Well too bad, here's a post for you to suffer around. Last Sunday may have been Father's Day but every Sunday is in fact my father's OWN day where he gets all his freedom to go golfing and what not so my mum said to me, "Why don't we go to those kampung areas behind the factories and try that Thai restaurant we always pass by?" There were 4 of us including my aunt and grandmother so we could easily order numerous dishes to try.
And off we went to the kampung area of Sungai Buloh, the one shrouded by factories and big lorries; a mere 5 minute drive away from home sweet home. The first look of this grand restaurant is that...there's loads of parking. It's got a huge compound and looks extremely classy outside, almost like a small scale castle. I hope you're catching the drift because I couldn't capture a picture seeing as that I was the one behind the wheels.
I did however, get a picture of the restaurant's front after parking the car.
I don't get it. I dropped the three of them off before parking the car and they are STILL outside when I walk in!
The funny thing about De' Chiangmai Thai Seafood Restaurant is that it really is extremely huge and it really matches the "majestic" feel to the outsides of the restaurant from the parking area. They've even created a drop-off point in front of the entrance so you could let people with disabilities or old folks get off the car first before you drive away to park the car. It's a great idea especially if it's raining so nobody but the driver gets wet from the rain. Life is unfair because the parking spaces are all open air!
Heading on inside, you will notice how the dining area has a rather "palace-ish" feel to it, probably to reinstate that they are extremely grand and they are plainly attempting to instill some fear into you to think that they are good like that. They accomplished a little of that, I must say. I initially thought it would cost a bomb to dine there by the end of the day but I was fairly surprised later on. I'll get to that, be patient. The restaurant itself is air-conditioned so it's fine even if you go there on a hot day to grab some good food.
Big tables for big crowds on one side...
And smaller tables for the smaller crowds on the other side.
I don't know why the shot I took of the restaurant does NOT look like that. Refer above! I think it's like a sign for me to get a better camera. (Lolololol so irrelevant!)
We sat down and closely examined the two page menu before deciding on very simple Thai dishes to go for 4. They don't have a lot of choices and prices soar between RM 6 to RM 45 for different dishes. Much of it depends on what you pick and we went for more neutral foods that you would expect from a Thai restaurant. If you can't dish out these foods, you might as well not be a Thai restaurant at all.
A must have in any Thai restaurant; Tom Yum! Seen here is the medium sized prawn tom yum for RM 35. (Fit for 3 to 4 persons)
A close up to the soup and yummy prawns!
The tom yum soup was a delight to drink, not being overly spicy or terribly sour to swallow. I hate it when they serve us with extremely red tom yum claiming that it's how the Thai people really make tom yum soup. I'll have you know I have been to Hat Yai and Phuket and NONE of the tom yum soups I have drank there are blood red! This variant from De' Chiangmai Thai Seafood Restaurant even brings out a little tinge of creaminess in it and it was a lot to lap out on. I love creamy tom yum! The taste itself was highly invigorating and I couldn't stop drinking it!
Fried Egg (RM 6)
This was just an additional order because we were worried that we wouldn't have enough dishes to go around for 4. Nothing much to shout about, I could make it at home but it probably wouldn't smell the same. There's just something about big "woks" that makes the eggs a lot more fragrant I suppose.
Squid Spicy Salad (RM 15)
We picked out the Squid Spicy Salad partly because I LOVE squid and also because we already had mangoes before heading out of house. It would have been weird to order mango kerabu again and we went ahead with this instead. Taste wise, it really is delicious and the sauce is really appetizing. The tangy zest of the dish was good but I wish there was more squid to go around. There were more veges to squids and I was fairly disappointed at that.
Fried Asparagus with Garlic (RM 15)
Having two spicy dishes and one non-spicy dish made us call out for another non-spicy dish, simply to balance it out. Or so we thought. It turns out that the Fried Asparagus with Garlic also had a tinge of spiciness in it although it was not extremely noticeable. The taste was really good, almost matching to a Chinese style of fried asparagus and I ate lots of it. I had to tell you about that because it's rare for me to enjoy vegetables so that should say a lot!
Mango Juice (RM 5)
We completely skimped on drinks because we knew that we would be drinking lots of tom yum soup to begin with and had already expected in advance to grab some Thai desserts after. This is my sad glass of mango juice just to down everything by the end of the day. It's probably just one of those mango juices from concentrate that you could get at a food court. Nothing great but I thought I'd just show it off. My grandmother also had a cup of Lipton tea for RM 4 and it was NOT refillable and that's just...sadder.
A mix of everything to my liking! Thai Desserts (RM 5)
A mix of everything to my grandmother and aunt's liking! Thai Desserts (RM 5)
Desserts in De' Chiangmai Thai Seafood Restaurants are sold by bowls and it's at a complete self-service state so it's really up to you how much or little you plan to take. Every refill will cost you another RM 5 so I guess being extremely Chinese, it's only normal that you see I have filled my little bowl to the brim! I was so afraid I would spill some of the coconut milk out while walking back to my table but lo and behold the waitress skill in me!
Take your pick!
There's loads to choose from...
And I've found what I love. No it isn't the black thing, it's the red and white thing behind best known as "Tuhb Thim Krob" in Thai. I scooped up whatever was left and noticed that the staff never refilled it even when we were done with dinner.
Bowls stacked up dangerously. I just wanted to show you how tiny the bowls were!
I suppose the true trick to "self-service" dishes is that they intend to make you feel as though you are in charge of your meal yet they give you the tiniest bowl possible. However if you're as smart as yours truly, you should really fill up the bowl with the ingredients first, then top it off with the liquid of your choice and add a little bit of ice after! Yes, I am educating you the ways of being extra Chinese to milk out whatever is possible from your RM 5 dessert!
As an overall, the food that De' Chiangmai Thai Seafood Restaurant has quite lived up to my expectations especially seeing as how grand it is from the outside. I would have scrutinized them terribly if it didn't, actually. I read a review prior to dinner and the girl mentioned that everything was horrible was I thought otherwise. KY from KY Speaks also had a review of this place many years back all seemed to be well for him too. I guess taste is indeed fairly individual or it's just that we're lucky enough to have come to the restaurant on a delicious day! Do try to come earlier though because people do seem to patronize this place past 7.30 PM and you may have to wait a while before you are served with food.
Our total bill came up to RM 95 with no service charge and no taxes! We felt that it was pretty worth it considering the things that we had eaten included prawns, squids and two big bowls of desserts with LOADS of tummy yummies inside. The service however was a little disappointing as we had to wait quite a while before someone would come to take our order and also give us our bill. I think with a little more of work force, it could have a better running throughout. Whatever it is, we now have a new spot for dinner especially since it is so near home with reasonable pricing and good food. Yay to new discoveries despite living here for 16 years!
DE' CHIANGMAI THAI SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
NO. 95, JALAN KAMPUNG MELAYU,
47000 SUNGAI BULOH,
SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN
TEL: 03-6156 3225
2 comments
BABEH if you're looking for thai food u should go to Yee Wen Thai Restaurant in Kepong. Affordable and very yummeh!! but of course the look of the place is not as nice as de chiangmai la. http://my.openrice.com/klangvalley/restaurant/kuala-lumpur-yee-wen-thai-food/85520/
ReplyDeleteGasp! Looks second, taste first! What's the price range like? MUST.TRY.IT.
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