What to get and not to get at Dara
Diagonally across the intersection from Crepevine on Shattuck are one Thai restaurant and one Thai-Lao restaurant, right next to each other. We know that it’s pretty much impossible for us to get a pure Lao dish in America, given that we can’t really tell the difference between Lao and Thai names. Still, the three-lettered word addition on the sign has an alluring effect on us mini-globavores. So we choose Dara over Cha Am.
Secluded high above street level with a red brick gradation ascending up to the door, Dara offers its patrons two seating choices: out in the garden curtained by a multitude of mini palm trees, bamboos, and kalanchoes, or indoor, surrounded by faux gilded statues, metal vases, and wall ornaments. There’s no music; except for the talking in the kitchen far back, the only sound you hear here is your own voice.
The dinner menu at Dara has a list of house specialties, Lao finger foods (with familiar items like sai gauk, satay gai, noke todd, nam lao), various noodles and curries, and of course, pad thai for those who never order anything else when they go to Thai restaurants. The lunch menu is more compact and has no separation between Thai and Lao dishes. The foods range from really good, good, alright to eh-inducing, but the quick and gracious service is always the same. I ask our host if we pronounce the names correctly, he smiles and nods “of course”. I’m sure the “not” is hidden behind his big grin. 🙂
Get: sticky rice roll with peeled shrimp, wrapped in moist rice paper. Although accompanied by a thick tamarind dip, the rolls are already robust with their supple grains coated in some sweet and salty sauce. Its solid and chewy texture makes you full for hours. This is xôi disguised in gỏi cuốn form, ~$9 for two fat long ones.
Definitely get: mor din – stir fried glass noodle with mussel, salmon, fish cake, shrimp, squid, straw mushroom, cilantro, bell pepper. All sorts of goodies for about $13. I cannot understand why pad thai is more popular than mor din. (FYI, Dara also dishes out a better mor din than Little Plearn Thai Kitchen on south Shattuck.)
Get with caution: kao gee ($8.95) – simply a block of baked sticky rice seasoned with anchovy fish sauce, fried shallot, green onion, a little bit of egg, and peanut sauce to spread. The rice has a light crisp on the surface, but the taste, however interesting, gets monotonic after a while.
Get with caution: soub naw mai even if it’s on the House Specialties list (with kao gee). This is bamboo shoot (mai) salad with minced pork, spiced up by a generous dose of ground chili pepper, black pepper and mint. I have mixed feelings about this. It’s good at first, but then it’s too spicy for me, the bamboo shoot is refreshing at first, but then too soggy and not chewy enough. It’s good as a small side salad, but not as an $8.95 entree.
Get: catfish curry noodle soup (lunch menu, $9.95). Don’t expect to see any fish under the rice noodles, it has all dissolved in the broth. This soup is as vibrant in colors as it is in taste: sour and hot play the two high keys. I like how the main ingredient, the fish, stands behind the scene.
Definitely get: som tum gai yang (lunch menu, $9.95). What can go wrong with BBQ chicken (gai yang in Thai, or ping gai in Lao), simple white rice, and green papaya salad (som tum in Thai, tam mak hoong in Lao)? The portion is too small. Although I’m a meat lover, I think the mild som tum totally steals the lime light on this plate (pun intended :-P). Its crunchy strings, soaked in sugar and tangy lime juice, are fruit crack.
Of the limited times we’ve been to Dara, the only disappointing thing we encounter is how the diners, however young, like to order nothing more than pad thai. The playing-safe mentality is stickier than sticky rice. Seeing how big the menu is at Dara, there is one thing you should NOT GET here: pad thai.
Address: Dara Lao Thai Cuisine
1549 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 841-2002
Other Thai-Lao restaurant in the vicinity:
Champa Garden
Aw, this was a very nice post. In concept I wish to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article… however what can I say… I procrastinate alot and not at all appear to get one thing done.
1I do love the way you have framed this particular difficulty plus it does indeed give me personally some fodder for consideration. Nonetheless, from what I have witnessed, I only hope as other feed-back stack on that people today stay on point and don’t get started on a tirade involving some other news of the day. All the same, thank you for this outstanding point and whilst I can not really concur with the idea in totality, I value the viewpoint.
2Really Appreciate this update, is there any way I can receive an alert email every time you publish a new article?
3Thank you for another excellent article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such info.
4Hiya! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog article or vice-versa? My blog discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other. If you’re interested feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Superb blog by the way!
5Great post, I believe people should learn a lot from this web blog its real user friendly.
6Thanks for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do some research on this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such excellent information being shared freely out there.
7I am really enjoying the theme/design of your blog. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility problems? A few of my blog audience have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Firefox. Do you have any recommendations to help fix this problem?
8Hello there, I found your web site by the use of Google while searching for a comparable subject, your website got here up, it looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
9I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or 2 images. Maybe you could space it out better?
10I’ve learn a few good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how so much effort you put to create the sort of magnificent informative website.
11It’s actually a cool and helpful piece of information. I am happy that you simply shared this useful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
12I like what you guys are up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the excellent works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my web site 🙂
13Good write-up, I am regular visitor of one’s website, maintain up the excellent operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
14Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, and I am shocked why this accident did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
15Hey There. I found your weblog the use of msn. This is a really neatly written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read extra of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly return.
16You could certainly see your expertise within the paintings you write. The arena hopes for more passionate writers such as you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. At all times follow your heart. “Golf and sex are about the only things you can enjoy without being good at.” by Jimmy Demaret.
17You have observed very interesting points! ps nice site.
18I have not checked in here for some time because I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I will add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
19I consider something really special in this web site.
20Appreciating the dedication you put into your blog and detailed information you present. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same unwanted rehashed material. Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
21