Frame Thai for Thai food cravings & tete-a-tete at Artisan Roast Coffee TTDI
It was a perfect night to satisfy my Thai food craving. A rare traffic-free Friday night, as it was the first day of Hari Raya Puasa.
There are two types of cuisines that I avoid out of their home countries: Vietnamese and Thai.
Vietnamese cuisine
Ho Chi Minh, my ‘hometown’, before it got overthroned by Bangkok. So much so, that friends thought that I was going to marry a Vietnamese. Having worked and traveled extensively in Vietnam before, I am attuned to authentic Vietnamese cuisine’s taste. I take my pho and bun bo seriously, so, nothing but the best for me.
Thai cuisine
Thai cusine has been in my blood for more than five years. It’s as long as my relationship with D, five-turning-six-years soon. After my last horrible dining experience at one of the popular Thai restaurants in town, I vowed to stay away from commercial Thai restaurants.
There are only two authentic Thai restaurants in town that I frequently visit.
I’m Spicy, at SS2, is a good authentic Thai restaurant, in a small setting. Pricing is on the high side, and they only accept cash. But I’ve not been there for few years already, so not sure whether they have started accepting credit cash, nor whether the food is still good.
Frame Thai (formerly Lai Thai market) is my best bet for Thai comfort food. This used to be one of my lunch food joints, and my team at MS then also loved this place. Those were the days that I had to get my Thai food fix in town.
When I was based in Malaysia, I craved for Thai food. And now that I am based in Thailand, I crave for Malaysia food. Macam mana ni? How lah like this? The grass is always greener at the other side of the fence, isn’t it? An epitome of absence makes the heart goes fonder.
For two years after I relocate to Thailand, I have never eaten any Thai food here. After being away from Bangkok for six weeks now, I WANT my Thai food! That’s when you call your fellow Thai food lover, for a Thai food outing. Thank you, Noelle, for coming to my rescue, and also for the dinner treat!
At 6.30pm, they were already out of soup noodle dishes, and that was what I wanted to eat. Sigh. So, we went for the next best in the menu.
We ordered:
- Basil pork rice with fried egg (RM 8): ahhhh … now, this is really a home-cooked comfort food for me
- Fried noodles in soy sauce (RM 8): D introduced this simple fried noodle dish to me in Thailand. I thought the taste was as authentic as it could be.
- Mango salad (RM 6): not-too-bad, but I think a tad out of balance.
- Tom-yum-soup-turned-steamed-fish-with-lime (RM 28): Noelle wanted a tomyum soup, and I am darn sure that was what I have ordered in Thai. But, we got a steamed fish in lime instead. Now, that’s why D did most of the orderings in Thailand.
I missed the old Lai Thai, that never failed to bring me back to Thailand with a simple menu. The new Frame Thai, with new menu and bigger space is too much like a restaurant. It lost its coziness and simplicity. Not to mention that it is also more expensive now.
The only thing that stays the same is the familiarity of Thai language spoken there. So many Thai customers, that I wonder how many Thai populations are there in the city. Are these accounted in our population statistics? Happy-me got to practice my Thai, before it gets rusty.
As Noelle and I were still caught up in our conversations, we proceeded to Artisan Roast Coffee at TTDI for tête-à-tête. Not to be confused with Artisan Coffee Bar at Bangsar Village II, as they are now two separate entities. That’s what Noelle was told by one of the staff. I was confused, as I clearly remembered that they have the same logo, menu, etc. I also did a search at home, and all articles and interview read also said the same. Well, it looks like they have went their separate way now.
We were stuffed from dinner, but Noelle said “I have a separate compartment for dessert.”
My dear friend has this thing for lemonish dessert it seems, a new learning for me. We ordered a slice of Cheesecake and Lemon Slice for sharing, or so I thought. I ended up finishing the big slice of Cheesecake, vs. her small piece of dainty Lemon Slice. Hmmph. Never gonna trust someone who says, “I have a separate compartment for dessert.” Or rather, I should ask for specific measurement of the compartment first.
Artisan Roast Coffee introduced a loyalty program, with their ‘Frequent Flyer card’. We both like the card’s design. It’s like the old Snap card game’s ‘look and feel’. Go vintage, that seems to be the trend these days.
I had a good day out, thanks my dear friend.
Kedai Makanan Frame Thai (formerly Lai Thai market)
No AG-3, Ground Fl, Block A, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/3, Section 17, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7954 4688
Business hours: Opens daily, 10am-8pm
Artisan Roast Coffee
4 Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, TTDI
Tel: 03-7733 6397
Business hours: Opens daily, 8am-12mn
I have good laugh reading the compartment for dessert part. It’s a good outing 😉
Next time, must measure the dessert compartment’s size first!