The home-grown restaurant in collaboration with Mohamad Orfali has opened at the backyard of Wasl Vita.
The Yellow Monkey’s Abhiraj Khatwani has officially opened MANĀO with Mohammad Orfali. The restaurant blends Thai flavours with local ingredients to create the food chefs love to eat.
MANĀO’s menu highlights some of the lesser known Thai dishes and recipes, putting a particular emphasis on the way of life in Thailand, such as grilling, roasting and fermentation.
Khatwani said: “We are a group of chefs who love Thai food… It’s about connecting with the food that inspires us and making it accessible in a way that feels personal and dynamic.”
The menu is divided into an à la carte and a specialised tasting option, which features a selection of dishes showcasing the team’s creativity. Guests can begin their experience with one-bite dishes, including savoury khanom krok, miang of charred cabbage and fermented sticky rice roti with smoked short ribs, helping set the tone for the smoked protein dishes to come.
There are also sharing dishes available, a salad of pomelo and fried fish and sour curry of beef and coconut rice cooked in banana leaf. To finish on something sweet, MANĀO offers sticky rice skewers coated with a rich coconut sauce and served with coconut and palm sugar ice cream, thereby making use of the entire coconut. Rice is at the heart of the menu at MANĀO and is a staple food in Thai cuisine, MANĀO serves it fermented, roasted, steamed, grilled, sticky and crispy.