Monday 10 March 2014

Absolute Thai @ The Gardens Midvalley

After a crowded morning at MCTF’14 (Malaysia’s Career and Training Fair) at Midvalley convention hall, my sister and I decided to go for a late lunch. We had to push our way though the very narrow path in between the company booths just to get around. So many humans …..humans everywhere. Suddenly I had this weird thought, what if there is a zombie outbreak …………how in the world are we to run away if there is so many people to push your way through. Worse yet how can you tell which person is infected, which one got bitten and which one is gonna bash you in the head just to safe themselves…………….omg creepy thought !!! GASP!!!!

OK!!!! Let’s move on from that crazy thought.

So after leaving the MCTF, we decided to head straight to The Gardens for late lunch and we decided on Thai food.

Before I continue let me just clarify that despite being Indian, both my sis and I cannot handle spicy food. I am terrible with spicy food. Coughing, running nose, teary eyes, constant jerking of my head to the side, to ease the tingling sensation in my ears. Yes I’m an ugly sight to behold.

So why did we choose Thai? First off it was affordable and second I was rather hungry and I wanted something heavy and ……..ricey. So we decided to avoid Tom yam to safe us from any embarrassment.

Ambiance: 8/10



I loved it. I mean it does not really portray Thailand theme, but it has very unique and indifference feel to it. It is decorated in a modern classic Thailand theme. It does not touch all about Thai typical theme, rather it has a mixture of both here and there.


I like this painting very much. It looks beautiful, until you notice just how anorexic they actually look.   They remind me of Thailand’s well known creepy and horror movie’s beautiful ghostly girls. J

Starter: Money Bags (RM9.90)


Visual Observation: 5/10


It looks neat, nothing sloppy. Up close the money bags looks like they are soft. But really they are far from it.

Taste evaluation: 5/10
There isn’t much to say here. Was it crispy? Yes very. I liked it but not going to say it has any significant detail or taste that I would highlight. Taste good. Although in my opinion I thought the green beans used was rather dry and tasteless.

Beverages: Chinese Tea (hot – pot serving)  (RM5)
Visual Observation : 6/10
Taste evaluation: 5/10


I love the tiny tea saucer set. So cute! I suddenly had the urge to speak in an English accent LOL. The tea was quite light, I mean unlike the Chinese tea you get at the hawkers, the color of the tea is much lighter and the taste is not so strong. Not saying I don’t like it, but it did go well with our spicy food.

Main Dish: Phad Thai Prawn (RM19.90)


Visual Observation: 5/10
I just wanted to point out that my phad thai did not look like how it was represented in the menu book. So when the food arrived I thought the waiter got me the wrong order. But putting aside that matter, it was served elegantly. I think it looks neat without any smudges on the plate.  

Taste evaluation: 6+/10
The noodle tasted good, I had phad thai before, and I think the taste is much richer here. I think the sweet and tangy taste balances each other out and I think it tasted rather nice. Also I did not mix the dried chili flakes, because I did not want to choke on the spiciness.  I think the noodle itself had a touch of spiciness to it or it could be because I am sensitive to spicy food. Anyhow the noodle was good on its own, no additional condiments needed to boost the taste.

If you mix your noodles with the crushed peanuts, it gives you a little crunch when you eat your soft noodles. Although I wished they had put some chopped chicken meat in there rather than a lot of tofu.

BBQ Chicken with Sticky Rice (RM20.90)


Visual Observation: 7+/10
You get to choose to eat your meal with either coconut rice or sticky rice.
It looks plentiful visually, chicken portion was big and it looks delicious. The salad looks healthy and very Thai like.

Taste evaluation: 6+/10
My sis ordered this dish, so I am going to put her comments in here.
The chicken was slightly salty, but it goes well with the sticky rice and salad. The chicken was cooked thoroughly and was easy to eat. I am guessing they marinated the chicken with some salty sauce and was slow cooked. The chicken was not tender, the outer part is mildly dry but the meat is still juicy. Perfect!!
Sticky rice was warm but my sis had hard time trying to pry the rice out of the tiny dumpling basket. The rice was hard to the touch. Not sure this is how sticky rice is generally served. Taste wise nothing to point out about.

The salad was a big surprise, we were tricked into thinking it was tangy. My sister had a good spoonful of the salad only to start coughing. Thank god it was not so bad or else everyone would have seen our ugly spicy face LOL. We both had a tiny bit and avoid any second helping. I’m sorry it was too spicy for us. The tangy sauce was just shockingly spicy that my lips had burning sensation throughout the lunch.
If you can take the heat, then mixture of the sticky rice, chicken and the spicy salad would have been a great mix.

Overall conclusion: Not bad – will try again.
I think it was unfair to say that the Thai food has burned us. We are both overly sensitive to spicy food. I would absolutely try other dishes. Looking around the restaurant,  I saw many people order variety of awesome food. I would definitely comeback to try other dishes but this time with someone who enjoys spicy food.


Additional: 10% service charge + 6% government tax. 

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