Thai Food @ Khuntai Restaurant, Petaling Jaya

Good Thai food is always rare to come by hence when two foodie friends mentioned this place to me, I knew I had to give it a try. Thumbs up to their recommendations! Must admit I was doubtful at first. It didn't look like a Thai restaurant but more like a tai chow restaurant since it had very few Thai artifacts. Moreover it was in an area where the predominant choice was banana leaf rice.



To start off, we sampled their Mieng Kam (RM12) - one of my favourite Thai snacks. Eating this always brings back memories about the yummiest Mieng Kam I had in Bangkok which was made by an old lady at Chatchuchak and served to us in with a skewer. At this no frills restaurant, pick and mix from a selection of toasted coconut flakes, chopped bird eye chilies, young ginger cubes, chopped shallots, cut lime cubes, toasted peanuts and toasted dried shrimp. Pile them on top of fresh betel leaves, drizzle over the sauce made from maltose and fish sauce and fold. Pop them into your mouth and you'll find that they're so addictive that you can't stop.

Rather than you think we're both gluttons, we made two visits to this place hence the abundance of food ordered. We tried their seafood tomyam (RM10 for small) - spicy stuff! It's the white version minus the reddish tinge most people prefer. I liked this a lot and couldn't stop drinking it even though my senses were begging me not to as they were screaming from the extra dosage of chopped green bird eye chilies in the soup.

Another must try if you love spicy food - their Steamed Fish Lemon Style (RM29). Served in a metal food warmer with hot charcoals underneath, it's absolutely divine. If you're a slow eater like me who loves to savour her food bite by bite, you'll find it works well here as the flavours really absorb into the fish when kept on this type of warmer. Be warned again as this will give your senses a kick. You can ask them to tone down the spiciness but then why miss out the fun?

Out of the dishes we had, this was my least favourite, their version of Green Curry Chicken (RM 12). It may look like it does not have a lot of coconut milk but I was told otherwise. The portion is pretty generous though - lots of chunks of chicken and vegetables.

Another favourite - the deep fried kangkong (RM7). The leaves of the water spinach is deep fried with a light batter so it tastes like Japanese tempura. Splashie Boy's favourite and till today, he still remembers this dish well.

This place is also one of the selected few which serves the kedondong (ambarella) juice with sour plum. Really delicious and cools you down especially when those chilies heat you up. Besides this outlet, this restaurant also has a branch in Butterworth, Penang.

Khuntai Restaurant
6 Jalan 5/44
Petaling Garden
Off Jalan Gasing
Petaling Jaya

Tel No: 03 – 7781 7523

(Pork free - Southern Thai cuisine. To get here, from Jalan Gasing, at Lotus go straight and take a left turn into Taman Petaling. Go straight, take a right and then the first right. Drive past Acha Curry House and Kavitha's, take a right. Khuntai is on the left hand side facing the field. Open 11.00 am to 3.00 pm, 5.00 pm to 11.00 pm)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Thai Food + Petaling Jaya