A few months back, I have heard quite bad comments about this restaurant and had been very reluctant to try it out ever since. However, due to an appointment with an acquaintance recently, I had no choice but to go there.
The restaurant in question is Siam Express in Gurney Plaza. They also have a branch in Queensbay Mall.
And so, we ordered quite a few things and even talked to the boss, Matt Khor, a Penangite with a Thai wife. It seems that the previous cook had been shown the door…thus the earlier talks of horrid food offered at the restaurant.
As can be seen from the bunting outside the restaurant, they have quite affordable sets. It is not cheap but also not that expensive.
Amongst the things we ordered:
Spicy Chicken Salad
Maeng Kum (a type of Thai ulam..)
Fried chicken drummets
We also ordered the Belacan Chicken Rice and washed it all down with the wonderful coconut milk sago dessert.
The verdict: It is above my expectations but not exactly perfect. The portions are just nice for our Asian appetite and the taste, are surprisingly quite good. I don’t know if it is because the boss was around or it is really good.
The chicken salad is the traditional Thai kerabu type of salad, spicy, sour and a bit salty. It is not something I really like but it is quite good and I found myself taking at least three to four spoonfuls of this.
The Maeng Kum is nothing that special what with Sirih leaves, dried shrimps, onions, ginger, lime, groundnuts and chili padi. What was really special is the sauce. Now, if you get this from one of those travelling Thai fairs, the sauce is usually just sugar with lime. Here it is made of various ingredients, all blended to present a sweet, sour and faintly spicy flavour. Oh, the secret to eating this dish is to roll the leaf into a cone, place the ingredients into it and add the sauce. Then, wrap it up and pop it into your mouth. The burst of flavours from the chili to the sauce to the other ingredients is something quite indescribable. This is actually one of my favourite Thai food.
The fried chicken is not so special, it is just like any other fried chicken except with a slightly different taste.
Then comes the belacan fried rice! The rice is not so remarkable but the sambal that goes with it. Mmm, mmm. It is so good, I polished off the sambal. It is definitely prepared by the restaurant chef fresh cause it has a really unique spicy flavour.
Venue: Siam Express, Basement, Gurney Plaza
Food: Thai fast food
Rating: 6/ 10
Price rating: $$
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