Eat Drink KL: Bangkok Beat Bistro

Friday, March 30, 2012

Bangkok Beat Bistro

Time for our once-every-three-months trip to a furnace of fiery Thai fare.

Launched this month at Subang's Empire Shopping Gallery, Bangkok Beat Bistro is the sister outlet of the Bangkok Jam restaurants in Singapore, Taipei & Taichung. There's probably something for everyone on the menu of sixty-strong recipes here; we're glad the pomelo salad with shrimp (RM18.90+) made the cut.

Sink-your-teeth-into-it crab meat & chew-like-a-carnivore fish maw, sunk in savory-starchy soup (RM15.90+). Who needs shark's fin broth, right?

Mee krob (RM16+). These crispy fried noodles represent the reality of Bangkok Street Bistro; purists will insist they've tasted better in the City of Angels, & they'd be right. But nevertheless, what's served here is food that's still enjoyable, that's still worth sharing, still worth paying for.

For RM20+, this Massaman lamb shank curry is a bargain, featuring genuinely tender meat in generously poured gravy. The more well-known Massaman beef version is also available.

On the other hand, RM15+ for this olive fried rice should have bought us something somewhat better. But in the end, we needed grains to soak up the curries.

Soft-shell crab with yellow curry (RM20+). Note: even on a weeknight, Bangkok Beat Bistro can be packed. So expect to line up awhile or come back later; when we hit this place at 9pm, the crowd had eased & most of our dishes landed within 15 minutes of ordering.

Grilled stingray with Thai sambal (RM25+). Might pair well with sparkling wine, but since Bangkok Beat Bistro is shooting for halal certification, it's best not to bring in booze.

Surprise! We hardly broke a sweat throughout this meal. Hurrah for the judicious use of spices!

Bangkok Beat Bistro,
LG32, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang Jaya.
Tel: 03- 5637-8488