The restaurant was as authentic as it could get. From fake plastic flowers in cheerful reds and yellows that guaranteed eternal spring to Thai speaking waitresses who whispered conspiratorially upon learning that I wasn’t Thai (my two mates consisted of a pale faced Aussie and the Hairy Weekend B^*ch©, both of whom bore very little resemblance to anything Thai), it was almost as if I was transported to the northern country above our peninsular.
a
Back home, Bald Eagle was aghast. “You brought an Aussie tourist to a Thai restaurant??”
“Yep. It’s in Malaysia, mah.”
“You’re so not gonna get the award for Malaysian Food Ambassador.”
“Well dear, let’s just say he’s never gonna eat Thai again,” I replied sweetly with a flutter of the eyelashes. The devil’s advocate comes in many forms.
d
Pad Thai
The pad thai was good – thin strands of rice noodles, almost translucent, stir fried with bean sprouts, cubed tofu, spring onions and served with peanuts. It wasn’t heavy at all.
Kerabu Babi
I had never heard of kerabu babi before and was keen to try it. The sliced pork was stir fried in a spicy sauce, and then tossed in lime juice, and served with raw vegetables. It was interesting…the first impact was the strong citric taste, and then the pedas (hot) effect. I’m not sure what went into the marinade, and I couldn’t very well ask anyone because of the language disparity, but suffice to say that this was extremely delicious.
Tom Yam
Another great dish was the tom yam. We requested for “less spicy”, but I’m guessing that they didn’t understand what we meant. The soup was thick and full of flavour from the seafood (loads of prawns and clams) and exuded the rich, intense aroma of all the different ingredients. BUT. It was extremely pedas! I kept running back and forth, doing jumping jacks and washing my face in my attempt to overcome the discomfort I was feeling. James, on the other hand, didn’t bother touching it after seeing our (my) reaction. The Weekend B^*ch© did a great job in maintaining decorum, but he couldn’t hide the beads of sweat on his forehead despite the airconditioning and the numerous fans pointed in our direction.
Som Tam
“Make it end, make it end!” my mind screamed; it was as though the fire of hell was burning from the esophagus all the way to my stomach. But the torture didn’t end. At first bite, the som tam tasted wonderful….crunchy (peanuts, shredded green papaya) —> sour (green papaya, lime juice, fish sauce) —> savoury (crisp dried shrimps) —> AAARGGGHHHHH SPICAYYYYYY!!! I almost died at this point.
And then…..
Singha Beer
…..sweet relief. Yes, as authentic as it could get.
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An experience not for the fainthearted. But very good, nevertheless.
Like childbirth*, I think I have forgotten what it felt like and am dying to return to this torture chamber again.
*from what I hear lah
Total bill – a little over RM60 for 3 persons (inclusive of 3 Singha Beers).
For other reviews, see Cumi & Ciki.
Restoran Baan Nok (above Pasar Mini Thai Market Font)
43G, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B,
Pandan Indah.
Opens daily, lunch and dinner.
From what you hear lah? Maybe you did give birth to a Lil Lyrical Lemongrass but the shock was so great your memory was erased completely? No? :p
Hehe, I don’t know what Bald Eagle’s complaining about anyway. Isn’t Thailand a state in Malaysia? Like Singapore?
eh, I went to the Thai Orkid right next door la. very authentic and DARN DARN DARN spicy as well. so long never ate something that made me sweat and begging for water …. =P
Kerabu Babi?? Interesting!! Aiyah…if I know you are going, i would have tumpang you to get me a bottle of fish sauce! Hehe!
haro haro! hard to find good, cathartically spicy thai now a days huh.. don’t u just love that slow burn.. lol ;P great shots !
so if i want to go i know who to call to guide me there?
so spicy…>.<”
i wont be able to survive d…..
Kerabu babi? Hmm, a first for me too. So intrigued to try after reading your description of it.
I like the red “Water”, “spicy”, “GASP” comments… hehehe. Such a dramatic effect! LOL
not spicy, just say ‘mai prik’
more spicy, just scream ‘prik prik prik’
I just love your post ….just a few words and the great pictures tell it all!
your encounter of the ‘hot’ kind reminds me of the same experience i had when i was in bangkok last year..this must be authentic ler.. hehe
haha you can actually relate ur experience here with childbirth..i have no idea how was it like too..aikz too spicy is not for the faint hearted like me
i swear to god, that food haunted me for another two days – it took multiple visits to wong a wah for wings to help me forget about it 😉
i tried the tom yum, and was worth the pain, but i finally gave up – i’m pretty sure “less spicy” doesn’t exist in the thai language!
You came here before me! I was already planning (search the location on Google Map, note down the street’s names, time, date) to come here since 2 weeks ago >” <
Now, I’m more excited to visit them!
nah… i’d rather have the spiciness increased by 10 times and die happy on a full stomach rather than go thru labour pains. delivering babies is enuf to scare me off this painful process…
Spicy stuffs, my favourite ! And did I also mention that I drool whenever I visit your site? Ooopss …. sorry, got to go…. find a cloth to wipe my keyboard…..
did i hear childbirth? yeah, been thru that a few times….
Bring it on! Love spicy food! Yumz!
woah, weekend b@#ch now got © somemore ar? hehehe…
what fun we had that day, eh? when are we going to torture ourselves again, ar? the thought of it is making me sweat already…haha!
looks delicious !
Henry Yeo is correct – say “mai prik” if you want it less spicy. You can also say “Kho mai phet dai mai?” or just “mai phet”. But for some reason all my friends remember “mai prik” much easier!
And hey – there’s some of us Aussies that love it hot… bring it on!
oh i love spicy food!! the hotter the better!!
wow the Tomyam looks fantastic with those huge prawns!
Spicy, I likey.
Methinks spicy is overrated — it’s better to enjoy the subtle flavours of ingredients without your tastebuds being assaulted by chilli padi. (Yeah, must be living in CH for far too long orredy!)
We love this place, it’s utterly authentic, no cooking to local palates. Wrote it up for KLue a year ago but still not seeing so many locals there.
What’s really noteworthy are the kanom jeen (thin rice noodles) with a selection of curries (perut ikan fans will like the gaeng tai bplaa) and all the northern Thai specialties on offer, like somtam made with bplaa raa (a sort of budu), coconut milk-free curries (eg gaeng khae, gaeng kanun, gaeng som), dtaam (pounded ‘salads’ – eggplant, jackfruit, etc), nam prik (‘dips’ to eat with veggies – nam prik om, nam prik gapi, etc), and banana leaf parcels of rice mixed with pork blood and steamed. Head back on a Sunday and make a lunch from what the Chiang Rai-native cook has out on the truck. Took a couple of homesick Thais there a few Sundays ago and they left very happy.
That pic of the lotus is amazing! 😉 Luv u miss u 😉
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We go there last Saturday around 6.30pm and was shock there is no one in the up stair restaurant and the air con is not opened. We ordered the pad thai, kerabu babi and tom yam. One word to describe….SUCKS!!! No fresh juices for drink. At the end ordered the coconut. The foods are too salty. Never go there again. Some other Thai Restaurants in Cheras are much more better.