KhengSom @ Jalan Kebun Sultan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan

Family, friends and colleagues (including bosses too) had gotten used to either having to turn the  lazy susan around or moving the dishes- to be in the path of my camera viewfinder when they dine with me , ahh..what kind folks you lot are. And occasionally they will remind me ‘ Ekkk..why no need take pictures one ? I don’t normally take pictures or blog about the makan places when it is a re-visit, so, this could be one reason why I no take pictures one. BUT in the case of Khengsom, I owe it to the world to write about it a second time..so, here goes..

My first encounter with  Khengsom was when it was at Jalan Sultanah Zainab  , you can read about it by clicking here.  , but it had since moved to Jalan Kebun Sultan. Frankly, when Khengsom was suggested, I did not have high expectations , due to past experience and  thought that it would be hard to beat  the likes of the Thai food at Wakaf Baru area, with the likes of Cheing Mai, Ban Kok  , Kulim etc.

We arrived at Khengsom at about 8pm, the place was starting to fill up, Khengsom is a halal restaurant. The waitress who took our orders was friendly and she  recommended to us some good choices as well.

We started off with Mango Salad – a mixture of mango shreds, shallots,dried squid and chili padi made up this mouth watering entree. A good start , I am starting to be impressed !

Khengsom fish (RM) 60– the kakak laut fish was garnished with kangkong and coconut stem- ek, I don’t know what they call this, but just know that it was a shoot or something from the coconut tree. This was kinda spicy but very tasty, Fish was wonderfully fresh. Nice

Fried bittergourd with egg, I am not sure can this be considered a Thai  dish, but anyway, the weather was hot and bittergourd is said to be a cooling vegetable. This is a simple dish, but oh gawd, so well executed. The gourd was soft yet not mushy or wet, it just worked. I think I have to start a Khengsom fan club soon..

Fried Kampung Chicken  42– the chicken was well seasoned with a bit of saltiness to it, the meat was tender and not dry. Maybe not as tasty as the fried chicken at Kulim, but still, not too bad tasting chicken.

Fried petai with prawns– even those at our table that do not take petai commented that the gravy tasted delicious. The petai still had a bit of a rawness to it which gave it a crunchy feel. Prawns were really fresh too. I likeyy

Soft shell crabs with salted eggs 55- If there is a heaven, this dish might probably be served in my heaven. So nice one ! The unique flavour of the salted egg blended with the fragrant of the curry leaves and of course plus the wonderful crabs was so very nice..so so very nice..

Squid with soy sauce – this is one other dish that will be served in my nirvana without having to worry about Lipitor . I don’t know how they do it, the squid had a bit of a charcoal-ed smoky flavour to it, the meat was soft yet springy but not tough, succulently fresh- it was almost unreal !  The texture might be best described like a sashimi . So so very good !

Everyone at the table commented that among all the Thai restaurants that we have visited in Kelantan -  this is one of the best Thai food that we have tasted. The flavours had more dimension and the tastes were more refined compared to the rest. Hurahh for KhengSom !

Oh, there was one downside to the ordeal – the charges were slightly more expensive compared to the Thai restaurants at Wakaf Baru, maybe 30- 50 % more, but then this place is air-conditioned and located at the town centre in KB. The meal above plus drinks and rice ( for 8 pax) came to ~RM280

Location :

Fish Farm Thai Restaurant @Ampang

We were suppose to spend sometime at the Look Out Point but then it started to rain, so we only got to see the skyline though the car windows..a pity..Anyway, that meant dinner was to be half an hour earlier. No one is complaining ! Traveling on the road leading to Fish farm Thai Restaurant was an adrenalin rush experience , the untarred road was very steep and narrow.After a few minutes of silent praying …suddenly you arrive at a lush green open area…

Before being ushered to our table, we saw some rice cakes being grilled

The dessert section….

The fishes…( uncooked )

And what we had for dinner…

Mango salad with Keli fish (RM18) – bits of keli fish were sprinkled on the mango salad, we attacked this cautiously as the landmines ( read: Chili padi) dotted the dish. The taste lacked depth (not sure about the width and height though..) . Can’t say that this made any Ummppp impression ..

Pandan chicken (RM16)- the pandan packages arrived at our table piping hot. After unwrapping the pandan layer, the meat inside the pandan cocoon had some burnt bits which add to the flavour, although I think the chicken could do with more marinate plus I can’t really taste the flavour of the pandan

Tauchu kangkong (RM12) – because of the kids at the table , we ordered kangkong with tauchu instead of kangkong belacan.  The dish was a bit too salty

Belacan brinjal (RM8) – we asked for a ‘not too spicy’ version, I guess that was the mistake as it turned out a bit boring. The cook must have removed the brinjal a bit too soon as they were still kinda hard and hadn’t yet absorb the flavour of the belacan.

Homemade fish cake (RM8) – the fish cake was kinda tough which is what I think the Thai version is like compared to Malaysian fishcake which are softer and springier. I rather liked this, although the others at the table thought otherwise, which was a good thing as I get to eat way way more than my share of the fish cakes

Seafood Otak-otak (RM15) – digging into the banana leaves revealed the  rich and fishy content of the otak-otak, and curiouser and curiouser –again I get to eat more than my fair share of the otak-otak, I guess that is the strategy-like what the others do not favour ! That could lead up to yours truly ending up being eligible for Extreme makeover :weight loss edition. eh..then i can be on TV..hmm….

Curry powder crab (RM55)) – this dish was rather enjoyable, the gravy was rich and aromatic . Although they were a bit on the scrawny side, the crab meat was sweet

Crab (RM27.50) – this grilled version was a tad too dry and probably add on to  the scrawniness by another 20% ! i prefer the curry powder version

Seafood Tomyam (RM18) – I admit being a chicken when it comes to spicy food, and when I saw the redness of the tomyam gravy, I decide to give it a pass. But then was prompted to give it a sip after those that tried it gave their thumbs up. Hmmm..this was not bad, got kick one ! The right balance of spiciness / sour. Nice..

BBQ Telapia (RM30) –deposits of chunky salt crystals were found on the skin of the Telapia, after some scrapping, the meat were distributed, the verdict -not much of flavour, I think we must have removed too much of the crystals guarr BBQ sotong (RM22) – I think this is the best BBQ sotong I have tasted in all 25 years of my life..err…who is counting lahh…I say 25 then trust me mah..why you so like that one, give face a bit bit lahh..i count in dog years cannot meh ? Back to the sotong…it was firm yet soft, spring not tough, sweet and the flavour of sotong-ness just oozes out in bucketloads…everything you could ask for in a sotong .

Overall, I must say that it was an average meal, although the green/ jungle-like/  rural  environment had its charm. And another plus point- although the restaurant was packed – we didn’t have to wait long for the food to arrive. The total bill ( plus drinks, rice and for some dishes we had ordered double portions) came to RM345

NB: Some shopping can be done here as well, shopping for vegetables that is, as there were bundles of them on sale. And if you want to try tody, you can get them here too.

Business hours : 11:00 am – 11:30pm, open daily

 Location : Km 4, Jalan Ampang,Hulu Langat,68000Ampang

Tel: 017 2515235 / 0192606493

Map – copied from their official website

Website : http://www.fishfarmthai.com/

Siriwan Thai Seafood Restaurant @ Perai , Penang

Was required to be in Penang for a bit of work , hey.. I never grumble when I have to make my way up to Penang, there’s always good food to look forward to mahh..so, I don’t mind  having to wake up at an unearthly hour ( mild exaggeration on the ‘unearthly hour’ bit to gain some sympathy) to catch the first flight out to Penang.

After a few hours of hard labour( i think this exaggeration behaviour is turning into a habit), it was time for lunch . There used to be a Siriwan restaurant in Sunway Butterworth but that was closed down a few years back and my colleague had recently found out that it was revived in Chai Leng Park.  The restaurant  was easy to locate as it was just a few doors away from Pearl View Hotel.

As we enter the restaurant, we were greeted by Thai waitresses clad in Thai silk outfits. The walls were adorned with bright Thai style paintings, the one facing me depict the loy krathong festival. We consulted the menu and the captain to  order the following :

Four angle bean fried with belacan – the blend of the taste was perfect. Chili, onion , belacan and crispy four angle bean..yummy, I likeyy

 Thai style Steam fish – fish was fresh  with a sour-ish broth with the salted vegetable, ginger and parsley.  Not much different from  teow chew style, i wonder where did the Thai style thingy come into the picture.

Pandan chicken – boneless pandan pieces were tender and a bit of the pandan fragrant managed to be infused into the chicken. The best were the charred bits which was more fragrant

 Overall , an ok meal. The bill plus 3 rice and 3 drinks came to ~ RM65.

 Location :

Siriwan Thai Seafood Restaurant (Pg) Sdn Bhd

2977-78G, Chai Leng Complex,

Jalan Baru, 13700 Perai, Pinang.

Tel : 04 3977710

 ******                                *******

Later in the evening, met up with PW and we proceed  to Wai Sek Kai for dinner. Saw a stall selling apam ( RM0.30) per piece.  These rolled up ones are without eggs  – they were a bit more dry and crispy. These ones are with eggs – softer and not as dry as the ones above. These apams were absolutely yummylicious !! Hmm…these apams make ‘waking up at an unearthly hour’ worthwhile….