Khun De Thai Restaurant | Sunway Tunas, Penang

Thai food is always at the top of my list as I always have this craving of spicy and sour food. On my recent trip to Penang, I decided to get some Thai food instead of the normal hawker Penang food. And I found this place from Foursquare which is highly recommended. It is a small Thai restaurant located at Sunway Tunas. The capacity of the place is limited around 7 tables, recommended to go early during peak hours/days.

I was so excited with the food that I totally forgoten to take photo of the place. I will go back again and re-took the photo.

Basically, their food was quite good. The cooks were real Thai as I heard the waitress was talking to them in Thai language. The price is quite reasonable too, we paid around RM 90 for 6 dishes and 3 drinks.

 

 Thai Mango Salad- RM 10

We all love this mango salad eventhough my hubby do not like sourish mango. The mango turn out to be sweet and delicious. Eventhough it is not sourish but overall was quite nice.

Chicken Tom Yum- RM 17

When comes to Tom Yum, we always prepare ourselves to be sweating and tongue burning by the spiciness. To our surprise, the soup turn out to fit our spiciness level just nice. We totally in love with this Tom Yum soup. The chicken tom yum comes with chicken meat with bones instead of small bites of chicken meat.

 

Stir Fried Dou Miao (Pea Shoot)-RM 10

Fried Garlic Pork-RM  12

This dish was recommended by the waitress. We are not convince at first, thinking that the fried pork will be hard and dry but I guess we have no regret from odering. The fried pork is tender and juices, with the garlic on top really makes the whole dish smell so good. I never try fried pork with garlic before but this definately is good.

Fried Salted Egg Squid-RM 15

The salted egg squid is just normal, not too salty, just nice.

Otak Fried Egg-RM 12

The otak-otak and egg blend quite well, however I feel it is a bit salty due to the otak-otak but overall was delicious. A must ordered dish if you are die hard fan of fried omelette.

 

 

Khun De Thai Restaurant

38-G, Persiaran Mahsuri 2,

Sunway Tunas, 11900 Penang

Tel: 04-611 9669 / 016 421 6189

Nara Thai Cuisine| Central World, Bangkok

Nara is one of the famous Thai restaurants in Bangkok, or so it seems. At least, that's what we have read from many blogs, so we decided to try it out on our second trip to Bangkok. This time, we went on an early weekday evening. Although there wasn't much of a wait, the restaurant was surprisingly full, nevertheless we were very excited as we were escorted to our table.

As you can see, "Best of 2014"award.

First impressions are, Nara is a fine dining Thai restaurant. The ambience feels "expensive" and there are nice little touches here and there in their decor. However, we were unfortunately seated right in between some tables, and there's really very little privacy for everyone. We were all seated so close that we can practically hear what everyone says. That's quite the opposite of what a fine-dining environment should be. Nevertheless, I guess it depends on individuals'preferences, so we just overlooked this part of the experience.

Coconut

Just a few shops away from Nara, we had the best coconut drink we ever had before, you can read about that review here. Here in Nara however, it's a bit bland and not as cool as we wanted.

Thai Jasmine Tea

It tastes just like Chinese Ice Tea, which is a good thing because I prefer to drink it without sugar and it's a great thirst quencher. 

Chicken Pandan- 180 baht

The pandan chicken was the star of the night. It was grilled and fried to perfection and the sauce... the sauce really just take things up to the next level. I couldn't tell what kind of sauce it was, it has a hint of smoked barbecue flavour, yet it doesn't overpower the taste of the chicken. Definitely a must try!

Soft Shell Crab (Can't remember the price)

We were craving for soft shell crab, so we ordered the Thai Soft Shell Crab. It turns out to be quite similar to the ordinary Japanese soft shell crab, as it didn't have any special sauce to go with it. It wasn't extraordinary, but it's worth the try.

Tom Yum Kung -370 baht

River Prawns in Spicy Lemongrass and Lime Soup

Their Tom Yum looks super spicy, but surprisingly it wasn't. It tastes rather good and the prawns are fresh and cooked to be just right. We just wished that it is slightly more spicier, and more sour, that'll certainly add to the punch of the soup. Nevertheless, we love this Tom Yum and finished every last drop of it.

Stir fried Kang Kung

It is just like any ordinary stir fried vegetable. It's not outstanding but well, we needed some vege to go along with our dishes. 

In conclusion, I'd say that Nara is a rather nice Thai restaurant. However, I'm not so sure whether they're worth the award as they described. For me, the title of "Best" isn't only limited to the taste, the decor and the service, because the "price" plays a very important role as well. I would say the price here for the food and the portions I got was rather expensive; although they were delicious, it certainly makes me think twice about whether I want to revisit this place the next time I'm back here. I will continue to search for the Thai restaurant, which I think is the "best" in the next time I'm here in Bangkok.

Nara Thai Cuisine
4, 4 / 1-2, Central World, 7th Floor,
Rajdamri Road, Pathumwan, Khet Pathumwan,
Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
Tel. no.: +66 2 613 1658
http://www.naracuisine.com/

Ban Khun Mae Authentic Thai Cuisine | Siam Square Soi 8

Ban Khun Mae have been in Thai restaurant business for over a decade now and they are also one of the famous Thai restaurant that visited by many locals and tourists. Ban Khun Mae is located at Siam Square, opposite to the famous Som Tam Nua Restaurant. I actually planned two options for dinner that night, either to visit Som Tam Nua or Ban Khun Mae which depends on the crowd. I'm not a patient person who can queue and wait for food (it is also depends on the mood), so I give ourself two options for dinner depends on the crowd. At first we planned to visit Som Tam Nua since we missed out in the last trip but the crowd are still queueing even though it is near to 9pm. It is crazy! So instead of waiting (since we are damn hungry too), we went to Ban Khun Mae, still need to wait for 15 mins but I think shorter waiting time than Som Tam Nua.

You can check out some of their menu here.

Coconut and Thai Iced Tea (Can't remember the price)

Coconut water needed for a hot day in Bangkok. Just remember any beverages serve in Bangkok is always sweeter than Malaysia. So, if you can't take too much sugar, either ask them to reduce the sugar level or order a cup plain water or coconut.

Shrimp Spring Roll- 150 baht

We ordered this crunchy and delicious shrimp spring roll as starter. The method they used to fried the spring roll is really good, it is not oily at all. Great for those who hates oily food.  

Steamed Snapper with Lime- 280 Baht

The chilli lime sauce is quite mild, we both personally love intense flavour especially comes to Thai Steamed Fish. For those who like mild flavour, this is really a recommended dish. The price is quite reasonable too, hardly can find in famous restaurants with that kind of price.

Sautéed Chicken with Chilli and Basil- 120 baht

I always like to order this dish when I visit Thai restaurant. The way they cook the chicken and basil bring a special flavour into the dish. However I think this dish is lacking in basil fragrant, overall taste like normal stir fried chicken dices. 

Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables- 90 baht

Last but not least, a plate of mixed vegetables to add some greens into our meal. Like the Chinese always said "wok hei" is important to determine how good the dish will be. I would said only 60% of "wok hei" is presented in this dish. Overall still taste not bad.

I personally think that Ban Khun Mae's food quite suitable for tourists who are not comfortable to heavy flavour. Their food is quite mild in taste, suitable to those who can't take spicy food as well. The ambience of the place is cosy and nice for a family gathering, price is quite reasonable too.  

Ban Khun Mae Authentic Thai Cuisine 
458/6-9 Siam Square Soi 8, Rama 1 Road,
Patumwan District, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Phone:+66 2 250 1953
Business Hours:11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Email: contact@bankhunmae.com
http://www.bankhunmae.com/

If you have visited the place before, comment below and share your experience with me. I love to hear from you.

Krathong Thai Restaurant | Sri Petaling

I came about this place not long ago through the friendly social media platform. People was posting about this place and I knew I need to visit this place. Krathong Thai restaurant is located at Sri Petaling, follow waze, it will bring you directly to the place.

So, today I'm going to introduce you this nice place for Thai Food with reasonable price too! Just one advice, please go early or else you will have to queue at the roadside. The place is able to fill more than 30 people however their serving time is quite long and lack of staffs (we waited more than 30 mins), the turnaround for a table at least 1 hour.

Luckily we saw this banner hung beside the shop, they going to move from current location to new shop near The Store in July. Just a few roads away from their current location. So remember in July, find them at new location.

I love the old wooden style design, reminds me of younger days where I used to buy snacks from those wooden kampung house aunties. 

Let's see what we have ordered!

Onion Omelette- RM 7

There are two sizes for most of the dish in the menu. We ordered the small portion which is just nice for both of us. The prices are quite reasonable for a Thai restaurant. The portion of the omelette is quite big too for that kind of price. Taste wise is good.

Kailan with Salted Fish- RM 9

Both of us love their Stir Fried Kailan with salted fish, the way they cook is more like the Chinese style. A plate of Kailan cost least than RM 10, hardly can find it in restaurant now. I hope they maintain their price after moving to new location.

Krathong Thai Steamed Siakap-RM 35

Price for fish is based on seasonal but advice to ask the price before order (avoid to get cut throat). We actually ask the price of the fish and type of the fish served on that day. Their speciality of steamed fish is actually the Thai spicy lime steamed fish which both of us love the most. The spicy lime sauce taste really good, sweet & sour and not too spicy. On the other hand, the size of the fish is just nice for two of us, if you are coming with bigger family, probably you will need to ask for bigger fish or order extra. Must Try!

Now dessert time! We were shocked with the price of their dessert. It is lower than any Thai restaurant would want to position it.

Mango Pulut-RM 3.50

What I like about this Mango pulut is the portion, it is quite small but just nice after a heavy meal. Normally we hardly can order any dessert because those portion is big. So, with the price of RM 3.50 on that size, I think it is quite reasonable. Nothing so big wow about the RM 3.50 Mango Pulut that is crazily talk on FB. However, the white sauce that served on top the pulut is too salty which I personally don't really like it, it suppose to be a bit sweet and salty.

Thap Thim Krob-RM 3.00

This is the dessert that should be talk of the town. Have you ever find any Thap Thim Krob that is the size of an ice kacang only cost you RM3 (Ice kacang at kopitiam already selling RM 5 now)? The tall ice shaved dessert excited him the most. I think this is definitely worth of money because the ingredients inside are a lot too! Taste wise is delicious! Must Try!

Krathong Thai Restaurant

D1 & D2, Glass City,

Jalan Radin Tengah,

Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, 57000 KL

Business Hours: 10am-10pm

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Phan Khom Thai Cuisine | Central World Bangkok

If you are in Bangkok, looking for Thai Food is super easy as everywhere is selling it, even by the road side. But to find nice Thai Food that suit to Malaysian taste (my taste) is not quite easy. Either you will find the Tom Yum soup to be super spicy or super sour or tasteless.

Today I would like to recommend you a restaurant in Central World Bangkok that we really like especially their Spicy Lime Steam Fish (one of the famous dish in Thailand). In Central World, there is a famous restaurant named Nara that you can try as well but normally their waiting period is long, can be more than 40 mins and people still crazily waiting for it. I will review on Nara on my next post soon. Phan Khom Thai Cuisine is actually located at 7th Floor of Central World and also just few shops away from Nara. 

The layout of the restaurant is quite simple and nice with the orange laterns. Most of the writing is in Thai but no worry, menu do come in English explanation.

Let's see what we have ordered!

Coconut- 70 baht

We both love the coconut, although the price is a bit pricey but it worth it. This is because the coconut is cold, I mean super cold! Even the juice inside is cold. So far this is the only restaurant that served really really cold coconut which is what we love after a hot and humid day in Bangkok.

Tom Yum Goong- 135 baht

Spicy Tom Yum Soup is what you need to order when you are in Bangkok. We ordered the seafood tom yum soup which is what they call the Tom Yum Goong. The spicy level is still acceptable but comparing to KL standard it is a bit way over. Overall taste was nice.

Steamed Sea bass with spicy lime sauce- 425 baht

This is the highlight that I would like to recommend. The spicy lime sauce is the best we ever had so far after a few trip to Bangkok. I love their effort in putting that much of ingredients in cooking the sauce, it really brings out the freshness of the fish. If you are a person who like strong flavour like I do, this is definitely your type of fish. 

Stir fried chicken with basil leaves- 125 baht

This is another dish that I love to order whenever I'm in a Thai restaurant. This dish was recommended by a waiter in a food stall during our trip in Phuket. I started to love this dish after that. The most important is the sauce their use to cook this dish, and Phan Khom Thai Cuisine did it quite well.

Sauteed chinese kale with oyster sauce- 95 baht

I found that a lot of Thai restaurant in Bangkok will definitely have this dish in their menu. I guess after ordering all the spicy soup and spicy dishes, you need a non-spicy dish like vegetable to neutralise your taste bud and stomach. Although it doesn't taste like the Chinese style stir fried Kailan, but the taste is still acceptable for a plate of stir fried vegetable.

I personally like their food especially the steamed fish and coconut. Overall service is fine, food serving time is fast too, price wise is reasonable (lower than Nara too) and overall food is good. If you planning your shopping in Central World, give it a try on this restaurant.

Phan Khom Thai Cuisine

4, 4/1-4/2, 4/4, 7th Floor, Central World Plaza, 

Ratchadamri Rd., Pathum Wan Sub-District, 

Pathum Wan District, Bangkok.

02-252-3668

A Day Trip to Ayutthaya | River Sun Cruise

Phra Thinang Aisawan Thiphya-art (Ayutthaya)

During our recent trip to Bangkok, we booked a trip to Ayutthaya through hotels2thailand.com. Initially we wanted to visit Hua Hin, but it was too rush for us to make a trip there. Instead, I found this special day trip to Ayuthaya that is just about 1 hour from Bangkok. We paid around 1580 baht per person.

There were a few websites that offer the same trip, however we picked hotel2thailand.com due to good comments on their website and the price is much more lower than others(after included tax). I was quite sceptical at first due to the outlook of the website (didn't give a good impression) but I'm glad I chose them as the operator is nice to answer all our questions, the driver called us one day before the trip to confirm and our tour guide-Donna is so friendly and nice. All of them can speak English, so no worry when communicating with them.

Here is how the voucher looks like once you confirm your booking. I actually called them on the phone number below (highlighted) one day before the trip to confirm my booking. There is a column on special request where you can request them to call before they arrive. I actually included the address as well as I am not staying in a hotel (just in case they can't find the place). REMEMBER  to Print Out the Voucher, you will need to pass it to the van driver for verification.

Here is the itinerary:

6.30am-Pick up from Hotel to River City Shopping Complex
7.30am-Depart Bangkok by air-conditioned coach to Ayutthaya from the River City Shopping Complex
9am     -Visit Bang Pa-In Summer Palace
            -Visit Wat Maha That
            -Visit Wat Lokayasutharam
12.30pm- Buffet Lunch in Sun River Cruise, taking the cruise back to Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River
3.30pm- Arrive at Bangkok, transfer back to Hotel

* Remember do not wear sandals, short skirts, shorts, no-sleeves T-shirts or sexy dresses. You will need to visit the temples which require proper dressing.

1. Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

"Bang Pa-In Palace was first used by the royal court as a summer retreat in the 17th century. However, the Palace was destroyed with the fall of Kingdom of Ayutthaya and was restored by King Rama IV in the mid-19th century. Most of the buildings that exist today date from the reign of King Rama V, who regularly spent his summers there. The structures represent a variety of architectural styles, set in a large park around ponds and waterways." adapted from Oriental Escape.

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace Entrance

Today the palace is used occasionally by their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit as a residence and for holding receptions and banquets.

HO Withun Thasana

The observatory was built by King Chulalongkorn in 1881 as a lookout tower for viewing the surrounding countryside.

Phra Thinang Uthayan Phumisathian (Garden of the secured land)

Our tour guide- Donna explaining about the place. She is very friendly and professional tour guide. She is also very good in taking photos too! Help us took some photos in the whole trip.

Phra Thinang Wehart Chamrun

This is a Chinese style two storey mansion, built by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and presented to King Chulalongkorn in 1889. All material used are imported from China like hand painted floor tiles, porcelain, hand crafted door frames and many more.

Phra Thinang Wehart Chamrun

Roundabout in Ayutthaya

2. Wat Maha That

"The temple is believed to be one of Ayutthaya's oldest temples, possibly built by King Boromaraja I (1370-88). Its central prang, of which only the base remains, once rose to a height of 165 feet. Traces of the original stucco decorations can still be seen on some of the surrounding chedis." -Adapted from Oriental Escape.

Wat Maha That

Wat Maha That

This temple is very similar to the Cambodia's Angkor Wat except that the place is built by brick instead of stone. Due to some major flood and burning, the place was destroyed and rebuilt again, however it is still not fully restore.

This is the Buddha head that was cut off by a thief, but before the thief could manage to get away, he was caught. The Buddha head was then abandoned on the floor. Due to long period of time, the trees grow from the ground and believe to leave up the Buddha head which make it where it is now.

Most of the Buddha heads were cut off and stolen.

The tallest Buddha remained in the area.

3. Wat Lokayasutharam (Reclining Buddha)

"Wat Lokayasutharam an abandoned temple with no absolute evidence of which reign it was built in. None of the historical records or any chronicles have mentioned the period of construction. It is assumed that this temple was built in the Ayutthaya period. Perhaps it was abandoned after the fall of Ayutthaya to the invading Burmese in 2310 B.E. This temple houses a large Reclining Buddha Image 37 metres in length, built of bricks and plaster." Adapted from Oriental Escape.

Wat Lokayasutharam

4. River Sun Cruise

Before the end of Ayutthaya trip, we were sent to one of the pier to take the cruise boat where buffet lunch will be served in there. We enjoyed our lunch in the boat on the Chao Phraya River where you will pass by the majestic Grand Palace and Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn) on the way back to Bangkok.

The food in the cruise taste not bad, a variety of food for you to choose from, Thai food, Western food and some Japanese sushi. What you get is what you pay for, so don't expect too much!

If you have extra one day in Bangkok, I would recommend you to take this day trip to Ayutthaya where you can learn the history of this heritage place, at the same time relax and enjoy the whole day.

I hope you enjoy the post! Feel free to comment and share the post.