We weren’t surprised at all, when we heard that Erawan had ranked terrifically well yet again, on the Miele Guide.

That’s right folks, Erawan Classic Thai and Fusion is one of Asia’s Finest Restaurants – Ranked 3rd , in the Top 5 Best Restaurants in Malaysia, Miele Guide 2011/2012 ! 

For the second consecutive year 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 they have been listed in The Miele Guide Asia because their food is nothing short of fabulous. Chef Korn, their resident Chef, constantly produces cutting edge Thai cuisine and is at the forefront of cuisine innovation and creation. If I had to pick one all time favourite (oldie but a goodie), it would have to be the cockles curry with betel leaf dish you see below. And the newest fusion dish which is now my current favourite is Erawan’s Fusion Pad Thai (great for cocktail parties) with a really cool fusion twist – the croissant. Apparently it was suppose to be a puff pastry but a croissant may also be employed to fashion this fusion pad thai dish. Oh, the croissant does wonderfully too if you ask me!

Cockles curry with betel leaf

Yes indeed, Thai food shines at this affordable cozy, restaurant in Kota Damansara, with clean wood tables, tastefully colored walls, and intricate hand made decorations. The unusual suspect of fusion Pad Thai, sidles up with more mainstream preparations like deep fried Garoupa, Curry Massaman, Cockles with betel leaf, and Duck with Basil Leaves. Equally well-prepared are the Thai noodles – where the white, springy curls of noodles don’t stick together in a hot mess and the sauces with fish balls can be added over the noodles at your own leisure.  The deep fried garoupa fish that’s garnished with mango bits is heavenly- the acidity nicely cuts through the heaviness of the battered fish.

Fusion Pad Thai – Mini Croissant infused with Thai Pad Thai

The other delightful surprise came in the form of individually plated Whole scallops topped with Erawan Thai styled sauce and Salmon Sashimi Salads – light and too addictively easy to eat. Gravy heavy dishes like the Chicken curry, arrives spicy and rich, but not overwhelming, with firm, huge chilies that resemble peppers, in a sauce ideal for spooning over white steamed rice, which I ended up eating because you must use it to mop up all that gorgeous, yummie sauce.. you must! And if all that does not make your jaw drop, the climax of this spread should be the emergence of this one “lost dish” – a recipe long forgotten that Chef Korn managed to salvage from the depths of his inner chi, or something like that – the ‘Kaeng Hang Lae’ northern styled beef curry. So tasty you’d wish you ate less of everything else. But no..  not really. It’d make you wish you had an extra stomach. Yes, that’s more like it.

Photos at the Erawan Celebratory Lunch:

Sashimi Salmon Thai salad

Smoked ducked miang kum

‘Flying’ deep fried garoupa with special Thai pineapple sauce

Sauted prawns with lemongrass

Anan and Jo-ann give the opening remarks before the mini feast starts

Chef Trakool Yodsuk, a.k.a. Chef Korn

Grilled duck breast with crispy basil leaves

Top Clockwise – Mini fish cake burger with Thai sauce, Whole scallops topped with Erawan Thai styled sauce, Mini Croissant infused with Thai Pad Thai

Thai laksa with ‘khanom je en’ noodles served with thick and clear laksa broth

L – R Clockwise : Massaman premium lamb curry, Erawan beef panaeng curry, Chicken with spices curry, Lost food – ‘Kaeng Hang Lae’ northern styled beef curry

‘Luk Chup’ individually crafted fruit pieces made from mung beans

Caramelized black pepper and spiced apples served with vanilla ice-cream

One of the newest Thai joints in town, just started doing a brisk business, two days ago. Located close to my backyard, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), I was more than eager to try it out, once M called me up and said, “let’s go!”.

Namprik, generally pronounced “Nam phik”, is a generic term for thick spicy chili based, hot sauces typical of Thai cuisine. Thai sambal if you like, and this place is supposed to specialise in this spicy and tasty namprik.. evident on their business card that reads, ” The Taste of Thai Sambal”. The owners of Namprik are the same people behind Surisit in TTDI.

Settling down to dinner, we found the Thai fare authentic tasting and well prepared. Since we were there on the opening night, there were no ala carte dishes but rather a buffet menu. Thai cuisine, as we all know, is known for balancing sour, sweet, and salty flavors with chili-infused heat. This is definitely represented at Namprik by their Thai noodles. The Thai Laksa with Chicken and Bamboo shoot Yellow Curry is heavenly! So full of aroma that you will be guzzling the soup up along with everything else. Also myriad curries, deep-fried or sautéed chicken and fish; seafood in sweet chili or hot curry pastes – most of it is infused with a heavenly burn. I like my food spicy, and so I like it here. Namprik freaks, take note, the Thai chili dips here that complement the raw vegetables, are fabulous – the Namprik Kapi (shrimp paste chili dip) and the Namprik Kai Kem (Salted Egg Sauce) are really addictive. I am definitely going back this week to check out their regular menu.

Thai Laksa – springy thai noodles

A rich, coconut based, yellow curry stock with lots of baby bamboo shoots and chicken – the Thai laksa here is to die for!

Thai Otak otak and prawns go terrific with sambal and rice

One of the specialties here is the Thai Sambal – they have several different kinds that go delightfully well with the raw vegetables/salad (Ulam). My favourite is the deep fried aubergine and sambal – super addictive!

Delicious dessert of Pengat pisang  - sweetened bananas in coconut milk

Tapioca in coconut milk dessert

We found the environment at Namprik clean and relaxed – ideal for the lunch crowd that wants to get away from the heat of the coffeeshop. Service was prompt and the prices affordable. The modern set up is ideal for larger groups as well – there is an upstairs area with break out rooms for bigger groups. I will definitely be going back to check out their ala carte menu this week;)

On a cold and rainy weekend, it’s only a matter of time, before one of us hankers for Tomyam.

Cumi actually found this great place for Tom Yam in Seri Sentosa, and not only does it taste great, it’s chock full of ingredients and only for the price of RM6 per bowl. Surprisingly enough, this price has not changed, in over a year.

Though Tom Yam is a Thai national dish, it is not uncommon to find these spicy sour noodles being sold at coffee shops throughout Malaysia. A good Tom Yam has tons of natural herbs in it, such as gallangal, lime, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, coriander leaves and the all essential, component – chillies. Oh yea, I like my Tom Yam sour (but not too sour), slightly sweet and super spicy. Depending  on my mood, I like either vermicelli (bihoon) or egg noodles (yee mien) in my Tom Yam. In Kuala Lumpur (KL) we normally get the red, murky sort of Tom Yam, characteristic of South Thailand, sold in coffee shops. You can only find clear Tom Yam, the kind you get in North Thailand, at Thai Restaurants. It has to be said though, that the Tom Yam sold in coffee shops in KL have been tweaked to our local taste-buds – it tastes good but of course it cannot beat the authentic Tom Yam Kung from Thailand.

In addition to a tasty broth topped with fresh fragrant greens, tom yum soup should always have a decent amount of proteins in it. I’m pretty happy with a tom yum that’s got either squid, prawns and fish, or a mix of seafood in it. Depending on which type of protein is added to the soup, the flavours of the dish are somewhat modified.

In KL, you can even buy tom yum paste in a jar, at the supermarket or at the wet market, that is made of the basic ingredients in tom yum soup. This paste can be reconstituted into a broth to make tom yum soup. Of course, it taste better if  the soup is made with fresh ingredients, but I sometimes cheat and use this paste to make my Tom Yam noodles at home;)

The Indonesian lady at this Tom Yam stall cooks a fine Tom Yam. It still tastes great after all this time and the portion has not shrunk;)

My Tom Yam with Yee Mien.. only 6 bucks..  sedap!

This place also does a decent Hakka Mee

Thai cuisine, known for balancing sour, sweet, and salty flavors with chili-infused heat, is represented at Chef Choi’s this week, by dishes of every persuasion.. myriad salads e.g. fresh vegetables or dried shrimp or deep-fried crispy fish, thai fish cakes, sashimi prawns, thai duck noodles and seafood completes the repertoire in the form of the legendary thai styled crab in basil and chili thai pastes. Actually Chef Choi does mainly a Chinese menu on regular days, so if you want to partake of this lovely Thai menu, you simply need to pick up the phone and place your order.

Most of these Thai dishes originate in Bangkok, and the owner cum chef has recreated these all time Thai favourites to perfection. These salads are fresh and brightly flavored. The shrimp salad with a sharp and tangy lime/chili/fish sauce that spills over onto a bed of onions, lime and ginger bits makes a substantial and satisfyingly complex salad. It is zesty and a real appetite inducer. This is their version of the miang kham, where lettuce leaf is employed instead of the usual betel leaf, but it turned out to be just as tasty. Heat freaks, take a note.. the sauces that are mixed specially by the Chef, are all subtly different, but have one thing in common – they are all Thai specialties that will burn the taste buds right off your tongue!

Kai Sam Yang -fresh lettuce and dried shrimp in Thai style

The tiny shrimp salad with a sharp and tangy lime/chili/fish sauce that spills over onto a bed of onions, lime and blue ginger bits makes a substantial and satisfyingly complex salad.

One of the guests demonstrates how to wrap the perfect bite size salad!

Nam Prik Kapi – fresh vegetables served with Thai shrimp sauce

The Thai sauce for this dish, is a lot darker and tastes heavier, like the belacan. It is, in fact, a Thai belacan sauce. Dunk the deep fried eggplant into the sauce and eat it just like that. The flavours and the burn from the chili are superb! Other veges include the long beans, four angled beans, cabbage and cucumbers.

kung cheh nam pla – prawn in fish sauce.

These prawns were swimming minutes before they were prepared for our dinner.  They are served raw with a tangy sauce made from fish sauce, lime, garlic, chillies and sugar.

How pretty is that?

Ah.. the all time favourite Thai snack, tod mun pla – Thai fish cake. These are again freshly made into patties and fried just in time for dinner. Superbly tasty.

Grilled pork ribs

Actually, we heard over the grapevine that there will be another preview at Chef Choi soon. This time featuring the BBQ range! Wow.. we can’t wait. Slabs of fat, juicy grilled pork ribs were served to taunt us, and remind us of better things to come!

yam pla duk foo -deep-fried fish with mango chilli sauce

This deep-fried fish  was crispier than usual because, the Chef used Siakap instead of Catfish. The floss of fish quickly melts into the mango chilli sauce which makes the dish exquisite in texture as in taste.

My favourite of the night – the crabs! Poo Nam Prik Prao, I ate a whole load of these.

The crabs in Thai basil and chilli was better than I had expected. Using local mud crabs they might have been slightly smaller than Sri Lankan crabs but the flavour was awesome! The white flesh is far sweeter than any other type of crab if you ask me. The intrinsic flavours of the crabs was intact and went fabulously well with the Thai basil chilli sauce.

Thai Duck Noodles with shredded duck and pork skin crackling

You may choose to add more crunchy pig skin if your heart is strong, and unafraid!

Chef Choi’s own homemade special egg noodles. Divine!

tab tim krob -red rubies dessert to complete the dinner.

Actually, when we were invited to taste the legendary Thai duck noodles, at Chef Choi, we did not expect 6 full blown dishes to precede it! Well, we have since come to anticipate, that this, is how they eat at Chef Choi! The duck noodle soup was hearty and sweet from being on the boil for ages – the succulence of pork and duck bone flavour really shone through. What you see on top of the noodles are shredded duck meat, bean sprouts and.. crunchy pig’s skin ! You can choose from a selection of either kuey teow, egg noodles or beehoon. I liked them all actually.

We highly recommend the Thai Menu at Chef Choi. Don’t forget to pre-book before you go for dinner.

Google Maps

The secret to great Thai food is the artful intermingling of flavors—hot, sour, salty, sweet.. and in the pursuit of exceptional Thai, all roads, should eventually lead to Surisit Thai kopitiam here in the heart of Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI). Yes, having been here several times now, in the short span of one week, I can say that this tiny joint is a heaven sent , for the enthusiastic Thai food lover. The simple space is brightly lit, making the speed of the kitchen and the two-man waitstaff seem all the speedier. But the dishes on this exhaustive menu provide plenty of rewards. The menu’s stellar “signature dishes” are both worth paying a little extra attention to, especially the Mun Thod Gapi – Crispy Fried Pork, as well as the Kao Klut Gapi – Belacan Fried Rice. Those who hanker for a more healthy option should really try the Yam Woon Sentalay – Glass Noodles Seafood Salad, another winner.

I heard about this kopitiam through my buddies Marian and Boolicious.They told me that it’s so new – no more than two weeks old, and is run by Sita, one of the founders of Bangsar’s Montien and her two nephews. I’ve been back 3 times with my colleagues to “whack” the menu. Rice addicts rejoice! Almost everything on the menu goes terrific with rice. Surisit is also open the entire day and that’s why it’s a great place for Sales Reps to “yamchar” (have breakfast) before visiting the clients. The breakfast menu is a choice of either noodles or porridge, and one can choose from the main dining menu for lunch and dinner. On separate occasions we tried the Joke Moo – Pork Porridge and the Guay Tiaw Mu Nam Sie – Pork Kwey Teow Noodles and they were both value for money. My favourite is the Joke Moo as it has tons of succulent mince pork in it. Mixing up the porridge you will find a little bonus.. a half boiled egg, runny yolk and all, which adds sweetness to the dish. For just RM8.50 you get a coffee or tea with that too. Breakfasts run from 8am – 11am, then the lunch menu kicks in.

Breakfast:

Joke Moo – Pork Porridge

Hidden Sunshine!

Guay Tiaw Mu Nam Sie – Pork Kwey Teow Noodles

Coffee

Lunch/Dinner:

Mun Thod Gapi – Crispy Fried Pork (RM16.90)

Kao Klut Gapi – Belacan Fried Rice (RM14.90)

Mix up the fried rice with the condiments and especially the braised pork belly! This is the kind of carbohydrates worth eating if you ask me. Ahem.

Yam Woon Sentalay – Glass Noodles Seafood Salad (RM14.90)

Kheng Som Pla – Sour Orange Curry Fish with Vegetables – RM 32.90

The intense sour orange and chili in this dish makes the crispy fish deeply savory and spicy-hot. Be prepared to sweat when you eat this fish. A fabulous sauce but unfortunately the fish was over-cooked. I would have preferred it more taut.

Fish Maw – this special is not on the menu

Fried Squid – this special is not on the menu either

Anyway, don’t forget to bring a crowd to share the wonderful Thai dishes this place has to offer, because trust me, you are going to end up ordering more dishes than you can possibly finish in one sitting. After all, where good food is concerned, aren’t the eyes always bigger than the stomach..

Tap Tim Krob and Mango Sticky Rice dessert