Days since my last post: 9

Hello, people! The long weekend had seriously gotten the better of me and I did nothing much but laze around, nursing a headache from the heat and enjoying the time spent with my parents. I guess it will always be my main entertainment especially since the day I picked up a job in the advertising industry. Which is why it mattered to me enough to bring my mum to try out Boat Noodle at Empire Damansara.

If you didn't already know, Boat Noodle is in fact a dish from the streets of Bangkok and apparently if you're there, you literally eat...on the boat. The portions are unbelievably tiny but the broth comes thick and tasty. I was once taken to a place called 9 Bowls in Publika by my friends Steph and Weng Sum, who both hand in hand robbed away my boat noodles virginity. I was genuinely hooked. But I remembered how it originated with this branch in Empire Damansara, and they were of different companies.


Over in Boat Noodle, you get to pick between beef or chicken and they also offer 2 different variants on the broth you want; Pathumthani or Ayutthaya. Considering how there were only 2 variants, we obviously had...both. Let me remind you that the portions are tiny and they cost RM 1.90 per bowl, so watch what you order.


To begin, this was the Pathumthani. The broth was of an undeniably thick taste, was NOT spicy and slightly on the salty end so it's a lot more advisable to drown your bowl of noodles in fish sauce, give it a pinch of sugar and splatter chilli flakes over it. Trust me, this helps to make your noodles tastier although the original taste would probably be long gone. But tastier.

And then there was the Ayutthaya, which in my opinion wins the Pathumthani hands down. Imagine picking between 2 brothers to join your team as you go for war and you'll be better off with Ayutthaya. The soup is lighter, tangier and slightly spicy to taste. It didn't burn your tongue with the spiciness nor turn you off with the sourness but everything was just right. Again, because this is a Thai thing, fish sauce and sugar are inevitable additions but I would go for the Ayutthaya any time.


Because it was just my mum and I, we couldn't pick too many things from the menu but this is the Ka Num Tuay or just a kind of dessert made of pandan and coconut. It's interesting enough because it has a salty yet sweet mix in it, giving it a chewy bite when you scoop it out of its tiny saucer. It only costs RM 1 per set of two pieces, so you may want to get a few sets if you're really into Thai desserts.


I've been to the Boat Noodle branch over in Jaya One, I could tell you well enough to simply go for the Cha-Keow-Yen or also known as the Thai Iced Green Tea. Ice blended, if you're up for it. It is the bomb. However, on the day that I brought my mum over, they had run out of that and only offered coffee. It really wasn't too bad but avoid if you're not someone who likes diabetic coffee.

The thing about Boat Noodle at Empire Damansara however is that it is constantly flocked with customers and a rude manager named Abiey does not help make it better. In fact, she makes a terrible manager and hardly fixes customers to the right tables. Take for example my waiting time. As my mum and I were assigned as number 75 on the waiting list, we took it well that there were more people ahead of us. However, we spotted these empty seats next to a couple that had been vacant for quite a while. That's Abiey with her hand on her head, if you're wondering.


We then approached the staff who shockingly told us the seats were vacant BUT we weren't allowed to take it because Abiey decided she absolutely MUST seat the party of 7 that were ahead of us. So until a table for 7 people were empty for the guests who came earlier than us, those two seats would be left empty. For no one. It felt ridiculous but Abiey wasn't exactly the friendliest of staffs around. In fact, the other boy who worked there was much friendly and we were thankful for his apologetic demeanour.

I'm guessing on this, the higher authorities of Boat Noodle would have to overlook on the attitude of their staffs because Abiey was a big turn off, given how she instructed my mother and I to split up while we stood in line together with the gesture of a finger. No "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry" but just a plain and simple "Move" with her finger flicking us off. Not friendly at all. As an overall, I thought the experience with Boat Noodle, Empire Damansara was a terrible one and I would well return only to the branch at Jaya One. At least they're much more polite over there.