food

Flavours of Thailand come alive at Thai Camp

BY EU HOOI KHAW
November 22, 2015

The Thai Camp Curry Noodles is similar to the Burmese laksa, according to the writer. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 22, 2015.The menu at Thai Camp in Petaling Jaya was a limited one, but there were certainly dishes that caught my eye and we ended up with five of them for just the two of us.

One of these was the Thai Camp Curry Noodles or Kai Soi Kai (RM7.50). It’s a northern Thai curry noodle dish, fragrant with spices in coconut milk that’s lightly sweet. Yellow noodles, topped with crispy egg noodles and pickled mustard greens, were soaked in the curry which was served with a chicken drumstick.

It was almost like Burmese laksa, and it tasted very good. I liked the crunch and the mild sweetness of the Thai salted vegetables and different textures of the noodles.

I always hesitate in ordering tom yam in an unfamiliar Thai restaurant. I hate to have extremely hot and sour tom yam (that’s usually served in Thai restaurants here) that kills my palate before I can enjoy the rest of the meal. However, I didn't have to worry about that here.

The Seafood Tom Yam or Tom Yam Ta Lae with Rice (RM10.90) here was excellent. It’s a northern-style tom yam, mellow and creamy with coconut, and a little tartness which brings it all together. Prawns and squid were in this seafood tom yam, together with mushrooms, tomato and the essential fragrant ingredients like galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.

We tried for Thai PorThe Seafood Tom Yam at Thai Camp is excellent according to the writer. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 22, 2015.k Pop or Moo Sab Tod (RM8), which are deepfried balls of minced pork, served with chilli dip. The pork balls were crispy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside. They went well with the light chilli dip.

The Thai Camp Preserved Egg is a quirky combination of century egg and minced pork. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 22, 2015.The Thai Camp Preserved Egg (RM9.50) was recommended. It turned out to be century eggs, covered with a thin layer of minced pork and deepfried. The eggs, cut up, were generously topped with a bunch of deepfried kaffir lime leaves, and served with the same chilli dip as the Thai Pork Pop. They reminded me of Scotch eggs.

Minced pork and century eggs are a quirky combination, but it works in this dish. I would have liked it better if the kaffir lime leaves had been shredded. But I still ate the egg with a crunchy lime leaf and liked it.

The Papaya Salad or Somtam (RM7.50) was hot and sour as this salad should be. The shredded unripe papaya remained crunchy through the pounding with dried shrimps, roasted chilli and tomato, and the salad was completed with roasted peanuts and raw long beans. It was one of the best papaya salads I have had in a while.

I had asked for the bill, but just couldn’t get away without a taste of the Special Pork Leg with Rice (pic-below, Kao Ka Moo, RM8.50). It was a takeaway, but I had a slice of the most delicious pork leg meat, with the lovely, crunchy “harm choy”. The Thais do the best pickled mustard greens!

There are only two desserts on the menu – Thai Sago Pudding with Coconut Topping and Coconut Jelly, both RM3.50 each but we had no room for these.

I would come back to Thai Camp to try its other pork dishes – Stewed Pork Ribs with Noodles (RM6.90), Pork Panaeng with Rice (RM7.90), and Thai Pork Satay (RM9) which had run out the day we were there. Their prices are decent, and the food is good.

Thai Camp occupies only half a shop in Taman Paramount in Petaling Jaya, near to Seaview, the popular corner coffeeshop that has been around for years.

Thai Camp | 37 Jalan 20/7, Taman Paramount, 46300 Petaling Jaya | Tel: 012-345 1768 | Opening hours: 12pm to 3pm, 5pm to 10pm, Tuesday to Sunday | GPS Coordinates: GPS 3.6.35, 101.37.35 | Non-halal. – November 22, 2015.

* All of The Malaysian Insider food reviews are incognito and reflect the personal opinions of our merry band of foodies. If you know of any restaurant serving awesome grub, share it with the rest of the world and drop us a line with details at [email protected].