after time.“ Damian and Jamnong have been working at other restaurants and bars while waiting for the new building to be constructed. Now they can once again focus on their own premises. Aroy Thai will be in good company on the ground floor of the three-storey building – Yamagen, the Japanese restaurant is opening there as well, along with a coffee shop/ dessert café specialising in patisserie run by the owners of Maharaja Indian Restaurant on Papanui Road. “We are excited to be in that kind of hospitality company and there is a very bright future ahead for us here with Victoria Street such a go-ahead hot spot right now.” For me Aroy Thai was the restaurant of choice before going to a Christchurch Symphony Orchestra concert in the Town Hall just down the road. The service was relaxed, friendly and attentive, but it was Jamnong’s exceptional authentic Thai food that made this place so popular and so busy.
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Thai Food Characteristics Reviews of Aroy Thai still to be found on the Menu Mania website are typical eg. “I’ve eaten here well over 20 times. Easily my favourite Thai in Christchurch with the most authentic food”, or “We have eaten a lot of Thai, but this one has to be the best”, or “Jamnong’s art in cooking is wonderful.” If you want to know how good a Thai restaurant is don’t look at the menu, the decor or even the prices. Look at the number of people inside. That is your quality indicator and that was Aroy Thai. Soon Jamnong will be back in the kitchen juggling woks and producing her incomparable Pad Thai and Massamam curry, her Tom Yum Gung soup and whole fish in sweet chilli ginger sauce, her green curry with chicken and spicy red curry with roast duck. “The cooking needs to be perfect”, says Jamnong. “Consistency is most important as is putting love into every dish.” The 48 dishes we have known and loved for years will still be on the menu, along with a few new ones and there will also be blackboard specials. “We create fresh tasting flavours with a wide variety of herbs and spices – galangal, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, Thai lemon basil and fresh chillies. The food does not have to be hot – but it does need to have the right balance of primary flavours - spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and bitter”.
• The ideal Thai meal is a harmonious blend of the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and the sour and is meant to be equally satisfying to eye, nose and palate • The secret to all Thai food lies in the subtle differences in the proportions of ingredients used which can add layers of flavour and aroma • Balance, detail and variety are of paramount significance to Thai chefs • Eaten with a fork and a spoon – meats are served in bite sized slices or chunks obviating the need for a knife. Jamnong and Damian also intend to add desserts to the menu – something new for Aroy Thai. They will offer both Eastern and European style desserts which will make a fitting conclusion to a memorable meal at Aroy Thai. I for one can’t wait for the restaurant’s doors to open again. I know I won’t be the only one. Remember too that Aroy Thai also offer takeouts and delivery. Aroy Thai Restaurant 61 Victoria Street T (03) 365 2400 www.aroythai.co.nz — Advertising Feature
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