Good Affordable Thai food in Budaiya

Lana Thai - Budaiya

So my blogging partner told me about this place she saw at the side of the main Budaiya road called Lana Thai and we thought of giving it a try since we don't normally hang at Budaiya. The road was not too easy to get too, or it could be we just didn't know the main way of getting there. Instead of parking at the paved parking closer to Lana's entrance, we brilliantly (sarcasm) drove over the rocky road towards the front-side of the restaurant.

The inside was quiet and cozy. I can't quite remember when we went here but it must have been a weekend night. You walk across a bar area and into another room with tables and spaces below to dangle your legs.

We ordered very little probably because we were full for something, or just broke. We chose a mixed vegetarian dish, some sort of chicken with soy sauce and flat won ton. My vague description is due to the fact that I'm writing this after a year. I barely remember the names but I definitely remember that the food were not too warm, they were affordable and the taste was worth a second visit.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LANNA.THAI.RESTAURANT2014
Address: Budaiya Highway, Jannusan 504
Telephone: 1759 3940

Lana Thai gets 3.6!

Unwinding after work at the Dome

Dome - Juffair

This fine afternoon, we decided to unwind at the Dome in Juffair, a little before the American base. We've been craving to eat their food since the last time we visited. Again, like Vapiano, we forgot take pictures and were able to catch a half-eaten meal and no carrot cake at all.

The place is very pretty. There's some sort of classic diner music that's played outside right before you enter the front doors, you can actually hear it while just passing by the place on the outside. The interior gives you this fast-comfy feel and their couches are to die for. We usually sit on the top floor because you get to sit by these full length windows and watch the American Alley where you can poke fun at a couple of funny characters. The place overall has dim lighting unless you're sitting upstairs by the open windows, and almost the entire area is brown to give you this classic vintage feel.

The menu will drive you crazy. I'm gonna take a wild unsupported guess and say that the food tastes as good as the pictures. Their selection is great, a lot of choices and a lot of flavors. Definitely a place for breakfast and good coffee. Otherwise they have a great variety of pasta, burgers, desserts, sandwiches ....

*sadly we lost the pictures...*

We decided for today to share a meal, Chicken Piccata. In our hurry, we forgot to take a picture before we began but what we have will give you an idea. The rice is sort of in the middle between risotto and normal rice, without any moistness to it. The chicken was actually not too bad, and had a flavorful mix of spice to it. The portion is not too bad. It's not significant but is enough for one person. It seems like a lot because the plate is the size of your face and most of it is covered with veggy leaves (decorations, I assume).

You take a bite, savor it a bit, a second and then you say ... hmmm not bad. That's how it was.

And the carrot cake ... oh the carrot cake.

Chicken Piccata (yellow rice) 3.9
Baby Cino 0.3
Carrot Cake 2.0

Baby cino is like a mini version of over-sweetened cappuccino, or simply a Milo rip off, as my colleaguepointed out to (the rip off was my addition).

I don't think Dome is too overpriced. They're very reasonable, their venue is crazy comfortable, and the view is not too bad. They get an OFS of 4.14, booyah!

Curry Tree, Amwaj Islands: Just alright

Curry Tree - Amwaj

You will find a small and colorful Indian restaurant on the first floor of Amwaj's Lagoon called Curry Tree. When we first entered the little place, it felt odd, and out of place in that capitalistic area, however the prices made up for that. It was around 9pm, and we expected the place, like any other place on a Thursday to be packed. But to our surprise, it was quiet and the staff looked more than pleased to have us. The furniture was interesting, colorful, and the walls were white with prints of pointy edged paramecium looking figures. There was something about the place that gave it the feel of "cheap", and we agreed that it could be the color of the wall and the lighting. There were two groups later on that visited the restaurant, giving it a live feel.

Before our visit, we had a hard time finding information on the restaurant. TimeOut did not have reviews yet, and their Facebook page did not do them justice. Something notable though, as you drove through Amwaj, you would find ad banners all over the place suggesting that Curry Tree was an elegant and expensive place.

The top orange was the Paneer with butter gravy, the one below was the chicken tikka masala, the white sauce on the right was the minty sort of dish that was given with the papadum at first. The plain naan on the left is complementary.

For non-Indian customers such as ourselves, the food tasted wonderful. We ordered two plates of steamed rice, a small bowl of chicken tikka masala, and another bowl of paneer with butter gravy. Paneer has this familiarity with tofu, however, the sauce with it gave it a delightful taste. The chicken tikka masala was boneless, and was only mildly spicy. It was well cooked and was well moist, not dry at all.

Along with our meals, we received complementary plain naans and some sort of papadum with a minty sauce. The price compared to other restaurants at the Lagoon were not bad, but the ambiance probably did not give off the feel that the food deserved that much. Service on the other hand was very friendly.

Address: Shop No. 140, Bldg. No. 2648, Road No. 5720, Amwaj 257, Kingdom of Bahrain

Cuisine: Indian/ Pakistani

Hours: Monday - Sunday 12pm - 12am

Contact: +973-16030662, +973-160 30 660, +973-160 30 661

Email: curry.tree2010@gmail.com

Date of Visit: Thursday January 09, 2014 at 9pm

Steamed Rice: 2 x .700 = BD 1.4

Tikka Masala: BD 3.5

Paneer with Butter Gravy: BD 3.5

Small Arwa Water: BD .3

Curry Tree received an OFS of 3.3!