Thai newsprint is placed on the table and covered with a glass sheet – quite a novelty!

1.

I am glad that Boo persuaded me (with little effort, actually!) to go to Hatyai Street, the latest restaurant at One Bangsar.  I had driven past the restaurant several times, but always had the misconception that the food would be overpriced.  Of course, pricing is relative.  A single portion costs anything from RM12 to RM14, and the servings are substantial.  When I first went there with the girls, we ordered enough for an army and our total bill came up to RM183.50 (after tax).  I went there a second time with Boo and we decided not to be overambitious.  This time, our bill came up to RM43 for two.  So I leave it to you – the ambience is nice, the airconditioning is very cold (bring something to keep you warm…like a hot water bottle), the service is…okay lah, and the food is well presented.

My, what big trotters you have

Now that we’ve got prices out of the way, let’s talk about the food.  The braised pork trotters is amazingly good.  The taste is familiar, more like our chinese style of preparation, and I enjoyed it throughly.  When I first tried it, I thought it was rather fatty (not that I’m complaining), and the second time I had it, the meat was lean and extremely tender.  In both instances, I was not disappointed.

Thai laksa (fish)

I expected the thai laksa to taste like tom yam (being the ignoramus that I am), but it tasted more like a creamy assam laksa. I didn’t really like the noodles which were clumpy, but I’d vouch for the gravy anytime.

Crispy pork knuckle

The crispy pork knuckle would go very well with beer. It is served with a spicy green chilli blend and sweet soy sauce.

Mango kerabu with salted egg

Kerabu is always a great complementary dish to the spicier, saltier, porkier Thai dishes. The mango kerabu was tossed with salted egg and crisp fried shrimps. On my second visit, I tried the pig skin kerabu. As sinful as it sounds (and I’m sure it is), it didn’t feel unhealthy. The skin was sliced into slivers and tossed in lime juice. It had a gelatinous texture and looked like seaweed.  It was very tasty, of course.

Kailan with fried pork belly

We didn’t want to skip our greens, and when we saw this dish listed on the menu, we knew that we had to have it. (And it wasn’t because of the word “kailan”.)  I didn’t taste much of the pork belly, though.  Must have gone into Precious Pea’s stomach, methinks.

Glutinous rice with durian

Out of all the desserts that we tried, I was happiest with the glutinous rice with durian. It was rich and fragrant and everything I could ask for in a dessert.

Hatyai Street is closed on Mondays. On other days, it is open for lunch and dinner.

Hatyai Street
No. 63E, Jalan Ara
One Bangsar, Bangsar, 55900 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2283 3116

Also check out Precious Pea’s, Boolicious’ and Joe’s blogs. 

2.

Unkaleong said I sounded angry in my previous post.  Anger is only one aspect of it.  I was depressed, furious, confused and even feeling guilt.
 
Yesterday, the newspapers reported that a snatch theft victim was run over by a three-ton truck when she fell on the road after a motorcycle pillion rider grabbed her handbag.   Only a few days earlier, I was a victim as well, but thankfully, I wasn’t hurt in the process.  I was shaken, and cried until I had no tears left, and after that I had time to think about what happened.  The stark reality is this – we should stop blaming foreigners for crimes conducted in our city.  These are our people who grew up on our soil, who went through the same educational process, and face the same socio-economic conditions that we generally face.  What went wrong?

I have no answers.  But this, I know – there will be retribution.

As cliched as it sounds, life will go on for me.  And I thank God everyday for that.