Khuntai Restaurant
Khuntai Restaurant had been around for quite some time now....if memory serves me right, the last time I've been there was a few years ago. Alas, no photos of the food I had then. This time around, the family mentioned that they would like to go back again to sample their famous tom yum. And they did not disappoint *grins*
Getting to the restaurant is rather easy as it is located just off Jalan Gasing. I went Googling to look for a map, and it turns out they have their own website! Check it out here. They open everyday, so no qualms about whether they will be closed should you head there for dinner *wink* On to the food, shall we?
Appetizer! This is called Miaeng Kam (I hope I spelled it right!) The little bowls contain condiments like dried prawns, slivers of roasted coconut, peanuts, ginger, lime and cili padi. Small portions are placed onto a leaf, drizzled with the sauce above, wrapped and enjoyed. The last time I had this, I didn't really know how to appreciate the taste of this dish. This time around though, I find I rather enjoy it...the combination is quirky but unique and tasty; It's a little sour, sweet and savory, but also has a little 'green' taste from the leaf...combined with the crunch of the peanuts and dried prawns, it's definitely something one should try at least once =)
We ordered the pandan chicken too...chunks of chicken marinated, wrapped in pandan leaves and subsequently fried. It wasn't as fragrant as I expected, but the meat was juicy and tender. A so-so experience with this, but non-spicy lovers might enjoy this.
Next, came their famous tom yum...there are quite a few variations at Khuntai. This was the 'normal' tom yum, but they also have something called 'white tom yum' where the soup is clear and not red like this one here. We had the seafood, and it was splendid. I find it a wee bit too spicy, but I'm the one who can't take much spicy food compared with my family. They all said it was just the right combination of spicy and sourness. The broth was also rather thick and full of flavor, which is hard to find in a lot of restaurants these days. The seafood portion also is not bad...this pot served all 5 of us fine =)
Another dish that we ordered was this minced chicken dish. I can't recall the exact name of this, but I initially thought this dish was minced chicken cooked with some fragrant basil leaves. Unfortunately, it wasn't...this was just minced chicken with some red and spring onions. The taste was not bad, but it wasn't exactly what we thought it was. Still, it was a good dish to 'counter' the spiciness of the chillies and tom yum.
Khuntai is also quite famous with their BBQ seafood, but we didn't manage to try that. Instead, we ordered their BBQ cockles....it was so good that my parents ordered another plate of these after we finished it. The cockles used are really huge ones compared to the usual kind that we find at hawker stalls selling boiled cockles. These are then served with two different chili sauces which go very well together. My only 'complaint' is that the cockles were roasted a little too long, making them dry and chewy. If they could cook it just a little less, I think it would be perfect....oh well, one can't please everybody at the same time I guess. It IS still an enjoyable dish though...I see almost every table will order this dish, so it's testament to how good it was *grins*
So yup, it was a good 'makan' session with the family that day =) Price-wise, it wasn't too bad...all of the above with another plate of vegetables, a big pot of rice and a pot of jasmine tea amounts to about RM98 for 5 people. Not bad...not bad at all.
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