THERE is a small makan place in Section 17, Petaling Jaya that has eluded me for some time.
My former lunch partner James Lam had tried so many times to bring me to this little-known eatery.
Well, after much frustration, he got tired of doing so.
Now that Lam is out of the picture, I was very curious about the place he had given so much mention.
That said, I set out on a quest to unravel the mystery of this small outlet in Happy Mansion, Section 17.
I was told that there is a Thai grocery store that doubles up as a food outlet.
They serve mainly the Thai community in the neighbourhood and I’ve heard some rave reviews about it on the Internet, particularly on the masak-masak blog where a simple review was done.
Now, if you plan to makan here, be advised that they have only four small tables and the shop is open only from Thursdays to Saturdays.
The place in question is called “Lai Thai Market”.
My first impression of this makan place is this: “It is home away from home…” because it is managed by Thai nationals for their own community here.
Everything from their UBC satellite TV to the fresh vegetables and Thai spices and condiments that are sold in this shop are imported from across the border.
It has the cosy atmosphere of eating in the small towns in Southern Thailand and the food sold at this place is decently priced.
A bowl of Thai pork noodles costs RM5.50 and a bottle of imported Coca-Cola from the country sells at RM2 per shot.
One of the noteworthy noodle dishes there is the spicy soup noodles (RM5.50) and this averages at 6 out of 10 on the Samo-scale for authenticity.
Other noteworthy dishes are the Som-Tam (Thai papaya salad) and the Pad-Thai (fried rice noodles).
The shop is located in Happy Mansion (GPS N 03 07 412, E 101 38 082) and is open from 10am – 5pm.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
