The search for Thai street food might culminate in stalls serving soulful stews & blistering-hot curries in Yaowarat, the shacks that tempt passers-by with tom yum goong, barbecued meat & stir-fried seafood in Banglamphu, & the buzzing alleyway carts where broth-soaked noodles & wok-tossed rice abound across Sukhumvit, Silom & Sathorn - or closer to home, Fa Ying Street, a new venue that strives to bring the sultry sizzle & spice of Bangkok's captivating cooking to Malaysians in Subang.
Fa Ying Street's founders are respected local veterans in the craft of Thai cuisine, confidently capable of infusing fresh flourishes into familiar favourites. Dig in first with the prawn-&-salad-stuffed paper roll pouches, a deep-fried delight, plump & impressively flavour-packed, well-paired with a punchy nam tok fish sauce dressing (RM13). We're also fans of the pandan chicken, impeccably tender, coupled unconventionally with a textured mango chilli salsa for a piquant uplift (RM15 for three pieces). Other starters sound equally alluring, from papaya salad with sweet potato chips to rice crackers with tamarind sauce.
Poultry pleasure: Fa Ying Street puts a unique twist on the classic 'khao kha moo' by turning it into a duck dish, braised in that unmistakably fragrant, sweet-savoury preparation, complemented by the requisite pickled mustard greens, bok choy & boiled eggs (RM19). If you prefer your fowl free of bones, order the ginger chicken, addictively aromatic - at RM15 for a serving that can be shared, it illustrates how prices at Fa Ying Street are really reasonable for 2017.
Kudos to the kitchen for faring well with seafood too - the yellow curry of prawns & pineapple is as lip-smacking as expected, rich & creamy (RM18), while the seafood tom yum is a genuine treat for RM22, brimming with no lack of crustaceans, mussels, fish, clams, squid & more in a soup with a finely tuned balance of tangy, spicy & sweet nuances.
The steamed siakap with manow sauce is pretty much perfectly executed, with plenty of moist, smooth flesh to relish beneath the shower of coriander (RM35 for half a fish). For fibre, try the crunchy mixed vegetables with lotus root crisps (RM14); we were stuffed by now, though there's much more on the menu to still sample - next time, we'll have the corn fritters, salt-&-pepper soft shell crab, green curry chicken with pumpkin, pineapple fried rice with smoked duck, & bihun soup with wontons.
Coconut ice cream with sweet corn (RM8) & mango sticky rice (RM12) convey a sweet conclusion to the meal, washed down with lemongrass ginger & pandan lime beverages (RM5 each). All in all, we had a satisfying feast - service is welcoming & efficient, while the setting is vibrant & comfortable. The restaurant has ambitious plans ahead to introduce even more innovative items within the next several months, which we look forward to. Many thanks to Fa Ying Street for having us here.
Fa Ying Street
G-10, Ground Floor, SS15 Courtyard, Jalan SS15/4G, Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Daily, 10am-10pm. Tel: 03-5612-5729