KhunThai, Teluk Kumbar

KhunThai

1052 Mukim 9 Pasir Belanda

Teluk Kumbar

11920 Bayan Lepas

Pulau Pinang

(+60)4 625 1155

Hours

1100 - midnight daily

Such a short and sweet name to remember. If you're a Thai cuisine fan in Penang, come over to KhunThai Authentic Thai Restaurant in Teluk Kumbar. It is about 20 minutes drive from Penang Airport. Use Waze or Google Map to help you. Once you're in the area, there is a signboard you can't miss. Ample parking available but careful not to hit/step on some of the dogs roaming nearby.

This restaurant has seaview option but if you come in small party, you may have to compromise about roof. The tables under the roof are big round ones while the smaller ones are outside. Of course, it is a non-issue if you come at non-peak hours. We got the whole big table for the two of us.

The staff were friendly and helpful. Be sure to ask them if you need clarification on things like price and portion size.

  I went there for lunch and there were about 3 or 4 other tables occupied but service took some time. It wasn't a really long wait mind you, but I can imagine they *might* get slow on busy days. 

Taste

Good and portion was generous

Price

Fair. RM67 for 2 pax

Ambiance

Thai hut-like feel. A bit dated but good enough to bring guests

If you want somewhere with aircond, try Siriwan

Thai Style Salted Egg Prawn (small) RM27

Kailan Oyster Sauce (small) RM10

We also tried their Green Curry Chicken, also small portion at RM21. It looks ugly, the chicken was cut in a way I don't favour (I'm fussy) and a little oily but it was also delicious. I love everything we ordered! Obviously I didn't eat the kailan but the kuah was tasty. And seriously their portion was generous. We thought 3 small dishes of lauks are just enough for the two of us. Boy, we had to skip dinner.

  Highly recommended especially on lazy weekends and if you don't mind a bit of waiting. The food was good and pretty worth it. While waiting, just go to the beach and have a swing or two.

Lobster Dinner at Lung Ja Seafood, Hua Hin

Rupa dia lain sikit waktu malam sebab ada gerai and no trucks

Lung Ja Seafood

103/4-5 Dachanuchit Road Tambon Hua Hin

Amphoe Hua Hin, Chang Wat Prachuap Khiri Khan 

77110, Thailand

Hours : 1800 - 2300

One of the main reasons people go to Hua Hin is for the lobster. Orang cakap seafood di Hua Hin murah dan lobster senang nak jumpa. So, I scheduled seafood dinner on our first night in Hua Hin. Punyalah excited, budget untuk makan seafood ni I buat separate daripada our daily meals. THB11,200 total atau pun THB1600 per person. Eh, macam tak murah pun?

  Sebenarnya itu memang style I buat budget. Suka estimate tinggi-tinggi, kemudian adjust mana yang patut dan akhirnya dapatlah budget yang lebih masuk akal tapi masih ada buffer. Sebab tu jarang burst budget :P

  Anyway in reality, we did not have one lobster each. Tak mampu nak habis pun sebab makan dengan nasi dan ada ordered lauk lain juga. Kedai yang kami pilih namanya Lung Ja Seafood. You can find it on Google Map. Terletak di kawasan Hua Hin night market. Untuk tourist spot, harganya not bad la.

  Ada beberapa kedai seafood lain di sini. Boleh tengok dan pilih sendiri. Lung Ja Seafood ni selain harga yang berpatutan, ada jaminan kebersihan. Pelanggan pun nampak ramai tapi servis tak slow sangat. 

Very helpful and friendly. Order yang diterima semua betul

  We ordered 4-sauce lobster, some tiger prawns, fried rice (egg only), sotong goreng tepung and ikan. Ada dua jenis masakan ikan yang kami pesan but I'm sorry I can't remember what we ordered. Mujur ada gambar > - <"

Taste

Over all, delicious! Puas hati. Lobster ada sauce yang okay, ada yang biasa-biasa je. Nasi goreng sedap OMG. Kat Thailand ni kalau nasi goreng tak sedap, memang tak pernah jumpa lagi.

Price

Fair. Tak ingat exactly berapa tapi memang jauh beza dari budget. Lobster tak sampai THB2000, tiger prawn only THB500 for half kg. Murah walau pun mungkin tak banyak.

Ambiance

Busy, noisy (pasar malam kan) but tak smelly sangat. Rambut tak la bau makanan/asap lepas makan kat sini.

Nota: Restoran ni tidak sesuai untuk yang perlukan cop halal. 

Restoran Siriwan, Bayan Lepas

Siriwan Thai Seafood Restaurant

1-1- 31 & 32 Krystal Point 2

Jalan Tun Dr. Awang

11900 Bayan Lepas

Pulau Pinang

Hours

1130 - 2200 daily

If you're looking for a decent place to bring your guest in Penang, try Siriwan Thai Seafood Restaurant in Krystal Point, Bayan Lepas. Or maybe you're staying in the Krystal Point hotel, make sure you try this place. It's a bit expensive but like I always said, when the food is delicious, expensive becomes worth it!

Tom Kha Gai- recommended!

My favourite, aside from the butter prawn is their tom kha gai. It's creamy version of tom yam. So sedap omg.

Butter Prawn - recommended!

Kangkung Belacan

Tap Tim Krob

Taste

DELICIOUS!

Price

Fair because so sedap. RM80.20 for 2 pax

We had rice, iced lemon tea and longan in addition to those in pics above

Ambiance

Air-conditioned, traditional wooden Thai building design

It is not your typical hyped-up Penang food but if you ever feel like having something Thai in Penang, remember Siriwan Thai Seafood in Bayan Lepas!

Warung Mak Njang Ikan Bakar Warisan, Tanjung Dawai

Warung Mak Njang Ikan Bakar Warisan

153, K161

Tanjung Dawai

08400 Merbok

Kedah Darul Aman

Hours

1600 to 0000 daily

Just over an hour drive from Mount Jerai, you'll reach Tanjung Dawai and find a row of restaurants with sea view. The locals have their own favourites and I am still trying to decide which restaurant is the best. 

Our pick for this particular trip was a simple yellow restaurant. No fancy garden like its neighbour; but one of us swore they serve the best ikan bakar he ever tasted.

I gotta agree!

Salted egg prawn - <3<3<3<3

Mixed tomyam

Taste - delicious!

Price - fair

Ambiance - average 

My only grievance is their slow service. There weren't many patrons but we had to wait for quite some time for our food. If don't mind the wait, try this place!

Overall 3 <3<3<3 of 5 

D'Marta Cafe, Sunway Tunas

Taste - Good

Price - RM53.10 for 2 pax

Ambiance - Underwhelming

3 1/2 <3<3<3< of 5 overall

Martabak manis (RM5) - chocolate & oreo

Set S (RM30) - soft shell crab, prawn, mussels & vegetable

Ketam Spicy (RM12)

Decent place for affordable, if somewhat limited seafood menu. Their USP is the soft-shell crab.

D'Seafood Paradise, Teluk Tempoyak

D'Seafood Paradise

Jalan Teluk Tempoyak,

Penang

Opening Hours

1200 - 0100 daily

I went to Teluk Tempoyak because I heard of their medan selera ikan bakar (grilled fish). However, because the food court was under renovation, we decided to have dinner in D'Seafood Paradise instead. You'll find the junction to this restaurant first before reaching the food court if you come from town.

  At first, I thought the restaurant was full. There were many cars in the carpark and I wanted to leave. Luckily, we got out from car to see the place closer and it turned out that it wasn't too busy. Maybe the cars belong to guests of a nearby chalet/resort.

  So we went to select the sea creatures from a counter and placed our order before taking a seat. We chose a table near the sea. It was dark so we couldn't see much but we heard the calming sound of wave alright.

Taste - Delicious!

Price - Fair. RM110.30 for 3 pax

Ambiance - Seaside restaurant, clean & breezy. The tables were spaced comfortably away from each other and there was outdoor seatings right on the 'beach' as well.

Food took about half an hour to arrive and it wasn't a busy night. I saw some complaints about slow service on their FB page so manage your expectation accordingly ;)

<3<3<3<3

I feel that I am not doing the place a justice since I went at night. So here's review (and pictures) from another blog Pondok Ajip, in Malay.

Muara Ikan Bakar, Tanjung Harapan

Once upon a time, well actually it wasn't that long. Just over a couple years ago really, Muara Ikan Bakar in Tanjung Harapan (Port Klang) used to serve good and affordable seafood. I remember one time, I was with a group of friends, all fresh grads for a dinner of grilled fish and other seafood.

  Recently, I visited again with my family to celebrate mom's birthday. It was a disaster right from the moment we stepped into the restaurant. Mom actually phoned them earlier to book a table and the person who answered said no need to reserve as there weren't many people. Wrong!

  It was Saturday night, a band was having a showcase there and the tables were either occupied or reserved. We tried to find a table and got no help from the staff. There was an empty section (tables all prepared) but was told that we cannot sit there. No idea why. The staff walked away before she had the chance to tell us where we CAN sit.

  Luckily a group left and so we stood near the table while attempting (vainly) to get a staff to collect the plates and clean the table. No such luck. We stood around as if we were invisible for at least 15 minutes. A staff came, touched the plates a bit, and then left. After a few more minutes, another staff finally deemed us worthy of her attention and gestured to *another* staff to clean the table. 

P.s. Talking to "the person in charge of the section" didn't help much. We got to talk to her twice before she simply avoided us. 

  Eventually, a staff took the plates, glasses and tablecloth and left us with this...

a bare, dirty table. Whole night long.

Ambiance

I mentioned a showcase right? The band *was* quite popular with their slow rock songs. Unfortunately, horrible PA system made it more a pain than a pleasure. 

  The wait for someone to take our order was shorter. Probably about 5 minutes? By then, my dad was done choosing the fish and other sea creatures for our dinner. The staff who took our order was brusque and almost rude. She acted as if she was doing us all a favour by taking our drink orders. Imagine how a girl behave towards guys she doesn't like; only we were/are NOT a bunch of sleazy guys hitting on her. 

I bit my tongue, reminding myself it was mom's birthday.

  Food took long enough to arrive but at least the emcee/deejay made announcement about the delay in kitchen. So don't come when you're hungry. Oh wait... that doesn't really make sense now, does it?

The saving grace of the night

Notice the table? And the absence of drinks? And about 3 dishes still missing...

More cons

• Not enough utensils. There were 7 of us but only 5 sets was given. Dad went to get more.
• The dishes arrived in batches. Half of the rice was gone before the grilled fish, another fish and crab arrived
• Drinks arrived last. We asked for it twice before I got up, caught a staff by her arm and asked, "bila air boleh sampai? Dah 2 kali saya tanya ni." (when will the drinks arrive? I've asked twice) 

Taste - Average except for the prawn

Price - Expensive considering the very poor service and average tasting food

Ambiance - Family-friendly, a bit too noisy and somewhat chaotic. Poor ventilation if you don't get a table at the open-air sections. Definitely not the place for a special celebration or to bring guests (unless you hate your guests).

Check out other reviews on Foursquare if you think mine is an isolated case.

You've been warned but if you want to go anyway, make a reservation, lower your expectation and "bring" lots of patience =)