SuperThai Restaurannt @ Damansara Uptown

Terrific Thai Flavours

Damansara Uptown has always been a hotspot filled with lots of restaurants and businesses all tightly packed in the Square. There are so many options when it comes to food and the list of cafes, restaurants, fast food and kopitiams are quite mind boggling. Here's one more we found recently that is worthy of a visit if you're looking for affordable Thai food in the area.

Brought to us by the team behind The Good Guys, SuperThai Restaurant is a hidden gem that serves rustic and humble Thai cuisine at pocket-friendly value. Despite its operation for a year, the restaurant remains low key, operating on the 1st floor, right above Capitol Nasi Dagang on the same row of shop lot as The Good Guys.

The restaurant is designed with minimalist industrial concept. SuperThai chose to focus on doing what they do best, serving rustic and flavourful Thai dishes in their photo-filled menu. One can opt for regular a la carte menu or go for the lunch specials as well as the single portion dishes.

Tuck into porky SuperThai signatures like Flame Grilled Pork Neck (RM28) or Pork Knuckle in Sweet & Sour Sauce (RM55). It’s always a plus point for me when swine shows up on a menu. Pork neck, well marinated and chargrilled till smoking and tender, the Flame Grilled Pork Neck is also given a boost of spicy flavours with a side of piquant heat and garlic notes in the green chili sauce.

The Pork Knuckle in Sweet & Sour Sauce goes through a tedious process of marinating, boiling and deep frying before its cut up and drenched in a sweet and sour sauce with some bell peppers and onions. Gelatinous bits with tender meat is very appetizing with fluffy steamed rice. There is a lovely balance of sweetness with sourness that tantalizes the palate to keep enjoying this porky dish.

It’s literally never a Thai meal without a Tom Yum soup! The version of Tom Yum Seafood (RM27) is rustic and liberal with heat and tangy flavours, almost to the extent of raw flavours. There’s generous amount of prawn and squid in the soup as well. This soup hit all the right spot in terms of flavours and richness, concluding a satisfactory note in a Thai meal.

The Basil Leaf Minced Meat (RM18) was a personal favorite of mine. I enjoyed the sheer simplicity of minced meat sautéed in an unctuous soy sauce and fish sauce based sauce perfumed with basil leaves. It’s also garlicky and has a subtle heat that teases my palate with much addictiveness. Give me this dish alone with steamed rice and I would be thoroughly satiated as a meal.

The Stuffed Squid (RM29) came highly recommended. One of the most ordered item on the menu, the dish is best eaten hot. Two whole squids, tentacles and body, stuffed with juicy minced meat filling topped with green coriander, garlic and chili sauce as well as copious fresh garlic slices are steamed and served with plenty of tasty broth. The robust flavours and well-balanced Thai flavours of savory, sweet, spicy and sourness made the dish appetizing and hearty.

Somehow the Thai always know how to make a scrumptious Crispy Omelette (RM12). The version here is near perfection with fluffy omelette that has a crispy edge. Super yum for diners of all ages…

The next dish of Steamed Fish with Lime Sauce (RM48) is another classic one that appears in Thai restaurants here. The fish is beautifully steamed in the piquant broth. The broth is what makes this dish and it was certainly flavourful with lots of garlic, fresh herbs, lime juice and chilies. One has the option of Patin fish or seabass so check with the server on the availability of the fish for this dish.

The Thai Steamed Prawns with Glass Noodles (RM28) was decent with prawns on a bed of sautéed chewy glass noodles. It is nicely redolent of sesame oil fragrance with garlicky aroma. A good dish though I have had better ones elsewhere.

I do like the twist on the Tom Yum Kai Lan (RM15) but I would have loved the tom yum flavours to stand out a bit more since it reads tom yum. Nevertheless, the vegetable dish is well cooked and tasty.

Moving on to single dishes, diners should really enjoy SuperThai’s single dishes such as the classic Pineapple Fried Rice (RM18). We certainly like the addition of luncheon meat in this rice dish studded with chicken, pineapples, raisins and peanuts.

I really enjoyed the value-for-money Special Nasi SuperThai Set (RM20 + a free drink). It’s a full platter of rice with various dishes that is utterly pleasing, especially when one is dining solo. One gets Tom Yum Soup, Green Curry Chicken, Salt & Pepper Squid, Mango Salad, Crispy Omelette, BBQ Pork Belly and special Seafood Sauce. Super satisfying set meal that is a little mini buffet on its own!

Another dish that is equally drool worthy is the Thai Pork Leg Rice (RM17). The chopped braised pork leg is moreish with lean meat as well as gelatinous tasty bits and skin. The flavours are sublime with hints of spiced soy sauce that goes well with the braised bean curd, soy sauce egg, pickled mustard, soup and pungent chili sauce.

All the set or single portion meals are available all day long. Other ones to try includes Thai Beef Noodles (RM15), BBQ Pork Neck Rice (RM14), Mince Pork Basil Noodle (RM11), Phad Thai (RM13), Tom Yum Petai Rice (RM14) and more. These also comes with a drink.

Lemon grass (RM3) to wash down all the spicy and robust flavours of Thai cuisine.

There may not be many choices of desserts at SuperThai but the ones available is sufficiently satisfying for me. The house made Coconut Ice Cream (RM10) is heavenly on the palate. Lusciously creamy and topped with tapioca coated water chestnuts, peanuts and more, this dessert is rich and satisfying.

We also enjoyed the twist of the classic Mango Sticky Rice (RM10). Usually served warm but I admit to really liking this version of creamy coconut laced sticky rice with fresh sweet mango served with coconut ice cream.

Reason to visit SuperThai? Pocket-friendly Thai dishes with lots of flavours!

SUPERTHAI RESTAURANT

29, Jalan SS 21/1a,

Damansara Utama,

47400 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 60 3-7710 5888

Facebook: www.facebook.com/superthairestaurant/

Business Hours:

Lunch          12.00pm to 2.30pm

Dinner         6.00pm to 10.00pm

Golden Thai Seafood @ Jalan Ipoh

Rustic Thai Food with A Kick!

Our Malaysian shore was now being swamp with more foreign cuisines, not that I am complaining. Being a foodie, I am only happy to be able to savor such a melting pot of cuisines on our shore. Not the newest kid on the block, Golden Thai Seafood has been dishing out authentic Thai dishes in the bustling street of Jalan Ipoh for a year already.

Once cannot miss Golden Thai Seafood, it is located along the same row as all the old school dim sum joints on Jalan Ipoh. Diners can choose to seat in the cool air-conditioned area or alfresco tables to catch some street actions. Don’t expect much of the ambiance but its decent for dining with its minimal décor.

Run by a family of Thais, Golden Thai Seafood offers a solid selections of Northern and Southern Thai dishes in their menu. The owner even goes all out and import in Thai beverages as well as snacks available for purchase at the eatery. I was excited to see they carry Thai sodas, Thai beers, Thai Soy Milk, Thai Milk Tea, Betagen – cultured milk, assorted Thai Lays potato chips, Thai instant noodles and other snacks all imported from Thailand.

The eatery’s menu is filled with lots of familiar Thai dishes as well as some not so familiar. What I am always happy about is when they offer the red and white Tom Yum versions. Leaning towards a fan of the white version, we had their Seafood White Tom Yum (RM18). Simply a must-have in Thai meals as far as I am concern, the innocent looking white tom yum packed quite a punch in heat and flavours. Solid balance of sourness with sweet, savory and a generous kick of heat, the soup ticked all my criteria for a darn good white tom yum. Seafood of prawn, squid and fish are swimming in the broth. Though by no means fabulous, I certainly won’t say much as the price is decent for its offering.

Thai salads are also known to be punchy and robust, simple concoctions of few ingredients but tasty enough to whet the appetite for more. We opted for the Kerabu Noodle (RM13), a glass noodle salad that came loaded with lots of other sidekicks like minced meat, squid, prawn, black fungus, carrot, coriander, onion, tomatoes, peanuts and more. Sprinkled with crispy dried shrimp and served on crisp lettuce, the salad was sufficiently scrumptious.

I am a fan of pad kraw pow and when cooked right, I would gladly enjoy the dish with steamed rice alone as my happy meal. The Krapow Pork (RM13) here is cooked to the tastebud of Thais and the kitchen spared no mercy in pumping up the heat in their dishes here. We took a spoonful of the dish and found our mouth on fire. For me, it’s not too bad since I can really take a solid level of heat but for regular diners, you might wanna tell the kitchen to go easy on the chilies.

Perhaps the most unanimously crowd pleaser was the skewers of BBQ Pork (RM13) that evening. There is no denying that these deliciously looking chunks of Moo Ping or pork marinated in a sweetish savory sauce and gorgeously grilled over hot coals tasted as awesome as it looks. Generous in portion and superb in flavours, now one more order of this please…

Likewise on the next dish of Gaeng Som Siakap (Market Price - RM56), this is certainly Not for the faint-hearted. Owner did say that they can’t reduce the heat for this dish and prepared it exactly how the Thais would enjoy this on the heat level. So be warn before you order this dish or get ready to sweat it out. Other than the heat level, the dish is absolutely flavorful and packs a holy moly piquant punch of sour, savor, spicy and umami flavors. The fish is fresh, soft and cooked well. The Gaeng Som broth totally rocks on the palate like fireworks. There’s some eggplant, long bean, cauliflower, onions and leafy greens in the broth too. Now hand me some milk please…. Hehehe!

For those who can’t take the heat, your safer bet would be to order the yummy BBQ Flying Fish – Tilapia (Market Price - RM65). Golden Thai Seafood has a few BBQ dishes in their menu that is worthy of an order. Our whole tilapia is quite large in size and took a while for the fish to be cook but it was worth it because the flesh was so sweet and tender. The salt crust really perfumed the fish well and gave it a subtle flavor. Enjoy the fish with that piquant green chili sauce and the dish is even better. I would order this again but there is a waiting time because every dish is cook-to-order for freshness and flavor.

Claypot Prawns with Glass Noodle (RM25) is another dish to order if you’re not into spicy food. Delicious glass noodles cooked in an aromatic savory and sweet sauce with prawns, onion, ginger and spring onion is a classic Thai dish that is cooked well here.

The Thai Fried Chicken Wing (RM13) is crispy, juicy and very yummy. I am not sure what’s really Thai about the fried chicken but nevertheless, we enjoyed this fried chicken a lot. Great for anyone of all ages and as snacks too.

The only dish that fell short that evening was the Lemon Steamed Squid (RM28). The flavors were decent with sufficient sourness but there was the lack of oomph in the overall flavor and the squid were a tad rubbery. It’s not really a bad dish compared to other dishes, this one didn’t impress as much.

Fried Paku Pakis with Belachan (RM13) was also very good. The vegetable was cooked just right with robust chili belachan flavor and had a good breath of wok aroma.

We barely even touch the menu at Golden Thai Seafood so there’s a solid reason to return for more. Prices are decent for the portions. Service was quick and brisk and we like how the owner stayed true to their Thai flavors. The eatery also tries to make the food look good in presentation. Highlights for me would be the BBQ Pork, White Tom Yum, Krawpow Pork, BBQ Flying Fish and Fried Paku Pakis. I would love to come back for the BBQ Cockles and Pork Neck as well as their Thai Pork Knuckle!

GOLDEN THAI SEAFOOD

485, Batu 3 Jalan Ipoh,

51200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-666 7033

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/goldenthaiseafood

Riverboat Thai @ Taman Danau Desa

More Than Just Boat Noodles…

Boat noodles really seems to be the craze with many places popping up all over our city serving up mini portions of the Thai classic street food. We found out about Riverboat from OffPeak.com and was curious about this Thai joint packed into the busy suburb of Taman Danau Desa. One evening, some of us head on over to Riverboat for a taste of Thai cuisine.

We were told that Riverboat was serving boat noodles but when we got here, we saw that their menu offered more than just noodles. It was a full list of many Thai dishes together with the noodles. Run by a Louis and his wife, Riverboat serves up authentic Thai dishes as well as some Thai BBQ. The restaurant’s ambience was basic and simple. Off white walls are left bare. Simple tables and stools made up the seating. Thai steamer baskets are converted into lamp shades and provided warm lighting for the place.

On the way into the restaurant, we saw these scrumptious and tempting items on the grill! Now how can we not order these…

For drinks, we decided on Thai classics of Iced Lemongrass (RM2.50) and Iced Pandan Paradise (RM2.50). It was decent and thirst quenching.

The first dish to arrive was Som Tum Thai (RM9.90). I love papaya salad and its raw and robust flavours. This one is really appetizing. Crunchy shredded green papaya soaked in pungent salty garlicky lime and fish sauce dressing pumped up with loads of heat. There was also carrots, long beans, tomatoes and peanuts added for textures.

BBQ Pork Neck (R14.90) was just divine. It tasted as good as it looks. The pork neck was undeniably gorgeous as it was so tender and tasty. The flavours were moreish and the aroma lightly smoky. I like the little bits of charred edges too. There is a sweet and spicy sauce served on the side but the pork neck was just really tasty enough on its own.

The next dish of Kaeng Som (RM24.90) is truly a unique dish in central Thailand. Its quite hard to find Kaeng Som here but I was glad to see this dish on the menu. It is almost like a curry as it has spice paste but it is a non-creamy one. It’s my first time tasting this dish. Though it is usually cooked with fish and vegetables, Riverboat’s version uses prawns and has cubed omelette with petai leaves in the tangy spicy sauce. I loved it a lot. The tamarind in the curry really gave the dish its delicious character. The more I enjoyed this dish, the more I got addicted enjoying its spicy and sourish flavours. Damn shiok dish!

Another must order and drool worthy dish was BBQ Talapia Fish with Salt Served with Vegetables, Vermicelli & Sauce (RM38 per set) that came looking and smelling so good. The salt crust and skin on the fish has been removed, unveiling a delectable looking fish with smooth and sweet flesh.

The way to enjoy this dish is to put some fish on the crisp lettuce with some rice noodles and herbs, topped it with some of the sauces and enjoy this. One gets lots of texture and the flavours were simply amazing. It was like a delicious party of taste going in my mouth. It is definitely worth waiting every minute for this dish so be patience and order this …

The Tom Yum Goong (RM22.90 – small) here is pretty kick-ass in flavours. A sip of this will literally awaken your sense of flavours in full throttle. Super spicy and sour, the soup has a nice medley of seafood.

Another signature of the restaurant is Riverboat’s Clam in Thai Sauce (RM13.90). Using large hard shell clam, the dish is beautifully flavoured with a sweet, savory and spicy Thai sauce. The sauce took limelight here and I couldn’t help scooping up the sauce to go with rice. The sauce was moreish, the clams were fat, juicy and tender.

We also had Fried Rice with Chicken, Basil & Egg (RM10.90). It was mediocre only in flavours but the rice was nice and fluffy,

We tried an order of their four variations of boat noodles of Pork Soft Meat Boat Noodle (RM2.00), Pork Fresh Meat Boat Noodle (RM2.00), Beef Soft Meat Boat Noodle (RM2.50) and Beef Fresh Meat Boat Noodle (RM2.50). The portion is really value-for-money. It was certainly a debated decision as we enjoyed both the pork and beef broth. The broth was nicely robust and lightly sweet with meaty essence and lots of spices. We thought the meat was quite generous for the price. These are really good so if you just feel like a lighter meal, go for the boat noodles.

Dinner ended with classic Mock Pomegranate Seeds with Coconut & Jackfruit or Tub Tim Grob (RM4.90). It was decent with crunchy pearls of water chestnuts with slivers of jackfruit in a sweetened coconut broth.

We certainly got more than we expected at Riverboat. Dishes here are pretty authentic and the price is very affordable. Make sure to come early as seats are limited due to space. Most diners don’t linger so it’s never too long a wait for a taste of Riverboat. Signatures to order are their BBQ Pork Neck, BBQ Talapia Fish with Salt, Kaeng Som and Riverboat’s Clam in Thai Sauce.

RIVERBOAT

23 Plaza Danau Desa 2

Jalan 3/109F

Off Jalan Klang Lama

Taman Danau Desa

58100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel:  011 2629 2779 / 012-9302839

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Riverboat

Business Hours:

Monday–Sunday: 11 a.m.–11 p.m.

Closed on Wednesday

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