Lunch at Aura

I was in the city for a training the other day and they gave us an hour for lunch. Unfortunately I was in the restaurant dead zone that is 34th street and 10th avenue. I usually end up eating a sandwich from Subway when I'm in this area but today I was determined to find something more exciting.

I walked over to 9th Avenue and came across Aura Thai. The menu looked pretty good and there were a couple empty tables so I decided to check it out.

The first thing I noticed once seated was the difference in the outside menu and the one they gave me inside. The outside one said each lunch entrée came with a your choice of a free appetizer. The inside menu said it came with the free appetizer of the day. When I found out that appetizer was a Veggie Dumping I was a little annoyed. Half the reason I choose this place was because of the free appetizer choice. A veggie dumpling is not something I would have chosen. However I didn?t feel like arguing with the waitress so I just placed my order and out came the dumplings



I was already kind of mad about the dumplings and the presentation of these didn?t make me any happier. The outside was incredibly gummy and the inside completely lacked in flavor. All I could taste was the sweet soy sauce on top. This was a very weak appetizer for a Thai place. I wish I had argued for the duck roll I wanted instead.

Luckily my entrée fared much better- Pad Kee Mao.



This is basically a rice noodle dish that has sautéed vegetables in a chili garlic soy sauce. The sauce was excellent. It had a ton of fresh basil inside which gave it just the right amount of heat and spice. They also gave me a ton of chicken. Sometimes Thai places skimp on the protein but here I had more than an ample amount of meat.

Aura ended up being a pretty decent place to grab lunch. The appetizer wasn?t good but the entrée was tasty and the service was fast and efficient. If I find myself craving thai again in the area I would return. I would just fight for my duck spring roll appetizer instead.