Review: Lunch @ Erawan Classic Thai and Fusion Restaurant, Jln PJU 5/16, Kuala Lumpur

Erawan Classic Thai and Fusion

During my dim sum session with other food bloggers at Elegant Inn, Marion, who sat next to me, was literally singing praises about Erawan, which serves classic Thai and fusion cuisine. I did not know how half of the table ended up talking about Erawan Thai Restaurant but I was glad they did because Erawan has made it into my "Highly Recommended Eats" list.

Quaint

There are many things I love about Erawan. The first would be the its ambience. The sight of teapots and Thai souvenirs reminded me of my sister's collection of keychains from all around the world; soft light bathed the dining space; and there was instrumental music playing in the background. All of these things  made me feel that I was dining at home.

Legend of Thai Celadon

You know how they say your eyes feast before your mouth does? Well, your eyes will be "full" after the meal at Erawan! All of our dishes, down to our hot drinks (except for the fresh coconut drink) were served in a myriad of beautiful colours, unique shapes and sizes of all kinds! This reminds me of my dining experience at Koko, a Japanese restaurant renowned for serving different dishes in different kinds of ceramics.

When it comes to food, it is important to pre-order dishes prior to one's arrival at Erawan. So do not be surprised if your menu reads "walk-in menu"! You can read more about the reasons for pre-ordering here. :) 

4 angle bean salad (RM 38)

One of the benefits of pre-ordering is that our food will arrive not long after our arrival. Indeed, our 4 angle bean salad, which we pre-ordered, came 5 minutes after we double confirmed our dishes with Anan, one of the restaurant owners.

The 4 angle bean salad, which was prepared shortly before our arrival, was a testimony to the restaurant's focus on providing customers with food made from the freshest ingredients - the prawns were sweet, the four angle beans were crunchy... all of us could not stop praising the salad! What we loved most was the appetizing "special salad dressing".

Crab in shell (RM 38 for 2 servings)

My mom loves anything crab shell-related , so the "Crab in Shell" was immediately on the must order list. According to my mom, of course.  I, on the other hand, was a skeptic for I had a fair share of bad experiences with crab-shell dishes. However I became a convert as soon as I forked a piece of the piping hot stuffing. The stuffing, which consisted of crab, chicken and shrimp was a delight. Best of all, they were very generous with the crab! The homemade plum sauce and chili sauce both accentuated the sweetness of the stuffing.

Cockles in Red Thai Curry with Betel Leaf (RM 38)

The day after we placed an order on the "Cockles in Red Thai Curry with Betel Leaf", my mom was contacted by Anan that we may not be able to have the said dish as there was a probability that the cockles may not be as fresh as the kitchen wanted them to be. We were slightly saddened at the thought of not having our favorite seafood but at the same time, we were glad that in the least, the restaurant was being honest with us.

But as you can see, we did get to have a cockle fest after all ! Oh, don't underestimate the amount of cockles in this curry! The pairing of cockles with red Thai curry was the first we ever came across. This may strike many as a weird match but trust me, the herb-laden curry was perfecto mundo with the bloody cockles.

Can you handle this? Tom Yum Goong (Clear version - RM 25- small)

What is the point of going to a Thai restaurant if you are not going to have Tom Yum Goong? My mom, who is also a fan of the notorious Tom Yum Goong ordered this as well. There were two kinds of Tom Yum Goong on offer - clear and thick - with 5 levels of spiciness.

My mom picked the clear version for she did not like her Tom Yam with coconut milk. We decided to play safe, so we went for level 1. Fortunately, we did! Level 1 was good enough to blow our minds off! Even I, who can tolerate Szechuan food with two chilies rating, cannot handle more than three spoonfuls of the delicious but SUPER SPICY Tom Yum Goong!

Despite of the spiciness from the bird's eyes chillies, my parents could not stop digging into the highly addictive Tom Yam Goong. My mom loved it for the fresh prawns and the sour enough soup. Erawan totally won over my fussy-with-food mother - she's fussier than me!

Rice (RM 2)

Man, if I were to steal something from Erawan, I would steal their plates and bowls (Just kidding). They are just so pretty!

Lemongrass Tea ( RM 3.90)

The soothing, fresh lemongrass tea was certainly a savior after our Tom Yum Goong endeavor!

Fresh Thai Coconut (RM 9)

So was the fresh Thai coconut. Slightly pricey but satisfaction guaranteed. I love how Thai coconuts have this aroma that reminds me of pandan or screwpine leaves.

Coconut ice cream (RM 8 per scoop)

To celebrate my love for Thai coconuts, I decided to have a scoop of coconut ice cream, which was made from young coconut water and flesh. My mom, having sampled a teaspoon of this soothing treat, got hooked to its aroma and natural sweetness, ordered one scoop for herself.

Can we have the candy holder instead?

Like the restaurants in Hilton KL, we were given a plate of candy as a form of courtesy. My mom asked the waitress if she could have the candy holder instead. Haha.

I don't really know how to wrap up this post. Erawan serves really good food, the staff are friendly (as promised!) and Erawan reminds me of home. No wonder they were featured in the Miele Guide. :)

Little things:

-Cuisine: Classic thai and fusion

-Ambience: Reminds one of home

-Service: Staff is very warm and friendly. I would like to specially mention Anan for being very helpful. :)

-Portion: Reasonable

-Budget: Damage done - approx RM 170. I won't say that this place is expensive because the restaurant uses very fresh ingredients.

-Reservations are NECESSARY.

-For  more information: Click here (Their website has the pre-order menu)

P.S: I know you Melbourne foodies might hate me but please don't. Instead, come down to KL. :) I mean, the currency is so strong right now! Oh, and Bebe, if you are reading this, this place serves your favorite pumpkin with custard dessert! You must look at the pictures in their online menu!

As a form of apology, here is a DOMO video:




This seems like an ad, but it is not. I just happen to love Domo. I mean, he's my boyfriend, no?