ThaiExpress, The Curve Shopping Mall: A Fresh New Look with a Fresh New Menu!

A Great Comeback of Flavors!

Known for their serving of Thai cuisine, ThaiExpress at The Curve Shopping Mall has been around for a bit. Recently, ThaiExpress makes a great comeback to Kuala Lumpur with a fresh new look and a fresh new menu to its only Malaysia outle with a surprise flash mob for its official re-opening. ThaiExpress, owned by the Minor Food Group Singapore, is highly popular in Singapore with a 25 outlets chain in that country and also some internationally.

As I had visited ThaiExpress before, the new contemporary look is a great update to its previous one. Simplicity is the theme and everything is contrasted beautifully with dark wood, cream and orange. The dim lighting in the restaurant offers a nice comfortable ambience to dine in. The menu also was revamped and features a staggering 130 items to diners. We settled in to taste the new menu and discovered a myriad sense of exotic Thai flavors…

Thai Pina Colada – RM7.90

My pina colada is superb! A non-alcoholic version, it is pineapple soda with a scoop of creamy coconut ice cream.

                                          

                                                 

Avocado Milkshake – RM7.90 & Chiang Mai Mango Blend – RM6.90

Tom Yum Talay (Tom Yum Seafood Soup) – RM10.90

Two versions of the classic Tom Yum soups are available here, the clear and the fiery red one. I have already seems to lean towards the clear version but if I can’t get it, the red one is still fine by me. Don’t judge a book by its cover, this one looks really innocent but packs quite a punch in flavors. Intense sourness bumped up with subtle hints of lemongrass and seafood notes, this is really addictive with every spoonful!

Tom Yum Talay (Tom Yum Seafood Soup) – RM10.90

The fiery red Tom Yum is robust with much fieriness of spices and herbs. It also has a good dose of sourness to amp up the flavor. For those who love a great tom yum that is spicy and sour, this one has it all, great depth of the classic rendition of a kick-ass tom yum. Ours was a seafood version else go for the prawn version!

Tom Yum Kang Nam Daeng (Red Tom Yum Crayfish Soup) – RM16.90

A similar red tom yum version except that this one features a luxurious whole crayfish in the soup! Served in a bigger portion, it’s really good enough for at least two diners. The crayfish tasted like a huge prawn and it’s head was bursting with loads of creamy roes. Despite the heat, the crayfish tasted sweet and had a good bouncy texture.

Khao Tang Naa Tang (Thai Rice Cracker served with Special Thai Express Creamy Chicken & Shrimp Sauce) – RM8.90

At first look, the bowl of creamy sauce looked pale except for a drizzle of bright oil. Served with six round pieces of crispy rice cracker, we were told that this is a Thai street favorite. Simply scoop the minced sauce on to the cracker to savor.

It was very savory and creamy at first taste. Then one gets the taste of the aromatic rice cracker with a nice crunchy texture with the sauce. There is some comfort element to the dish with a rustic charm. This one is worth a try!

Roti Krob (Crispy Roti Stuffed with Minced Chicken Salad) – RM10.90

A roti pocket holding a yummy minced chicken salad, this one was better than I expected. The bread is quite fluffy and light with a nice buttery flavor with a spicy tangy chicken larb salad. Makes a great snack or even a meal on its own…

Yum Mamuang (Thai Mango Salad) – RM8.90

Highly popular in most Thai places, the version is fairly good with medium thickness of shredded mango laced in a spicy piquant dressing. Bits of sliced shallots and chili padi kicks up the salad another notch. A bowl of rice would have been the perfect partner for this spicy tangy salad!

Yum Neua  Yang (Beef Salad) – RM15.90

I love this dish a lot! Tender beef slices are lightly chargrilled and dressed in a rustic tangy spicy dressing. Expect lots of flavors from smoky to spicy to sour and finally a nutty note.  I believe I tasted toasted crushed rice in this salad, lending a nice toasty and nutty texture to the salad. I would have gladly hog this whole plate to myself with a bowl of white rice… super yum!

Massaman Chicken Curry with Thai Style Pancake – RM15.90

Creamy, nutty, mildly spicy and redolent of spices, the Massaman curry with chicken and potatoes is great with the pieces of fluffy buttery roti like pancake. The curry flavors are a good indication that it has taken hours of slow braising to achieve a melting pot of spices. This curry is exceptionally nutty from its peanuts and creamy. Not overly spicy, it has a subtle sweet note and goes well with the roti.

Phat Thai Talay (Phat Thai with Seafood) – RM15.90

As famous as our street Char Kway Teow, this Thai version of Phat Thai with seafood is the epitome of Thai flavors. It is a plate of sweet, spicy, sour, savory, nutty and more. Mixed up the crushed chili and peanuts and squeeze on the lime to jazz up the rice noodles and seafood. The noodles also have a decent wok heat, winning many votes from our foodies that day.

Rad Na Tom Yum (Tom Yum Hor Fun with Seafood) – RM15.90

I was caught by surprised in this dish as I did not know the name of the dish while I was trying it. It looked just like the Cantonese Hor Fun at sight but once I had tasted it, it’s just so Thai! The dish has thick wide pieces of rice noodle, hor fun that is gorgeously seared with loads of wok heat and is wondrously aromatic. The thick egg gravy is spicy and tangy, a nice surprise in flavors. It has prawns, squid, mushrooms and fish with some greens.  Beware of little chili padi stingers in the noodles but it is really unexpectedly yummy!

Poo Phat Pong Kari (Rice with Soft Shell Crab, Egg and Onion Curry) – RM19.90

Interesting! I had something similar while I was in Bangkok but the same gravy was cooked with fresh mud crabs. Here, the eggy curry gravy is smothered in crispy fried soft shell crab and served with rice. Absolutely fine by me because I just have to enjoy the whole crispy crab without shelling it! Great creamy egg gravy with a subtle hint of curry spices. The only thing I didn’t quite like was the raw onions on top because I think it overpowers the dish but that is easily remedied. I really enjoyed the pairing of the various textures and flavors in the dish!

Gai Phat Pet Ched Nam Ya (Yellow Ginger Chicken) – RM13.90

We were warned… this dish is not for the fainthearted. Despite the warning, we tucked happily into the dish and felt the spicy sensation creep slowly in our lips. Super spicy, the dish is bursting with gingery essence and spicy heat. Apparently the dish is good to help ‘chase the wind away’ in our bodies. The chicken is tender and is well marinated, rendering great savory flavors besides the spiciness. The regular serving is smaller and comes with rice. If you like strong flavors of ginger and chili, this is the dish for you!

Thai Chendol – RM7.90

An icy concoction filled to the brim with jackfruit slices, chendol strips and chewy flour bits, all soaked in a pool of sweet creamy coconut milk sweetened with Thai palm sugar. It’s quite sweet but a gorgeous treat and ending after a spicy meal!

Khao Niao Mamuang (Sweet Glutinous Rice with Fresh Mango and Coconut Milk) – RM9.90

Ever my favorite Thai dessert, the sweet coconut glutinous sticky rice is a match made in heaven with sweet ripe mangoes.

Lod Chong (Green Emerald Thai Lod Chong) – RM5.90

A dessert quite similar to our very own local favorite Chendol, this one has soft handmade Pandan chendol in sweet coconut milk and topped with tropical atap seeds.

ThaiExpress has definitely made a great comeback! The food flavors are amazing and one really gets a delicious hit of strong Thai essence of sweet, sour, spicy and savory all packed into each dish. Dishes are authentic in flavors too. There are plenty of choices from Thai street food to home-style dishes and even the beverage and dessert list is plenty. Equip with its new ambience, diners will be please to enjoy a scrumptious Thai experience at the new ThaiExpress!

THAIEXPRESS

The Curve Shopping Mall

Ground Floor, G50

Jalan PJU 7/3,

Mutiara Damansara,

 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Tel: 603 7710 9629

Website: http://www.thaiexpress.com.sg/