Khuntai Restaurant - Thai Food, Petaling Jaya

Where were we? Ahhh.... dinner on Sunday night with Mom. Bro was in a spicy mood and suggested that we do Thai for dinner and suggested somewhere nearby; Khuntai. I've heard several people telling me that Khuntai dishes out rather good Thai food and wondered if it's as good as they say.

Arriving there during peak dinner time without reservations (it was packed, either due to the usual dinner crowd or 'cos it's Mom's Day), we waited for a bearable 10 minutes or so before we got a table. I had hoped to get a table with adequate lighting but was shown to a table outdoors. "Bummer!", I told myself as lighting was just minimum, hardly conducive for photos but tried my best.

As I was busy chatting with my nephew, Spare Change about photography, lighting etc. etc. (shooting the chili bottles to test the lighting), my bro did the ordering. So, I didn't know what to expect till the dishes were delivered to the table. We ordered a big jug of Kedondong (Ambarella) fruit juice which I didn't take a photo of. At RM20, it really quenched our thirst and was enough for the 6 of us.

The Spicy Mango Kerabu (RM15/USD4.30) - I found the mango too raw for me but loved eating the whole ensemble together with the crispy anchovies, cashew nuts and onions. Not as spicy as I thought it would be.

SIL being a vege lover, ordered the Fish Maw Kerabu (RM13/USD3.70). As if having read my thoughts on the earlier dish, this one came loaded with chili padi (bird's eye chili), very evident from the photo right? Approach with caution. The Fish Maw was slightly crispy but had an overall chewy texture. This was like a "Thai" mesclun salad with all sorts of greens. Taste wise, I prefer the Spicy Mango Kerabu over this.




Seafood Tom Yam (RM33/USD9.40) - Came with enough seafood for all of us. I enjoyed the hot sourish soup....recalling this has started me drooling. Yum yum! Hahaha....

Fried Prawn Cakes (RM15.60/USD4.40 for 6 pieces) was a nice change from the fiery hot and sour stuff. Best eaten with sweet Thai chili sauce (they also have the hot sambal chili for those who are into hot stuff! Hehehe...

Deep Fried Sotong (Calamari) - No comment! This came to our table by mistake and since I didn't know what brother ordered or had not ordered, I proceeded to take photos of it before he realised he had not ordered this and had this sent back. Hahaha.....

Fish in Thai Style (RM33/USD9.40). Well, those of you who know me would know I'm not a fan of fish. I did try the soup and found it quite nice - very light and slightly sour. One can asked them to top up the soup should one want more, which is what we did.

This dish came last and rather late. Assam Prawns (RM36/USD10). The prawns are lightly battered and fried. Assam gravy is then poured over it. This was slightly sour and tasty but do note that one should eat this ASAP as the gravy coagulates when it gets cold!

We remarked that dear brother had ordered mostly all sourish dishes and that we would probably be hungry again later....Hahaha! This place that is not very Thai looking has some hits and misses but it could also be due to the fact that we had not picked more hits. I don't mind going back again to try the other dishes. They have another restaurant in Butterworth (checked out their website, this Butterworth outlet looks more Thai!)

Khuntai Restaurant
6 Jalan 5/44
Petaling Garden
Off Jalan Gasing
46000 Petaling Jaya

Tel : 03-7781 7523
Daily from 11 am - 3 pm, 5 pm - 11 pm


104 Permatang Tengah
13400 Butterworth

Tel : 04-332 7523
Daily from 11 am to 12 midnight

Click HERE for Khuntai's website with location map for both outlets

Age pays the penalty for the sins of youth
ความประพฤติผิดใน วัย หนุ่มจะปรากฏโทษให้เห็นเมื่อเข้าสู่วัยชรา
kwaam bpra-prit pit nai wai noom ja bpraa-got tote hai hen meua kao soo wai-cha-raa
A Thai Proverb I'm trying to understand