Sara Thai Kitchen - Southern Thai Style Cooking

Sara Thai Kitchen

No 66, Jalan Telok Sisek

25000 Kuantan

Pahang Darul Makmur

Tel : 012-967 1010

Opening Hours : 1.00pm till 11.45 pm

Left to right : Teh O Ais, Air Kosong and Sirap Hijau (Combo of sirap and a hint of pandan.. very nice!)

Hmmm... its been some time since I updated my reviews. Have been busy with work, and very little time for anything else. Now that I have tendered my resignation at RHB, I have a bit more time on my hands, so here's the update!

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Calvin, Kok and I decided to have lunch at a location close to our office since most of the staff are on leave as it is school holiday, so that should any emergency occurs we can rush back to the office. So, Sara Thai kitchen is the obvious choice.

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Sara Thai Kitchen is a restaurant serving authentic Thai cuisine. The operators and cooks comes form Southern Thai from areas such as Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. In fact, you could hear them conversing amongst themselves in Thai if you care to listen.

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Sara Thai serves "masakan panas" such as thomyam, fish dishes, meat, chicken etc, and it also serves ala carte. Being pressed for time, we chose ala carte today. All are cooked in authentic southern Thai cooking style.

From left to right : Nasi Goreng Kimau, Mee Hon Phad Siew, Nasi Goreng Kluk Kapi and Udang Goreng Tepung.

I had Mee Hoon Goreng Phad Siew, which basically means Mee Hoon Goreng Biasa. Nonetheless, it is very tasty. It is a bit tangy, not too much though, and there is a hint of soy sauce, pepper, and the usual herbs and spices used, all mixed at the right amounts as not to accentuate any taste to be more predominant from the rest. It also comes with generous bits of chicken, prawns, eggs, cuttlefish and veggies. The portion is also good and I am quite full after polishing this plate off and sharing the Udang Goreng Tepung between the 3 of us. Burpppp...... :)

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I rate this dish as such:

Taste : 4 /5

Presentation : 3.5 / 5

Price : 4 / 5

Calvin had the Nasi Goreng Kluk Kapi, which means Nasi Goreng Belacan. It comes with Kerabu Mangga, Black Pepper Chicken and Fried Eggs. Calvin's comments are "The rice was cooked to perfection with hints of garlic and belacan. The kerabu mangga was a little bland to my liking. The eggs were ok and the chicken was a little cold. But the combination of the three elements complimented the serving".

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Calvin's Ratings :

Taste : 4/5

Presentation : 3.5/5

Price : 4/5

Kok had the Nasi Goreng Kimau Ayam, kimau meaning selasih. Kok commented that the combination of taste is good and he enjoyed the dish very much. Being the quite, strong type, Kok declined to comment further... hehehehehehhe....

I rate the overall experience as such:
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Taste : 4/5
Quality : 4/5
Service : 4/5
Presentation : 3.5/5

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Total bills came to RM22.80, very reasonable, I'd say.

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All in, good dining, fast and tasty. This is a definite must try for Thai cooking kakis. If we do go here next time, I will review the "masakan panas"! Till next time, ciao!

Ikan Patin Tempoyak at Akob Patin House

We decided it was high time for some patin lunch. The Loyal Bloggers above (left to right : Calvin, Zarni and Kok) and I headed to Akob Patin House for some patin masak tempoyak, a famous patin place here in Kuantan. In the background is my T5 :)

Akob Patin House
Tapak PCCL Jalan Besar
25000 Kuantan
Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel: 019-987 4463 (Pak Akob)
013-9312709 (Kak Ani)
019-947 0989 (Angah)
It is located by the Kuantan riverside, behind the old KWSP office and the old Samudera Hotel building.
Opening Hours : Lunch only, get there around 12pm or it'll be tough to get seats.

Akob Patin House serves an array of Malay dishes which you'd take with white rice. Among its usual servings are rebung masak lemak, veggies, beef and fish dishes. It is self service style. This is a popular place and the lunch crowd numbers can be high.

The speciality of Akob Patin House is .. duuhhh.... patin la, what else. The patin is cooked in tempoyak style, and there are usually 2 types which are Patin Sangkar and Patin Buah, the latter being more expensive. The gravy is "thickish" and the aroma and taste of tempoyak is very prominent, making your drool on the expectation of savoring the fish itself.

This would be my typical dish here. A plate of white rice, some tempoyak made of fresh durians (you can actually taste the durian sweetness), sambal tempoyak and mangga and some veggies, coupled with a piece of patin masak tempoyak. Oh, and a teh 'o' ais laici.. heaven....

Another specialty here is the Ikan Kerai Goreng, which you need a good bit of time to eat as it has small bones that you need to pick out. The v shaped bones are hell if you get one stuck in your throat, so be careful. The time spent to eat this fish is worth it, though. Our total bill for 4 persons came close to RM50. Money well spent, I'd say.

My rating:
The Patin : 4.5/5
Service : 3.5 / 5
Prices : 3.5/5

Hoi Yin Curry Mee

Restoran Hoi Yin

No. 31, Jalan Teluk Cempedak

25050 Kuantan

Pahang Darul Makmur

Tel : 09-567 3871

Operating hours : 7.00 am to 2.30pm

Open on weekends and public holidays, closed on alternate Mondays

I had a sudden craving for Curry Mee, so I called out to the Loyal Bloggers (my blogging buddies.. :)) for a trip to Hoi Yin in Teluk Cempedak, Unfortunately, Zarni had a prior appointment and was not able to join us. Calvin, Kok and I headed out to Teluk Cempedak to Restoran Hoi Yin.

Hoi Yin is famous for its Curry Mee. The curry is very "lemak", and it comes with chicken, fish cakes, tauhu and kerang. The Curry Mee is guaranteed to make your "hingus meleleh" and sweat. Powerrrrr beb!!!! Many have tried to emulate the taste of Hoi Yin but could not compare. Hoi Yin definitely has developed its own brand and taste of Curry Mee.

Hoi Yin also serves Mee Kicap and Mee Sup. All dishes are available in 3 sizes which are Jumbo (RM4.20), Besar (RM3.50) and Kecil (RM3.20). You could also ask for extra chicken, kerang or whatecer it is you fancy at additional cost.

Hoi Yin serves a large crowd for breakfast and lunch. Shold you walk in and not find a table, do not dismay as there are more seating at the back of the shop. In fact, we always prefer to sit at the back rather than the front.

All 3 of us had the Curry, and 2 iced barleys and one canned drink. The total bill came upt o RM16.00, very reasonable since we had the big bowl and asked for extra stuff as well. Am still burping while posting this.... :)

I don't know why this photo decided to upload itself the way it did, but hey, I guess you can still understand what I am trying to show ya! Hoi Yin is a definite "must try" for Curry Mee lovers!

Chicken Rice at Restoran Seri Mualaf

Restoran Seri Mualaf
B-8-10-12, Tingkat Bawah
Lorong Tun Ismail4
Jalan Bukit Ubi
25200 Kuantan
Pahang Darul Makmur (next to Kuantan Plaza)
Tel : 09-515 8107 (Taufiq Wong)
Hours : 10.30am to 10.30pm (Closed On Sundays)

Calvin, Zarni and I had lunch at one of our favourite Nasi Ayam place called Restoran Seri Mualaf. This is one of our favourite haunts for lunch.

Restoran Seri Mualaf serves authentic chinese food with a halal concept. This restaurant serves food ranging from fish, chicken, beef and venison dishes cooked in authentic chinese styles. It also serves ala carte dishes such as mee goreng, nasi goreng etc, all in Chinese style cooking. It also has a banquet hall that can seat 150 people, and does catering for functions outside. The owner is a convert Chinese Muslim, Mr. Taufiq Wong.

The attraction for us in this restaurant is the Nasi Ayam. The Nasi Ayam is a simple dish that could be prepared quickly and is very delicious... Yummyyyyyyyy..... We have also had other dishes there before and they were of equally good quality. The meat chicken meat was tender, the rice smells great and the spice and herbs were completely there for you to taste.

All 3 of us had the nasi ayam today, due to the limited time we had for lunch. All 3 agreed that the quality of food is good and the service is quick and efficient. Food presentation was practical for quick eating, no fuss and unnecessary items.

For drinks we had teh o laici, soursop juice and watermelon juice. All in, the bill came up to RM20.00, which I think is very reasonable.

A new beginning

Well, well, well...

I guess I finally have a blog. It took some consistent persuading and harassing from my buddies Calvin, Zarni and Kok to actually get this blog going. Thanks, guys!

Many thanks to to Honey Ahmad for actually giving me the final push to get this thing started!

Above all, thanks to my lovely wife who supports whatever it is I do, I love you babe!

I spent some time zoning in on the topic of my blog, and I picked a topic close to my heart.. close to my stomach is more like it.

I've always loved Kuantan for the multitude of food choices available here. I love food, so a place with so much food choices becomes a natural choice for home.

Well, so much for an introduction. I shall begin my quest to bring out the gems of Kuantan eating places soon, tomorrow I hope. Let the adventures begin, I alway say. Till then, adios!

Note: This is a photo of me (left) and Dadang (right), our tour guide on our trip to Bandung. This dude definitely knows some good eating places there!