Restoran Thai Khuntai

This review has been sitting in my blog post for months awaiting editing. We stumbled on Khuntai on a whim. I read about Khuntai in the morning papers and decided we should try it out for lunch.

We had a hard time looking for Khuntai. It's located in a very quiet part of town, hidden from view near Jalan Gasing. Coincidentally, it's located just across the road from my elder daughter's former kindergarten although hidden from view.

Khuntai isn't fancy. In fact, the restaurant is bare save for the tables and chairs and is not air-conditioned either.

A pre-requisite for all our meals in Thai restaurants are the salads. I love my Thai salads so we ordered the Chicken feet salad and Som tam. The chicken feet salad is simple with deboned chicken feet tossed in lime juice. It's quite standard fare in Thai restaurants here, but unfortunately Khuntai's version don't quite live up to the mark.

The somtam (young papaya salad) fared better although it was too spicy even for me. The spiciness practically burned my tongue and you know how it is when that happens, the tongue gets numbed and I can't taste anything. If you must order the salads at Khuntai, be sure to tell them to go easy on the chillies!

We ordered the Fried Squid to counter the spiciness from the salads. The squid was coated in a crispy batter and was quite good on its own.

We also ordered soft-shelled crabs that came coated in a sweet sauce. I would have preferred the crabs plain because that would bring out its naturally sweet taste better.

The last dish is a vegetable that's simply called Thai Vegetable which came highly recommended by the waiter. Apparently this vegetable is imported from Thailand. We've never had this vegetable before but it has quickly become my daughter's favourite. This from a girl who doesn't eat her greens! The vegetable is stir-fried with scrambled egg. Again, the combination didn't quite work for me. I liked the vegetable for its sweetness and would have liked it even more if it's stir-fried plain. The egg just sort of added a richness to the vegetable.

We didn't manage to try their Tom Yam soup that day. However the other diners did and it does smell heavenly whenever the waiters pass our table with pots of tomyam. We would have to try that on our next visit. I like my Thai food intense and Khuntai don't exactly deliver. That doesn't mean I won't visit again though. I would for the tomyam.

Khuntai Restaurant is at 6 Jalan 5/44, Petaling Garden, Off Jalan Gasing, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 012-470 8872 & 012-470 7136.