Kinnaree Thai Restaurant @ Palm Square, Jaya One PJ

Blamed myself for not taking more photos in the restaurant as the place is so beautifully decorated . The Chinese couple who own the place spent a million ringgit for the setup (a hanging deco could cost up to RM8,000!). Besides the nice ambience, we decided to give it a try since Kinnaree was voted as the Best Restaurant in Thailand Tatler magazine a year ago.

I had the Dragon Delight. A mix of dragon fruit, pineapple and MILK (RM9.90) to quench my thirst but it turned out to be a bad choice. Don't get me wrong...it tasted good albeit a little too sweet but my tummy was already 50% full just by drinking 50% of the mocktail (thanks to its milk content :( sigh) while waiting for our food to arrive.

The VIPs for the night had Kinnaree Infusion (lemongrass tea) and Peppermint Infusion (peppermint tea) @ RM5.50 each while others had freshly squeezed Orange (RM8.00) and Watermelon (RM7.00) juices.

Then came the starter (not sure if it was a complimentary by Kinnaree) which is a spoonful of salad for each one of us. I'm unsure what it is called but tasted almost similar as Som Tum.

Our orders came really fast right after the starter. First dish was Yam Hua Plee (RM14.00). It's also a type of salad but the main ingredient used is shredded young banana flower. Mixed with chicken, shrimp, toasted coconut flakes and chilli paste, I quite like this salad as it's really appetizing and fragrant.

Tom Yum Talay (RM44.00 a pot) which is the traditional spicy and sour soup with seafood. This soup was extremely spicy I tell ya. Lots of chilli padi were added and my tongue became numb after taking a bowl. At RM44.00, I would say it's pricey as not much seafood were given.

Kai Ho Bai Toey (RM20.00). Came in 6 pieces, one for each of us. Nothing unusual about this dish as I had better ones at other places. I forgot to try the ginger and sesame sauce which was served together.

Pla Thod Sam Rod (RM40.00). The waiter asked if we would prefer a Tilapia or Garoupa fish and of course we chose Garoupa. The fish was deboned, cut into bite-size pieces and deep fried. The pieces were then served on top of the remaining fish with sweet, sour and spicy tamarind sauce. The presentation was nice and tasted pretty good too as the fish and tamarind sauce paired really well together.

Vegetarian Green Curry (RM10.00). This dish was a total let down and none of us liked it.

The bill came to about RM233+. Not exactly cheap but the environment's great and we spent almost two hours chit chatting away in the restaurant.

Ohh, the service at Kinnaree is fast and attentive like the kind you get at fine dinings.

The girls decided not to call it a night yet as we left Kinnaree. Brussels Beer and Cafe was next. We talked out loud, shared thoughts and inhaled plenty of smoke at the al fresco area while trying out Hoegaarden beer (every table had at least one of this). The beer tasted Carlsberg + water. Very diluted. We told the young waiter and he said it's probably due to the barrel or tap. What the...? Oh well, it was an experience.

Kinnaree Thai Restaurant
Blk M, Unit 12-1,
Palm Square, Jaya One,
46200 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-79573910

FINAL VERDICT

Location: 3.5/5
Taste: 2.5/5
Hygiene: 4/5
Price: 2.5/5

Khuntai Restaurant @ Petaling Garden, PJ

A good friend of mine kept raving about this Thai restaurant and suggested to have a get-together session with two other good friends. Well why not, I thought.

This restaurant is not hard to locate if you follow the map closely. There's a chinese restaurant a few doors away and their business is brisk too (Reminder to self: Include in 'where to eat' list).

On my first visit to Khuntai, I had a good impression of the place. The staff were attentive and service was prompt. Although the tables were all occupied, they managed to arrange a table for the four of us instead of asking us to wait or turn us away. We couldn't sit outside too as it was raining.

Anyway, we ordered...

Seafood Tomyum. A must order item when dining in a Thai restaurant. This fiery dish really got all of us perspiring! Syiok!

Next dish, could you guess what it is?

Wrapped in foil, carefully tear open to reveal what is hidden inside...

It's their version of Seafood Otak-otak. Though a tad dry, it's actually very appetizing and smelled so so good. Found at least three large prawns inside.

The variety of vegetable dishes that's available is rather limited and since we didn't want to add on another spicy food, the waiter recommended Fried Kailan with Salted Fish.

The waiter also recommended Kerabu Mango and claimed the level of spiciness is just mild.

Well he lied!! It was way to spicy and I only took one bite. My friend finished it in the end. o_o She had to carefully separate the chili seeds before eating.

Out of the four dishes, seafood tomyum and otak-otak were our favourites :)

My next visit to Khuntai was to have dinner on a weekend. Whoa, the restaurant was packed to the brim and quite a number of tables were placed outside.

This time, we dined in the open air and only ordered three dishes since there were only a few of us. Again, Seafood Tomyum and Fried Kailan with Salted Fish were among the choices. Tomyum wasn't as tasty and it lacks the aroma (a little bland). Something was missing but I couldn't identify what it was. Fried Kailan was mediocre too.

We also tried the Steamed Lemon Fish and if I'm not mistaken, they used sea bass. I was surprised that the sweet and sourish gravy actually complemented really well with sea bass. One complain though. The fish wasn't cleaned properly with clear presence of scales that's still left intact and also swimming in the gravy -_- It is served on top of charcoal fire, so it has to be finished in a jiffy or else the meat will be overcooked.

Well, the second visit wasn't a really good one and I think I know why. THE KITCHEN COULD NOT COPE AND MAINTAIN THE STANDARDS WHEN THERE IS A LARGE CROWD! So, please drop by for lunch (when there are less customers) if you're interested in dining here.

FINAL VERDICT

Location: 4/5 (Ample parking space available)
Taste: 2.5/5
Hygiene: 3/5
Price: 3/5