Thai Emerald — Restaurant in Dhaka Metropolitan

Went for their raving reviews.. Ordered their Fried Wonthon(8/10), Chicken Corn Soup (10/10), Chicken Cashewnut Salad(6.5/10), Chicken Fried Rice(7/10), Spring Fried Chicken(6.5/10) and Coconut Ice Cream (9/10)🍧 Had a very basic menu at a Thai place having family at hand. Each of their items are at a proportion for 3 people except the coconut ice cream Starting with their Fried Wonthon rating it a solid 8/10.. They were crispy and perfectly fried..though would've liked a bit more filling as the filling wasn't even noticeable in taste. Paired along the Chicken Corn Soup..Would give it a 10/10... This is the best corn soup I've had in a while..The broth was thick, filled with chicken and egg and had a buttery creamy texture to it..The smell of butter escalated the taste so much better Then tried only two main courses and a salad as we were full already... Chicken Fried Rice paired with Spring Fried chicken..and chicken cashewnut salad on the side. Would rate the chicken fried rice a 7/10 ... The fried rice was however very average tasting. The big slices of chicken in the rice were however bland tasting.. didn't pair well with the rice...their fried rice needs quite an improvement... Their spring fried chicken also felt quite bland to me inside..it felt not well marinated and not juicy inside..Rating this a 6.5/10 and the coating while being crispy.. didn't add much to the taste. Together the rice and spring fried chicken paired better together... I would give the cashewnut salad a 5/10 as well ... It was too saucy and too tangy for our taste...not the traditional cashewnut salad we love...we had to pick and eat the chicken pieces and the nuts were too sour to eat...Even though I like a cashewnut salad saucy/dry..they went overboard with the sauce..so much so it felt more like almost a curry rather than a salad. Their coconut ice cream garnished with peanuts and a layer of sticky rice beneath is a solid 9/10. Loved it...It was refreshing like the waves of the sea... Even though I've heard people complaining about their proportions,I found the portions quite commendable and more than adequate for 3 people having a 2-3 course meal... I'd say 4 people could easily share their 1:3 portions. Would've loved if the staff were more welcoming. Wanted to strike up by praising on their proportion but instead received an underwhelming smile😅 There behavior was however friendly..but could've been more warm. Looking forward to going again someday and ordering other authentic Thai dishes for a better food...

1. Fried Morning Glory with seafood: Having tried it from the uttara branch, this was very underwhelming. The fried portions were soggy and very oily. Felt like it was mistakenly put in cold oil before frying.

2. Tom yum soup with seafood: The broth was subpar at best. The crab portions didn’t smell like they were fresh at all. Reminded me of the horrible taste of street-side crabs I had in Cox’s Bazaar. The portion was just enough for 4 of us.

3. Basil Fried Rice: The rice was well rounded. Had the perfect amount of spice for me. Can be shared in four servings at best.

4. Mixed Seafood in young coconut: The gravy was mild and tasted like comfort food to me. It had an ok amount of seafood in it. Not really worth the price.

5. Fried whole snapper in chilli sauce: We wanted something spicy, so this was recommended. I liked how the the chilli sauce complimented the fried fish. Wasn’t that spicy at all. But, Tasted good with the rice.

6. Coconut Ice-cream: After having a super disappointing meal, this was finally something that blew us away. The warm sticky rice with the coconut ice cream was phenomenal.

Overall, I wouldn’t visit Thai Emerald a second time. If I had to go, I’d try the coconut...

This used to be one of my favorite restaurants.. But recently the service has been far from up to the mark, and their staff are an unprofessional bunch.. I understand that are inclined to attend to bigger groups as they get more money from them, but making guests sit outside despite having available seats in the restaurant and inviting "bigger" walk-in groups is simply sleazy. I would expect this kind of behavior from a roadside slum restaurant, not a fine dining restaurant like Thai Emerald. And also they kept on piling orders despite having a busy kitchen, but did not even bother to inform that its going to take time.. I was asked to pay the bill within 5 minutes of placing the order, where I received my takeaway order after nearly 2 hours. A very cheeky ploy to trap the customer, if you have already paid you cannot leave! Overall I was very disappointed with the service, their food is...