Khuntai Restaurant, Off Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Whenever mom (in-law) is in town, we feast. We stumbled upon this new Thai restaurant just a few doors away from a Chinese restaurant that we usually frequent. Looking at the big crowd and judging from the dishes that were on their tables, we decided on the spot to give this restaurant a try.

We ordered Seafood Tom Yam, which came served in an old-fashioned steamboat-type dish with charcoal in the middle chute. The tom yam was teeming with squid and prawns. The soup was spicy, and had a lingering taste of belacan, which was something new to all of us. We ordered a small portion (RM18.00) but when the bill came, it turned out to be large (RM32.00). That would be my 1st grouse with this restaurant, since we emphasized a few times that we wanted small portions for all dishes. We had some trouble finishing this, due to its size.

We also ordered the sliced chicken meat with basil (RM12.00). This dish was really spicy, and loaded with onions and dried chillies to the point of the chicken being eclipsed by the condiments. I would say we've tasted a better version of this dish at another Thai restaurant that we frequent.

The shrimp petai (RM10.00) was an improvement, done in my favourite spicy sambal belacan style.

The lala in spicy sauce (RM12.00) tasted very much like the chicken with basil, methinks the sauce ingredients were similar, and the fact that both dishes contained basil. I preferred the lala version to the chicken.

The Kapal tofu (RM12.00) was a hit with hubby. Again, this was also spicy, and appeared to share an almost similar gravy with the lala and chicken. Hmmmmm.......

Driving down Jalan Gasing toward the Old Klang Road roundabout, take the last left turning (at the traffic lights) just before the roundabout. Go straight till the end of the road, and make a right turn. Go a short distance down that road and take the first right, on your left would be a row of shophouses. Go down that road and make a right turn. On your left you would be able to see Khuntai Restaurant in a row of shophouses.

Our rating system for overall satisfaction with what we eat and where we eat....

1-bam = don't even bother
2-bam = good enough to fill the tummy
3-bam = a very good restaurant in its category
4-bam = excellent cooking, worth a detour
5-bam = exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

We would give this restaurant a 3-bam rating, the food was pretty good, though a bit pricey. The staff were all extremely polite, wishing all customers "Thank you" when they left.