17.038 Basil Pork Rice

Cycle 17 – Item 38

Post 5,882

12 (Thu) February 2026

Basil Pork Rice

1.5

at Nana Bangkok

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

Nana Bangkok is a Thai restaurant.  Offers the standards (e.g., pad thai, tumyam goong), plus a few non-Thai dishes (e.g., nasi goreng, pho).  The second location, following the original in Bundang.

Located next door to No Gyeong Seong (see generally 13.122 Premium Yang Galbi).
1 glass of beer on its own costs 7,900, so 9,900 for 2 glasses is a good deal, but it’s not “1+1.”
Might be worth coming back for this (but only this).
Usually busier than this.
So gross, especially with the mirror – conveniently labelled “hand mirror” for anyone unfamiliar with the technology. And what is on the menu that would urgently necessitate tooth-picking at the table?
Only the nam pla (bottom left) and sriracha (top right) are truly Thai.
Among the entirely useless tips (e.g., “Add sauce to your liking!”), a helpful one: “Free unlimited refills on broth, bean sprouts, cilantro.”

Not that I had any expectations that the food would be at all authentic, but I knew for sure that it wouldn’t be when I asked for a fork.  The server (manager?) hesitated at first, taken aback by the request, then smiled politely and explained very slowly that the restaurant doesn’t carry forks because, after all, this is a Thai restaurant – all with a forced facial expression and measured tone indicating that he was clearly dealing with an ignoramus.  I paused myself, then replied with an equally fake smile that, Thais don’t use chopsticks but prefer forks (see for example 10.318 Thai Omelette Stuffed with Minced Pork and Vegetable), unless eating noodles.  To which he proudly proclaimed that the restaurant does in fact serve noodles.

They did have a kiddie fork (see for comparison 15.335 Fried Spring Rolls).

The food wasn’t good.  Billed (in English) as “basil pork rice,” presumably meant to be pad gaprao (see generally 14.223 Pad Gaprao Moo), but despite a few dark green strands that might’ve been basil, it had zero basil flavor.  And way way too sweet.  And no heat, despite the handful of red chilies, clearly not bird’s eye chilies.  I pity the poor customer who tries this dish for the time at this restaurant, only to be traumatized for life.

Barely one step removed from raw rice.

But the worst part was the rice.  Hard to the point of being inedible.  When I called over that same server/manager to complain, he looked at the rice, then at me, then sighed, then tried to explain that Thai rice is different from Korean rice, which is wet and sticky, but Thai rice is dry and fluffy.   To which I agreed, but went on to expound that this isn’t dry and fluffy Thai rice, just undercooked Korean rice, which isn’t the same thing.   Fortunately, the kitchen had just made a new batch of rice, which he offered to swap out.

The new batch was also dry but marginally more edible.

I suspect that they cook regular Korean rice with less water, then let it sit out to evaporate the steam in an attempt to make it “fluffy.”  This might work to some extent for fried rice applications, where the addition of fats and seasonings rehydrate the rice, but not as stand-alone steamed rice.

(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See HANSIK)

(See BOOZE)

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