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    May 4, 2012

    KY eats – I’m Spicy Thai Restaurant, PJ Seksyen 17

    To be honest, when I first heard about I’m Spicy, the image that came up in my mind wasn’t exactly a very classy one. For a place that turned out to look as good and decorated as well as this restaurant, it probably deserves a better name.

    What intrigued me at I’m Spicy though, isn’t the name, location, or interior decoration of this place; I was drawn to the restaurant because it serves pork, something that is uncommon when it comes to Thai food in this country, and it is this that marks the biggest difference between I’m Spicy and My Elephant, another modern Thai restaurant at Seksyen 17.

    I'm Spicy Thai Restaurant, Seksyen 17
    I’m Spicy Thai Restaurant, Seksyen 17

    I’m Spicy is located on the same row as Kanna Curry House, on the border between SS 2 and Seksyen 17, two of the more famous dining havens among Klang Valley dwellers. As this isn’t a very hot commercial area, parking is usually a relatively uneventful affair.

    The restaurant is fully air conditioned, clean, and very tastefully done. It is however, not very big, and probably not a great idea if you are bringing a party of 30 for a visit without prior call in.

    The following photos are taken from 2 different visits to I’m Spicy, once just myself and Haze, another with Suan, Horng, Yuki, Kerol, and Haze too.

    house drink, green mango salad, garlic squid
    house drink, pamelo salad, garlic squid

    The house drink is a blend of pandan, lemongrass, lime, and mint leaves (RM 15 per jug). It was absolutely refreshing, but probably a little too small a jug (more like a small decanter). Good if you are sharing it between two fellas, but for a party of six, it was only a few mouthful per person.

    deep fried pork ribs, stir fry kailan, pomelo salad, grilled pork skewers
    deep fried pork ribs, stir fry kailan, pomelo salad, grilled pork skewers

    I’m Spicy has a tad over half a dozen appetizer and salad dishes. We’ve tried a couple of them. Pamelo salad (RM 25) comes with pomelo tossed in tamarind sauce, green apple, carrots, and deep fried squids. The result is a blend of fresh and slightly sour taste of pomelo mixing up with the savoriness from the squid. Certainly new to me, it was good.

    Deep fried chicken skin (RM 12) well, was exactly as advertised. Not as great as your KFC chicken skin, but would certainly still go well with a glass of beer.

    jasmine rice, deep fried chicken skin, thai stewed pork leg

    jasmine rice, deep fried chicken skin, thai stewed pork leg

    The following dishes, while classified under main dish in the menu, aren’t exactly big in serving size, but they are rather delicious.

    The deep fried pork ribs (RM 25) is a house speciality here. Ribs marinated in a blend of herbs and spices that is unmistakably Thai, and yet unfamiliar at the same time, I wish the serving was larger.

    Grilled pork skewers (RM 18) comes with special Thai dipping sauce – Nahm Jim Jeaw, with the meat marinated in galangal, lemongrass, and garlic, then chargrilled.  I really want to know how to make this for my own BBQ, it was better than any satay I’ve ever had.

    Thai stewed pork leg (RM 25) was something that I insisted on ordering. It comes with an egg that’s about a 3/4 way cooked, some salted vegetable, and fatty pork leg that’s succulent and falls off from the bones to the touch. It reminds me of the stew pork from Fatty Duck at restaurant Okay, but presented in a nicer way and carries and extra hint of Thai flavoring. Unfortunately, it was also twice as pricey.

    The vegetable dish we tried was the rather standard kailan with salted fish (RM 15). It served it’s purpose as the only green plate in a sea of brown and red.

    thick soup and clear soup seafood tomyam, red curry with pork
    thick soup and clear soup seafood tomyam, red curry with pork

    I’ve tried both thick and clear soup tomyam from  I’m Spicy ( RM 15/20 for chicken, RM 18/30 for seafood). The photo on the left was the large portion with thick tomyam, on the right, small and clear. Both versions were top notch, and we wished it the serving was larger.

    The red curry comes with either chicken or pork, and we had the latter (RM 18/24), it too was very good. We had initially thought we were going to get the green curry, but the mistake turned out to be a blessing.

    red ruby waterchestnuts crushed ice, mango with sticky rice
    red ruby waterchestnuts crushed ice, mango with sticky rice

    As with any respectable Thai restaurant, I’m Spicy also serves two of my favorite Thai desserts – red ruby (RM 7) and mango with sticky rice (RM 9). The red ruby certainly didn’t disappoint, and mango with sticky rice is best shared with 3-4 person. The desserts are delicious.

    Haze, Suan, Horng, Yuki, Kerol, KY
    Haze, Suan, Horng, Yuki, Kerol, KY

    My impression of I’m Spicy is very positive … if you don’t take pricing into account. Another qualm I have with I’m Spicy is the serving size. Other than tomyam and curry which comes in two different sizes, everything else comes in only one size – relatively small.

    Ultimately, I’m Spicy is a little too pricey for a restaurant that is located at the less glamourous part of PJ, but if you don’t mind paying Changkat prices, you probably won’t regret paying this restaurant a visit.

    more photos at KYspeaks facebook page

    map to I'm Spicy Thai restaurant, Petaling Jaya Seksyen 17

    Address:
    I’m Spicy Thai Restaurant
    1, Ground Floor, Jalan 17/45,
    46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
    GPS: 3.11875, 101.62982
    Tel: 03-7954 2281
    Webwww.imspicy.com.my
    Hours: Everyday for lunch and dinner, except Tuesday 

    filed under Eats, PJ area, PJ Others
    March 9, 2012

    KY cooks – Thai Minced Pork Cucumber Soup

    This Thai minced pork cucumber soup is something that we came across while staying over at Khaolak for degassing purposes after a satisfying live-aboard diving trip at Similan Islands.

    The soup was so good that when we came home, Haze and I tried to re-create the same dish at home, and I think she got it pretty close. Here’s the resulting soup that is somewhat healthy, simple to make, and may I say, quite delicious. :D

    Thai Cucumber Soup with Minced Pork
    Thai Minced Pork Cucumber Soup

    Ingredients:

    • big fresh cucumber
    • fish sauce (or salt)
    • white pepper
    • minced meat (300 gram or enough for stuffing)
    • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

    ingredients are simple, we use fresh cucumber
    ingredients are simple, we use fresh cucumber

    Instructions:

    • While heating up 3 bowls of water, remove cucumber skin, cut in halves, then into bite size, remove the seeds
    • mix minced meat with generous amount of pepper, a teaspoon of fish sauce (or a dash of salt), and a teaspoon of sesame oil
    • apply minced meat on cucumber where the seeds used to be (you can 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch to make the mixture more sticky)
    • carefully put the cucumber into boiling water with meat side on top
    • boil for 15-20 minutes or until cucumber is soft
    • serve while hot

    minced meat and cucumber is a great combination
    minced meat and cucumber is a great combination

    This soup usually comes with tong fun (glass noodle) so if you wanna add that, do go ahead. For even more flavorful soup base, feel free to add chicken/pork bones too.

    Happy cooking!

    filed under Cooks, Pork, soup, Vegetable
    September 8, 2011

    KY eats – Siamese Nasi Lemak at Wisma Cosway

    While walking to our original intended target – the pork free food court between Wisma Cosway and Wisma Genting, a few colleagues and I chanced upon this new little restaurant by the name of Siamese Cafe located just behind the interesting Yashi-no-mi Japanese cafe.

    NOTE: unfortunately this place has already been closed down

    the glorious siamese nasi lemak with everything
    the glorious siamese nasi lemak with chicken, squid, petai & prawn

    The restaurant has only some 10 tables that sits 2-3 people each, and on the menu there are less than 10 items on offer. This is fine by me, the bigger the menu usually only means the bigger the confusion and time taken to order.

    The choices are simple, you can either have nasi lemak, or Siamese mee hun to go with fried chicken, Kristan chicken (a type of thick curry), ikan kembung, assam squid, sambal petai prawn, or kerang (cockles).

    there's siamese mee hun too, and those anchovies are darn good
    there’s siamese mee hun too, and those anchovies are darn good

    Everything is priced at RM 8, except for Nasi Lemak (or meehun) special that comes with squid, petai assam prawn, and fried chicken, that is at RM 10. The set comes with an ice lemon tea, and the sides that includes half a hard boiled egg, peanuts, some potato + onion thing, and fried anchovies.

    and here is winnie, as eye candy, nothing more
    and here is winnie, as your eye candy

    While the meehun tends to be a little on the dry side, the nasi lemak was fragrant and full of santan flavor. The chicken, petai, and squid were all very good too, and I particularly love the sweet and spicy fried anchovies they serve at the side.

    The special set is really value for money at RM 10 with drinks. Business seems to be quite brisk at this new place, and I certainly hope this cafe is here to stay.

    wisma cosway map

    Address:
    Siamese Cafe
    Ground Floor
    Wisma Cosway
    Jalan Sultan Ismail
    50540 Kuala Lumpur

    GPS3.150875, 101.711812

    ————————————————

    By now, many of you are probably familiar with MilkADeal, a local discount site where you often find incredible deals on all sorts of stuff, like food, spa, travel packages, adventure activities, photo album, car tinting, and more.

    Do check out the site for stuff that you need and many that you want for a steep discount.

    TLC Promise Me, milkadeal

    And while discounts are neat, I want to highlight what that MilkADeal is also using their site as a vehicle to do good. There is a TLC Promise Me campagin that is running right now, and you can buy the “deal” at RM 20 with 100% of the money going to Rumah Aman Children Home, an orphanage that needs their electrical wiring and lightning protection upgraded.

    For those who donate over RM 100, you can even request a receipt for tax exemption too.

    p/s: this is not the first time MilkADeal runs community service “deals”, I remember there was one for Japan earthquake too.

    June 12, 2011

    KY eats – My Elephant Thai Restaurant, Seksyen 17

    When I first heard about My Elephant sometimes last year (or 2 years ago?), I’ve been telling myself to pay a visit. But for some reasons that did not happen until just a couple weeks ago, and boy I wished I had done it way earlier. This place really lives up to all the hype circulating online.

    My Elephant Thai restaurant at PJ Seksyen 17
    My Elephant Thai restaurant at PJ Seksyen 17

    My Elephant is situated at Happy Mansion, on the ground floor of the first of three really old school apartment blocks. The restaurant really does not fit in to the area, but that only adds to its charm. This is just a block from Food Foundary, a place that serves really good mille crepe.

    We went at on a Wednesday night, and even then the place was packed with diners. A good sign, the three of us were seated, and then we made our orders. The restaurant is air conditioned, comfortable, and decorated with little ornaments and drawings that looks to be from Chatuchak, but not in a good way.

    fish cake, seafood tomyam, brown rice, deep fried chicken
    fish cake, seafood tomyam, brown rice, deep fried chicken

    We ordered 5 dishes, and had brown rice to go with. I usually dislike brown rice (RM 3/pax), but over here they are rather fragrant and adds to the overall flavor when eaten with the other dishes.

    The fish cake (RM 8) was slightly salty and not hiding any Thai “flavors”, a good dish to start.

    When in a Thai restaurant, a must-order is usually the tomyam, and over here they serve up a pretty mean bowl. While not overly spicy, the seafood tomyam (RM 20) we was packed with mushroom, prawns, squid and more.

    The deep fried chicken (RM 15) is my favorite dish of the evening. They were cut in small chunks with plenty of crispy skin accompanying each piece, and together with strong marinate and curry leaves, man, you have to really try it to realize that deep fried chicken can be this good. I like this more than KFC, and that is saying a lot, I love my KFC.

    paku pakis, gai tod gratiam prik thai duck salad
    paku pakis, gai tod gratiam prik thai duck salad

    The vegetable dish I ordered was paku pakis (fern, RM 15). I first tried fern at Lala Chong with cheesie and instantly loved it. The version here is even better, *yums*

    Our last dish was Thai duck salad (gai tod gratiam prik, RM 15). A pretty typical Thai style salad that is sour, spicy, and work your tongue to its limit. We liked it too.

    map to My Elephant at Seksyen 17

    If you love Thai food and haven’t tried My Elephant yet, pay a visit. For weekends it is advisable to call for booking though.

    Remember, consumption of awesome Thai food will leave you wanting more 2 days later, when you feel them coming out. :P

    Address:
    Block C-G4, Happy Mansion,
    Jalan 17/13, Seksyen 17,
    46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
    GPS: 3.122486, 101.634747
    Tel: 0 10-220 1283


    filed under Eats, Halal Food, PJ area, PJ Others
    May 1, 2011

    KY cooks – Kapraw Pork (Thai style chili basil minced pork)

    Thai food is of course, more than just tomyam and pad thai. However, there are certain dishes that are quite rare in Malaysia since most Thai establishments are set up with providing halal food in mind (Ying Thai 2 at Melbourne serves a good one). So this is one dish that isn’t particularly easy to find around here, but luckily, it isn’t difficult to cook it up at home either.

    Yes, the recipe for this post is Kapraw Pork, or minced pork with chili & basil.

    note: you can actually substitute pork with chicken.

    kapraw pork - Thai style chili basil pork
    kapraw pork – Thai style chili basil pork

    The ingredients are simple:

    • pork, 2-300 grams, minced
    • 4-5 chili (red & green for better color, but either color is fine)
    • 4-5 cloves of garlic
    • basil
    • dark soya sauce (or caramel sauce) – 1 table spoon
    • fish sauce – 1 table spoon

    ingredients for kapraw pork - pork, chili, fish sauce, basil, garlic
    ingredients for kapraw pork – pork, chili, fish sauce, basil, garlic

    Instructions:

    • using pestle and mortar, crush chili & garlic
    • heat up 2 tablespoon of cooking oil, and fry chili & garlic till you start coughing (around 2 minutes)
    • add minced pork, then fish sauce and dark soya sauce
    • stir fry till pork is cooked
    • add basil and stir for another 20 seconds or so before serving

    For purely aesthetic purposes I also saved half a green & red chili and sliced them instead of having all crushed. You don’t necessarily have to do that.

    The result is a dish that is spicy, slightly salty (from fish sauce), and savory at the same time. Best served with rice.

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    filed under Cooks, Pork
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  • Copyright 2010 KYspeaks.com | Designed and coded by HazeLong.com