When it comes to Thai cuisine, I’m always game. I think I had a Thai food phase (I’m sure some of you noticed) a few months back where almost every alternate review or social media posting I did was about Thai food. Jing Thai in Seri Kembangan is one of the Thai restaurants I had on my to-eat list and we finally checked it out after a couple of weeks.
Jing Thai is located on a little slope off Jalan PSK 1, an area that is relatively alien though Waze made it a lot easier. The setup is no-frills so do dress casually if you’re planning to eat here. Shorts would be recommended, but I have to warn you – the mosquitoes come out to play come night time.
Mandarin is key here, unless of course, you can speak Thai. The folks are Thai who can speak Mandarin and coincidentally, none of rif’s family members speak Chinese so the ordering was left up to me. Which was terrifying because I often mispronounce things in that language. The lady who took my order didn’t speak much English so I got by with hand gestures and my smatter of Mandarin.
We ordered most of their recommended dishes – Thai-style steamed fish (RM37), tomyam nam sai soup (RM28), pucuk paku belacan (RM22), BBQ lamb (RM32), homemade Thai-style prawns (RM52) and pandan chicken (RM21 – 7 pieces). Since my little niece was dining with us, we got a plate of butter squid (RM36) and pineapple fried rice (RM12) as well.
Of the lot, the Thai-style prawns and BBQ lamb stood out. The prawns were fresh and coated in a thick, spicy-sweet gravy that begged for more white rice. I thought the BBQ lamb could have been more tender (and fattier) but seasoning wise, this was delicious.
The tomyam was disappointing; it was neither sweet nor did it have that umami-ness to shout about. It was mostly sour and spicy, similar to the Chinese salted vegetables soup but high-pitched when it comes to the sour and spicy notes. I thought the steamed fish was alright, though I’ve had better here and here.
Dad in-law really enjoyed the pucuk paku belacan though I noticed he likes anything with belacan and one of his favourite vegetables is pucuk paku. So he’s biased and I’m not. This was fairly decent but definitely not mind-blowing.
The pandan chicken was alright though the chilli dipping sauce could have been thicker and spicier. I didn’t care much for the pineapple fried rice, which tasted like normal fried rice with pineapple bits. The photo in the menu lead me to expect this to come in an actual pineapple base so I was obviously disappointed to see a white plate.
Butter squid isn’t a Thai thing but this was tasty. The squid rings were nicely battered and deep-fried to crispy perfection, and then coated with thick butter gravy. I suspect they threw in some evaporated milk or santan to create that creamy texture, though I could be mistaken. Either how, it was good stuff.
To be honest, I thought the food was just alright save for the prawns and BBQ lamb. If I were staying nearby, I wouldn’t mind coming here for dinner. But if you asked me to go again from Bangsar, you better be treating me to dinner because that’s quite a long drive!
Ambiance: 5.5/10
Price: 6/10
Food: 6/10 (pork free)
Verdict: Pretty rustic ambiance but I thought the food was just average.
Jing Thai
Lot 1397, Jalan PSK 1,
43300 Seri Kembangan,
Selangor.
Business hours: 11am till 2pm, 5pm till 11pm
Tel: 011-10889666, 017-366 6912
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