Thursday, November 6, 2008

Restoran Baan Nok

About two weeks before we visited Baan Nok, an African-American senator had just been elected as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate to contest in the 2008 election for the ownership to the administrative power of the White House. As he celebrated his victory against another Democrat presidential-hopeful (who might have made history as well by becoming the first female president of America), the public has already speculated an arduous campaign ahead. The next 5 months were expected to include the usual battles of wit, spectacularly convincible reform policies and exposés of stained backgrounds. For this senator, there was another issue to be tackled, which was absolutely unnecessary and irrelevant. Colour.

If differences such as background and colour were such taboos, this group of blogging friends, which consisted of a yellow hairy berry, a whiff of masala-flavoured lemongrass and an Australian blunt knife named James would have been be barred from dining together, more so comfortably in a Thai restaurant, sipping beer while laughing and sweating over fiery hot Thai food in Pandan Indah. It would have been such a pity, wouldn’t it?

Diversity is a blessing and has its abundance of advantages, if managed well.

Take a glance of the street where Baan Nook is located and one will be amused by the interesting number of Thai restaurants and markets. And to think that the colourful Chinese restaurants, cafés and Mamak stalls are just a few blocks away. This is not just a celebration of taste. But the diversity of life as well.

As far as these tastebuds are concerned, Baan Nok serves delicious, authentic Thai food. The name, which suggests countryside only adds to the charm of the restaurant.

The Som Tam came as an appetiser. Basically a Thai salad, it consisted of julienned green papaya, groundnuts, dried shrimps and tomatoes. Drizzled with a heavy dose of lime juice and fish sauce, the flavour was dense and somehow refreshing at the same time. One will not forget the extra heat that comes with it, thanks to the generous amount of bird eye chillies.

Expect to perspire buckets when the dish is red, like the Tom Yam soup. Generous with the prawns, among other ingredients, the soup was aptly sour with a hint of sweetness. The only reason to stop taking the appetising soup was the progressive heat that built up on the tongue, to a point where continuous sips led to a slight migraine. A gastronomic sauna, this.

Perhaps the mildest in terms of heat, the Pad Thai was visually beautiful, to say the least. Again, with generous amount of ingredients such as shrimps, chicken cubes and beansprouts, there was nothing much to complain about. The rice noodle was firm and had absorbed all the wonderful flavours of the seasonings such as soy and sweet chilli sauces. Definitely one of those pad thais that run low on pretentiousness (some are just basically mee goreng) and high on authenticity.

The Kerabu Babi was beyond expectation as it tasted like a stir-fried dish instead of a salad. In a good way, of course. The pork pieces were tender and the chilli sauce that dressed the meat was aromatic and yes, spicy. But like all kerabus, there were heaps of shallots for the crunch and sweetness.

At the end of the day, despite our differences, we were all red from the heat and beer. RM60 for an authentic meal with generous amount of ingredients, it was quite a good deal. And getting lost in translation with our embarrassing Hokkien and their minimal Cantonese doubled the fun.

We might not know what the future holds for the new USofA which will directly affect the chaotic world we are living in now. But yesterday's historical win did provide hope that perhaps one fine day, we shall all be equal in the name of humanity and be judged by what we can do, not the colour of our skin. Nor the food we eat.

"Our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared", said the newly elected 44th president of the United States of America. Yes, shared. That is one darn fine word if you ask me because without sharing, there'll be no unity.

Baan Nok
43A, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B
Pandan Indah
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: (+603) 4296 7525

Check out these Baan Nok experiences:
Cumi & Ciki
Lyrical Lemongrass
Jason

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

way to go, obama! when are we going to have a change? sigh

backStreetGluttons said...

thats a grand harmony of all colors indeed. thats why our world has become more than rainbows instead of just nostalgic black and white.

which is why we think something's wrong when ppl say he's Black when in fact he's so colorful

just that you have missed out the grand Color of the sweetest Siamese girls we din see

Jason said...

Just hope he's better than the current one :P

Faye fly said...

ha..nic..u know hokkien one ah ? so lu si hokkien lang lor ^^ i like tis thai beer but chang beer is the best!!

fatboybakes said...

kerabu babi!!! hahaha, that's like saying charsiu halal. i love it already!!! oh, its in KL ah, i thot singapore.

barry's victory in a way magnifies our own countries unwillingness to embrace change and how they keep harping on M Supremacy. Sigh. Aiyo, sorry to bring this into a happy food blog. the topic can curdle milk.

sc said...

the pad thai was filled with so much ingredients; at first glance, i thought it was seafood kerabu!

Precious Pea said...

What a coincidence! I also just posted on Thai food. Ahh..the words are back!

Live2Talk said...

we should all embrace in a colorful life sweetie and nothing beats having a cool beer after the burning hot food :D

Anonymous said...

i like thai food~~~

Anonymous said...

Eh, you different colour from me, meh?

Shell (貝殼) said...

i like Thai salad, is a good appetizer^^

Ciki said...

ooooo.. delicious... i think it's time for thai again this weekend.. after seeing your pictures.. me thinks me needeth a good sweat .. kahkah

HairyBerry said...

kampungboycitygal, hehehe...i believe changes are for the better. if only everyone supports this idea, hor? hmmm....

backstreetgluttons, i absolutely agree that he is colourful! and hopefully, packed with good leadership as well. oh, i did miss the grand colour of the sweetest Siamese girls...but she was only 7...i'll be more observant next time..hehehe...

jason, ya lor...*fingers crossed*..hehe...someone has to do something before everyone is out of job...hmmm...

faye fly, heheh, no lar. i'm actually cantonese. that's why my hokkien is quite bad...had to point to the menu to order what i want..hehe...oh! chang beer? i must try! :)

fatboybakes, it's in pandan indah. i actually ta pau some of the kerabu babi for dinner and ate it with hokkien mee!! YAY!!!

hours after the result was out, the tv started showing reactions from politicians in the region. when they said they were "inspired", i wonder if they understood what they were saying...haha! curdle milk? haha! we all love our yoghurt mah..or arak.

sc, yupe! lotsa ingredients there! and because the rice noodle was tasty, i think i can do without the ingredients la..haha! yummy indeed!

HairyBerry said...

precious pea, hope you are having a great time at krabi now! :) catch lotsa fish ya! the words are back, yupe! :) hopefully, some will stay..hehehe...

live2talk, sweeties like you make the world a more beautiful place to live in. :) oh, the beer really helps! especially if it's chilled. :)

squall, me too!!! there's something exotic about it! i think it's the fish sauce and kafir lime leaves...*salivating*..hehe

lyrical lemongrass, isn't that obvious?? hehe...but of course, deep down, we are all the same. foodies, i mean..hehehe...we shall explore more places like these... :)

shell (貝殼), yupe, i agree! it's the tangy taste of lime juice plus all the aromatic herbs and spices. and extra best if it's chilled, me thinks. :)

cumi & ciki, we actually went there after reading your yummy post! :) they are gonna make ya sweat, that's for sure! haha! order the kerabu babi, ya! :)

choi yen said...

Been craving for Thai food for weeks :(
PS:want to try the stall u introduce at Menjalara but I think it closed down already =.="

Anonymous said...

Change in the States? Maybe. Change somewhere closer to home? Err...

But I'm totally with you on the sharing. Food and stories, you can't beat that combination, mate! ;)

Big Boys Oven said...

wah lovely dishes , an inexpensive experience!

J2Kfm said...

interesting. the shop named Thai Orkid somewhere there also right?
opens at night. neon lights, VERY dark indoors. like any typical Thai outlet on good ol' Khaosan Rd.

damn spicy also. spewing flame all over ...

HairyBerry said...

mimi, ya lor, i was told that the stall moved already! cos the kopitiam is not making money...so sad! :(

kenny, food and stories rock! hehehe...these complete a meal, me thinks! as for changes, well, if food can unite, hopefully, we all will too lar...*fingers crossed* :)

bigboysoven, yupe, yupe! delicious, authentic Thai food! do give it a try, ya! :)

j2kfm, oh yeah! Thai Orkid! i think remember that name now! :)
ya lor, it just dawned upon me that most the the interiors are dark..hehe

haha! talk about spicy! i think we finished up all the tissue paper there was. hehehe....

ling239 said...

i am interested in the name of the pink flower... wat is the name pls ? of cos the on the tree lar... :p

i have it outside my house....

Anonymous said...

You've caught the James Bond bug...arghhh!!!!

HairyBerry said...

ling239, errrr, i oso dunno the name leh...cos i took the shot outside the pudu lrt station...hehe..let me go search and see if i can find it, ya! :)

chuishia, woah, nice seeing you here! oh yeah, the bond's definitely the da bug for now! hopefully it'll be gone before SS...hehe

ling239 said...

ok ok pls... i shall wait ^_^

Unknown said...

hairy! do u know if baan nok is still open ar..

HairyBerry said...

heya ciki, yikes, i'm not sure because i've not been there in a very, very long time! :D