CLOSED-O'baroi @ Taman D'Alpinia, Puchong

O'baroi is basically a Thai restaurant, with some local and Western dishes thrown in. Chef Mei who helms the kitchen is a 10 year veteran of a resort in Pulau Perhentian. He dishes out good Western and local dishes but hailing from Kelantan, he excels at Thai dishes.Here's what we tried during our recent visit:-

Serai drink and ice lemon tea - both were nice and refreshing.

Seafood tomyam. What can I say? I was impressed! For a Malaysian cook, this may be one of the best tomyam soups that I have had around Kajang. The chef got the balance of tangy, sweet, sour and pungent just right.

We were recommended the deep fried siakap with mango salad but asked for the fish to be steamed with a lemon sauce instead. I think we should have stuck with the recommended preparation as this turned out rather disappointing with the lemon sauce being rather watery and not sufficiently sour.

Sambal squid (with green peppers) was suitably spicy and the squid cooked just right to retain its crunchiness.

Kangkung belacan (ala PM Najib - hahahaha). Done nicely.

'Obaroi' fried rice - tasty and comforting though a tad expensive at RM12.90.

The star of the evening was a dish called 'Thai Style Chicken'. It had pieces of deep fried chicken which were nice and crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. This was topped with a simple sweet and tangy 'kerabu' of carrot, cucumber and onions. I would return to Obaroi just for this dish. Highly recommended.

Its a small restaurant in a quiet part of Puchong near the SKVE. I must try to get the GPS coordinates and post it here later as its a little difficult to locate. Its wort the journey there for the tomyam and Thai Style Chicken. Give it a try.

Location : 10, Jalan D'Alpinia 10, Taman D'Alpinia, 47120 Puchong
Contact : 012-533 2996

CLOSED-Kg Lobak Thai Seafood & BBQ, Seremban

This is an overdue post from an outing last year. We took a long drive all the way to Jalan Lobak in Seremban to sample some Thai food at the (then) newly opened Kg Lobak Thai Seafood & BBQ restaurant. Located just beside (or behind) the Petronas station along Jalan Lobak, it's easy to find and there's ample parking at the side and front.

We tried some Thai staples. The Chicken Feet Kerabu was was nice and well balanced; sweet, hot and sour as it should be.

The Pandan Chicken was well marinated and tasty. Thumbs up.

The Fish Cake was springy and tasty.

The Tom Yam Soup was suitably hot, sour and slightly sweet too. I personally prefer the tom yam with coconut milk so this version without santan did not hit the spot for me although it was well executed.

The Thai Lemon Sauce Fish on the other hand hit the spot for me and was good to the last bone. Sweet and tangy, the lemon sauce was a perfect foil for the fresh fish.

A small serving of Fried Rice topped off our lunch.

We had a peek in the kitchen and found that it was manned by Thai cooks who cooked everything from scratch, using fresh ingredients.

Overall, a great addition for the Seremban folk craving for authentic Thai food. May be worth the drive down too.

Location : Behind the Petronas station, Jalan Lobak, Seremban, Negri Sembilan.

Restaurant Fish Valley Semenyih

I must thank Simon Phun for his photographs of this place which lead us to go in search of the same. And it really wasn't too difficult to find, even at night. It's about 3.5 k.m from the Jalan Semenyih junction and past our favorite Restoran 52.

We did not expect such a large restaurant in the middle of nowhere and were pleasantly surprised to find rows of vehicles (lots of luxury sedans) parked outside the restaurant. Luxury cars = expensive ??? It was bustling on a Friday night (but it was also a public holiday for Wesak Day) and most tables were full. There are easily about 50 tables here, making it a pretty big operation. Here's what we had:-

Nyonya steamed tilapia fish. This was recommended as the house specialty and was said to be quite mild. The 'mild' turned out to be tear-inducing for my sister-in-law but was greatly enjoyed by the rest of us. The blend of herbs and spices used to create the Nyonya sauce gave it a pungent, spicy and slightly sour taste which complemented the fresh tilapia.
Verdict : Very good

Marmite chicken. This was supposed to be a non-spicy dish for my sister-in-law again but it arrived with chilli padi in the sauce! It just wasn't her day, but no complaints from the rest of us. The sauce was sweet and tasty but not really exceptional.
Verdict : Good

Stir-fried four beans with belacan. They were generous with the petai but taste wise, it was OK only and a bit oily.
Verdict : OK

Clear Soup Tom Yam. Notice the dried chillies in it! potent! They have a different version with santan (coconut cream) but my sister-in-law preferred the clear version. I personally prefer the santan version as the mild sweetness of the santan tempers the fiery pungency of the chillies. Don't have this on a hot day - truly sweat inducing.
Verdict : Good

Full marks on ambiance! A place to entertain your guest in style.
BTW. It is 'pork free' but not quite sure if it's halal.

Location : Fish Valley Semenyih, Sri Haneco Industrial Park, Jalan Kachau, Semenyih, Selangor
Contact : 012-3825518 & 016-2784092

Johnny's Resturant (Halal)

I like this place not because it bears my home-name (Johnny), but because it is a kind of poor man's version of the more upmarket Coca Thai chain of resturants. If you've been to Thailand, you would have come across a very popular local chain called MK Restaurant, which is the Thai poor man's version of Coca Thai. Coca Thai, if you are not aware, is an international chain of Thai restaurants which pioneered the 'Thai Suki' (an adaptation from the Japanese Sukiyaki?). This outlet is the nearest one to Kajang and is situated within the AEON Cheras Selatan shopping centre in Balakong.

They are famous for their steamboat ('Thai Suki') which is a hot pot with clear stock for you to cook your own choice of ingredients. These may include the basic seafood (prawns, fish, squid etc), meat (chicken paste, chicken slices, beef etc), vegetables, tofu, fisball and meatballs in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours and some noodles and raw eggs to finish. After cooking all the fresh ingredients, the stocks becomes sweet an flavourful. You must save some ingredients to eat with the noodles and the delicious stock at the end. Slurpy goodness.

So what sets Johhny's apart from our local Ali, Ah Chong and Anand's steamboat places ? Once again - it's in the sauce ! The chilli sauce here, just like the sauce at Coca Thai, is a trade secret and is a true taste of Thailand - sweet, sour, hot and salty all at the same time. I can finish a whole bowl of the sauce on my own with the steamboat. But be prepared with tissue paper as it is suitably pungent, in true Thai tradition.

Also worth the trying are the side dishes of mango salad (watch out for the fiery hot chili padi inside!), chicken wings and pineapple fried rice. You will also need a sweet Thai dessert to cool your scorched tongue after all the chillies.

Check their website for a location near you :

http://www.johnnyrestaurant.com/index.htm

or if you want the upmarket version, look for Coca Thai:

http://www.coca.com/cocaglobal_eng.php