I've been looking forward to trying Arawan ever since I started dining at Komol next door. It looks more intimidating so I knew I had to have a special occasion to try it. I brought my parents here when they were in town and it did not disappoint as an intro to Thai food in Vegas.
Most of the diners at Arawan are couples enjoying a fancy date night, though the restaurant wasn't too busy on a Wednesday night. They only serve beer and wine but have an extensive tea list. We started with a large order of Tom Yum with shrimp and the Tofu Larb. The Tom Yum was perfect with a spicy level 7 that had everyone sweating a bit. I've never heard of a tofu larb but it was a nice, light dish packed with tangy and fresh flavors. We continued with the Arawan Pad Thai, Short Rib Yellow Curry, and Crispy Duck, which is a dry rub version of the saucier Duck Palow. I've had duck a Thai restaurants before and sometimes the sauce makes it a soggy mess but this duck was truly crispy on the outside and tender inside - my dad's favorite dish of the night. The Arawan Pad Thai is as beautiful as the pictures show with its egg net presentation. The prawns are huge and go well with the slightly sweet noodles. The short rib yellow curry was the overall winner with the rich beef paired in a creamy, hearty curry. Fantastic. The only complaint is the lack of table space for our ambitious dinner.
We had to get dessert right? Well yeah we got TWO desserts: the raspberry chocolate lava cake and Mango Paradise, along with a few shots of espresso. The lava cake takes 15 minutes so the mango paradise came out first: slices of mango served with two mounds of colored sticky rice, each with a slightly different texture. It's served with an eyedropper of condensed milk, though the dish is pretty sweet on its own. This is a great twist on a traditional Thai dessert. The raspberry lava cake is a little more familiar to most: a fluffy chocolate cake injected with raspberry sauce and a side of sorbet. Everything was presented beautifully and Arawan really elevates the Thai food experience. If you want to eat Thai comfort food with a couple friends, Komol may be the best choice but when you want to really treat yourself come to Arawan!