Golden Thai Seafood @ Jalan Ipoh

Rustic Thai Food with A Kick!

Our Malaysian shore was now being swamp with more foreign cuisines, not that I am complaining. Being a foodie, I am only happy to be able to savor such a melting pot of cuisines on our shore. Not the newest kid on the block, Golden Thai Seafood has been dishing out authentic Thai dishes in the bustling street of Jalan Ipoh for a year already.

Once cannot miss Golden Thai Seafood, it is located along the same row as all the old school dim sum joints on Jalan Ipoh. Diners can choose to seat in the cool air-conditioned area or alfresco tables to catch some street actions. Don’t expect much of the ambiance but its decent for dining with its minimal décor.

Run by a family of Thais, Golden Thai Seafood offers a solid selections of Northern and Southern Thai dishes in their menu. The owner even goes all out and import in Thai beverages as well as snacks available for purchase at the eatery. I was excited to see they carry Thai sodas, Thai beers, Thai Soy Milk, Thai Milk Tea, Betagen – cultured milk, assorted Thai Lays potato chips, Thai instant noodles and other snacks all imported from Thailand.

The eatery’s menu is filled with lots of familiar Thai dishes as well as some not so familiar. What I am always happy about is when they offer the red and white Tom Yum versions. Leaning towards a fan of the white version, we had their Seafood White Tom Yum (RM18). Simply a must-have in Thai meals as far as I am concern, the innocent looking white tom yum packed quite a punch in heat and flavours. Solid balance of sourness with sweet, savory and a generous kick of heat, the soup ticked all my criteria for a darn good white tom yum. Seafood of prawn, squid and fish are swimming in the broth. Though by no means fabulous, I certainly won’t say much as the price is decent for its offering.

Thai salads are also known to be punchy and robust, simple concoctions of few ingredients but tasty enough to whet the appetite for more. We opted for the Kerabu Noodle (RM13), a glass noodle salad that came loaded with lots of other sidekicks like minced meat, squid, prawn, black fungus, carrot, coriander, onion, tomatoes, peanuts and more. Sprinkled with crispy dried shrimp and served on crisp lettuce, the salad was sufficiently scrumptious.

I am a fan of pad kraw pow and when cooked right, I would gladly enjoy the dish with steamed rice alone as my happy meal. The Krapow Pork (RM13) here is cooked to the tastebud of Thais and the kitchen spared no mercy in pumping up the heat in their dishes here. We took a spoonful of the dish and found our mouth on fire. For me, it’s not too bad since I can really take a solid level of heat but for regular diners, you might wanna tell the kitchen to go easy on the chilies.

Perhaps the most unanimously crowd pleaser was the skewers of BBQ Pork (RM13) that evening. There is no denying that these deliciously looking chunks of Moo Ping or pork marinated in a sweetish savory sauce and gorgeously grilled over hot coals tasted as awesome as it looks. Generous in portion and superb in flavours, now one more order of this please…

Likewise on the next dish of Gaeng Som Siakap (Market Price - RM56), this is certainly Not for the faint-hearted. Owner did say that they can’t reduce the heat for this dish and prepared it exactly how the Thais would enjoy this on the heat level. So be warn before you order this dish or get ready to sweat it out. Other than the heat level, the dish is absolutely flavorful and packs a holy moly piquant punch of sour, savor, spicy and umami flavors. The fish is fresh, soft and cooked well. The Gaeng Som broth totally rocks on the palate like fireworks. There’s some eggplant, long bean, cauliflower, onions and leafy greens in the broth too. Now hand me some milk please…. Hehehe!

For those who can’t take the heat, your safer bet would be to order the yummy BBQ Flying Fish – Tilapia (Market Price - RM65). Golden Thai Seafood has a few BBQ dishes in their menu that is worthy of an order. Our whole tilapia is quite large in size and took a while for the fish to be cook but it was worth it because the flesh was so sweet and tender. The salt crust really perfumed the fish well and gave it a subtle flavor. Enjoy the fish with that piquant green chili sauce and the dish is even better. I would order this again but there is a waiting time because every dish is cook-to-order for freshness and flavor.

Claypot Prawns with Glass Noodle (RM25) is another dish to order if you’re not into spicy food. Delicious glass noodles cooked in an aromatic savory and sweet sauce with prawns, onion, ginger and spring onion is a classic Thai dish that is cooked well here.

The Thai Fried Chicken Wing (RM13) is crispy, juicy and very yummy. I am not sure what’s really Thai about the fried chicken but nevertheless, we enjoyed this fried chicken a lot. Great for anyone of all ages and as snacks too.

The only dish that fell short that evening was the Lemon Steamed Squid (RM28). The flavors were decent with sufficient sourness but there was the lack of oomph in the overall flavor and the squid were a tad rubbery. It’s not really a bad dish compared to other dishes, this one didn’t impress as much.

Fried Paku Pakis with Belachan (RM13) was also very good. The vegetable was cooked just right with robust chili belachan flavor and had a good breath of wok aroma.

We barely even touch the menu at Golden Thai Seafood so there’s a solid reason to return for more. Prices are decent for the portions. Service was quick and brisk and we like how the owner stayed true to their Thai flavors. The eatery also tries to make the food look good in presentation. Highlights for me would be the BBQ Pork, White Tom Yum, Krawpow Pork, BBQ Flying Fish and Fried Paku Pakis. I would love to come back for the BBQ Cockles and Pork Neck as well as their Thai Pork Knuckle!

GOLDEN THAI SEAFOOD

485, Batu 3 Jalan Ipoh,

51200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-666 7033

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/goldenthaiseafood