June 9, 2016

Baan Kun Ya Thai Restaurant @ Centerpoint Bandar Utama


New Dishes and Puasa Delights Set Menu




Baan Kun Ya, a fine Thai dining that opened late last year, is jumping on the bandwagon for this holy month with its Puasa Delights Set Menu as well as some new dishes. The name of the Thai restaurant translates to Grandma’s home, symbolizing the food served is recipes handed down from generations of the chef’s family. Dining at Baan Kun Ya is like going home to your grandma’s house for good comfort Thai food.




Located at Centerpoint in Bandar Utama, Baan Kun Ya is cleverly sectioned into various dining spaces for privacy. There is a casual open area with a casual bar at the front. There are more intimate dining area inside the restaurant with sections that are perfect for private dining as well as private parties and functions. Lots of wood with spots of bold bright colors are cleverly incorporated into the design of the restaurant. There is a warm and chic feel that is further enhanced by lots of hanging rattan baskets, bottles, dried fruits and chilies. Dim warm lights completed the cozy mood.




The menu is filled with lots of classic Thai dishes that Malaysians love. Besides the regular menu, Baan Kun Ya has just introduced more new additions as well as a Puasa Delights set menu. Once the order was logged, we kicked back and enjoy the cozy ambiance with our drinks.


Ice Blended Coconut (RM13) reminded me of our own local Klebang coconut shake and this was deliciously refreshing and not overly sweet while Iced Blended Cucumber Lychee also freshen up the palate with much light and fruity sweetness.


We started off from the new menu of appetizers of Fresh Spring Roll (RM18 – 6pcs). Fresh raw vegetables and crab stick in lightly chewy Vietnamese spring roll skin makes good bites with the piquant green chili sauce. A small mount of pickled onions and carrot with some nuts added more flavours and textures.


Ka Tong Thong (RM15 – 5pcs) is too dainty and pretty to be eaten if you asked me. Nevertheless, the golden crisp cups are little burst of flavours and textures with its filling of minced chicken and vegetables.


Mains arrived and it’s a treat starting with golden crispy chicken smothered in a fiery red sauce of Sambal Chicken (RM35). That sambal was unctuously sweet, sticky and spicy. The dish goes wonderful with steamed rice.


Next up, Stewed Beef Curry (RM42), not the usual thick curry but a lighter consistency with creamy goodness and spices. Not overly spicy in heat but solid in moreish flavours. Pieces of tender beef, soft round wedges of eggplant as well as crunchy baby Thai eggplants and fresh basil is a symphony of flavours.


A bit hefty on the price tag but definitely worth ordering as there is a good amount of fresh sweet chunks of crab meat on a pool of tangy, creamy and sweet pineapple curry. It’s honestly not overly priced for the Crab Meat with Pineapple Curry (RM45) because if you were to go buy the crabs yourself, you would know what these would cost.

The crab meat goes very well in the sweet fruit curry sauce. A popular dish in Thailand except this one is made so much easier for us to enjoy without the hassle of going through the crabs. Yum!


Another classic dish of Prad Kraw Pow or Basil Chicken (RM28) was a crowd pleaser that evening. Minced chicken cooked in an aromatic sauce with lots of aromatics of garlic, chili and basil, the dish literally beckons for more rice because of its addictive flavours.


A simple and tasty dish of Stir Fried Vegetables Paprik with Seafood (RM28).


Stir Fried Egg with Sweet Leaf (RM20) was pretty unique and reminded me of the Sabah dish of Mani Chai with Egg. The leaves are indeed soft and sweet with a unique aroma and is well-enhanced with the scrambled egg. As the menu says it… Eggs-licious!


More veggies and this one is fern shoots or Paku Pakis with Anchovies Curry (RM28). The pale yellow curry is creamy and laden with subtle spices. The fern shoots are not overcooked so it still has a nice light bite. An interesting vegetable curry worth trying if you have never had fern shoots.


Whenever one goes Thai, they do usually order Tomyam soup. It’s like a must for many but Baan Kun Ya also serves another unique soup worth ordering. The Mixed Thai Clear Soup or Gaeng Liang Goong Sod (RM38) came in a pretty blue pot and looked rather plain, that is until we took a spoonful of it. The soup is robust in prawn flavours and we found large prawns as well as lots of dried prawns in the soup. There is also soft angle luffa, pumpkin, baby corn, Shimeji and Eringi mushrooms and more. Pretty fiery in heat and peppery, the soup is very addictive and once you start, you’ll want to keep going back for more.



From the regular menu, we had Steamed Squid with Lemon Sauce or Meuk Ma Now (RM39). This one is pretty kickass in flavours. Super sourish, spicy and piquant, the dish has squid steamed in a damn shiok lemon sauce and served in a heated iron pot topped with lots of fresh onions, coriander, garlic and chili. One can also have this with seabass. Superb flavours that sets your taste sense on fire.


Crab Meat Omelette or Khai Jiao Poo (RM32) was another crowd pleaser around our table. The Thais make some of the best egg dishes and this one was another one. Very fluffy and eggy, the omelette had crab meat and crab stick in it. What made the dish even better was that side of punchy and spicy green chili sauce.


We also ordered the Thai Style Fried Chicken or Peek Gai Thod Nam Pla (RM25). The chicken was delicious and golden with a nice crispiness to it. Juicy too though it didn’t leave as much impression as the other dishes did. That said, it is still a delicious plate of fried chicken if you ask me.

Baan Kun Ya has a solid list of desserts, a brownie point for them since most Thai places tend to stick to the more common Thai desserts with limited choices.


Look Choop (RM24 – 12 pcs), Thailand’s pieces of delicious art, are actually mung beans cooked with coconut milk, wrapped in jelly skin and shaped into mini fruits and vegetables. They almost looked too pretty to be eaten. Many Thais grew up eating this treat and seeing this really completed our Thai experience that evening. The Look Choop here is not overly sweet and very creamy and nutty. Looks like one can get really good Look Choop here without having to travel to Thailand these days.


There is also the Look Choop Jelly (RM16 – 8pcs), a miniature dessert combining the best of Look Choop and coconut jelly. Super cute and super easy to eat… by the dozens if you have a sweet tooth!


Khanom Ba Bin (RM15) easily resembles our local tapioca kuih except this one has a gorgeous crispy bite with a chewy middle. We loved this so much. The squares of pancake is made with freshly grated coconut, palm sugar and rice flour. It’s the chewy and crispy texture that really did it for me in this dessert.


We were told that we should not leave Baan Kun Ya without trying their Coconut Ice Cream (RM18). Large pale scoops of coconut ice cream topped with slivers of nangka, blue tinged water chestnuts and toasted cashew nuts looked amazingly good. The coconut ice cream is indeed very creamy and has lovely coconut aroma and flavour. We dug in and found another surprise of sticky sweet glutinous rice beneath the ice cream. You can also just order 1 scoop coconut ice cream for RM8. What a delicious and refreshing way to end the meal…


This holy month of fasting, Baan Kun Ya is offering Puasa Delight Set Menus catered for 4 pax to 8 pax. These are indeed value-for-money set menu. Do call the restaurant or check out their Facebook for more information as well as reservations.


Baan Kun Ya dishes are more refine and the ambiance is really pretty and comfy. Prices are slightly higher but quality is there. The menu has lots of other classic Thai dishes that I would love to go back to try. Do make sure to save some tummy space for their desserts too…


BAAN KUN YA
F107 F110, 1st Floor, Centrepoint,
No 3 Lebuh Bandar Utama,
Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7733 3337


Business Hours:
Daily 11.30am to 11pm

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