Thai Food: Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro (Damansara Uptown)

Those of you who follow me on Instagram/ Facebook/ (better yet) reads my blog would know that I have just gotten back from Thailand.  To be honest, food in Thailand was the least I expect to enjoy during my trip after a few research and feedback that I got from friends who recently visited Thailand. I expected right.

To my surprise, however, I was able to find much better tasting Thai food in my homeland, Malaysia.

So, here is my write-up on a recent visit to one of the many Thai eateries in Petaling Jaya - Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro; all thanks to a friend who got us a Groupon voucher. ;)

It was a weekday dinner threesome for us ladies. 

A shot of their entrance
(The bicycle is for delivery of food within the vicinity of Uptown, I'd suppose)

 An outdoor dining experience for those who smoke

The indoor dining area

Thankfully, we were the first diners there for the evening @ 7PM. Doubts filled our thoughts on whether the food would be good. Hmm

The lady owner approached us whilst we were still browsing through the menu at the entrance. Then we proceeded in and she helped with some recommended dishes in a friendly manner.

Ordering process was quick and she left us to decide on what to order for drinks whilst she keyed in our order and went off in to the kitchen to prep the food.

Decided on a Pandan Lemongrass drink - RM3.50

Verdict: Was soothing and refreshing but wished the lemongrass taste/aroma was stronger. Also, we couldn't spot any hint of pandan. Portion of the drink was just right. Lasted us until the end of the meal. Hah! 7/10

We were served with our food sooner than expected, which was a good thing 'cus we were all starved from work!

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First dish: Mango Salad - RM12

Verdict: The mango was sour and had a tinge of sweetness to it. This mango dish has a good mixture of crunchy raw onions, peanuts and had a nice deco of mint leaves. Definitely a good way to kickstart our appetite! The portion looked small initially, but as we dug into it, we realised that there was more than it looked. 8/10 :)

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Next up: Jasmine Rice - RM2.50

I'm a sucker for carbs. Chinese saying of "饭桶" is the perfect description for me. Can't imagine myself living in western countries where rice is considered a luxury. Thank goodness they've potatoes which I love.

Verdict: Ordinary plate of rice with a slight hint of fragrance. The eatery may have mixed normal rice with the aromatic Jasmine rice. Just my wild guess. 6/10

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Then came our star dishes for the evening.

Kangkung Belacan - RM12

Verdict: Compared to the Thai-style Kangkung dish that I had in Thailand which tasted sweet for some reasons; I am glad we picked this. The paste used to stir fry the Kangkung tasted just right for my tastebuds. But, I wished it came in a bigger serving or maybe because it was tasty to my liking I wished I had more to savour heh. Then again, if you are looking for a spicy kinda Kangkung belacan, I guarantee you, this is NOT. 7/10

Next, it was the Tom Yum Goong (Seafood) - RM18

Verdict: This was DA BOMB. I loved it! Loved the way it was served, the taste and fragrant, the tomyum-ness was top! BUT, yes but, I think their definition of seafood is somewhat distorted because what we found in the soup was mostly Oyster Mushrooms, handful of fishballs, some sliced sotong, tomatoes and 2 fairly sized prawns. Hmm, I'm assuming the chef expected the 3 of us to share the 2 prawns? Or perhaps one has to sacrifice for the enjoyment of the other 2. We ended up with the latter. Lol!

I was one of the lucky 2 that got a taste of the prawn. For the benefit of my friend who didn't get a taste of it, yes, it was fresh :P

Do note however, there was a slight fishy taste in the fishballs.

Photo below is our own serving of the Tom Yum Goong.

Each of us had at least 3 helpings from the huge pot which was *thumbs up*! This pot of goodness is not meant for the weak-hearted. For someone who enjoys and needs her daily spicy dose, the spicyness level for this pot of goodness is 8/10! Spot the dried chilli in my bowl of Tom Yum Goong. I was sweating whilst enjoying this dish! And yes, this is way better than the Tom Yum Goong that I had in Krabi, Thailand.

Overall verdict on the Tom Yum Goong (Seafood) - 9/10

Finally, the long awaited dish, Pandan Chicken - RM15

The last dish took quite a while to come out from the kitchen. But, the owners took the initiative to come to our table several times to inform us that it may take longer time for this dish to be served; understandably due to the fact that the chicken is wrapped in pandan leaves hence it needs longer time to cook?? Haha

Verdict: My dinner dates commented that it tasted like any ordinary chicken. For me, the chicken thigh was quite juicy although we couldn't taste the pandan-ness in the chicken, which very well means it defeated the name of the dish. Still, the chicken was well marinated and tender. 7/10

Also, when we ordered this dish, I requested for chicken breast but was advised against it by the lady owner as she had tried the recipe using chicken breast and it turned out less juicy and hard. I liked that she explained it rather than agreeing to my request and gave me chicken thighs instead when the dish was served. :)

When we were done with the above dishes, we were stuffed to the brim!

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Even so, it was dessert time! God made us ladies for a reason - to always have tummy space for dessert! :P

In our case, it was dessertS. 

First up, Red Ruby - RM6

Verdict: Loved the generous amount of Jackfruit slices. But we thought that the amount of ice shave in this dessert was too much causing the sweetness to be diluted. 4/10

BTW, can anyone tell me what is the red coloured little round balls in this Red Ruby dessert?

I didn't know that it was a famous Thai dessert prior to this. How did I found out? Through the handful of likes I got on FB (which I seldom get for food photos on FB) and also a comment from a friend telling me it is her favourite thai dessert!

Next, we also ordered the Pumpkin Glutinous Ball - RM6

Verdict: We enjoyed this dessert more as compared to the Red Ruby. This is a hot dessert filled with LOADS of Sago. The amount of coconut milk in the dessert was just nice. But the pumpkin glutinous balls seemed to lack texture. It was too soft and perhaps a lil more pumpkin taste would have made this a perfect dessert to end our night. 7/10

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Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience here at Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro. The prices are reasonable and the portion of its dishes are satisfactory. The total bill came up to RM95+ for the 3 of us. We definitely over-ordered but it was worth the bloated tummies because we got to try a variety of their dishes. All thanks to the Groupon voucher! :D

Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro
70G, Jalan SS21/62, Damansara Utama

It is located at the same row as Jojo Pan Mee at Damansara Uptown, i.e. facing the road from NKVE headed towards Sprint highway's direction. It is located at the row behind OCBC bank. Also, this shop is next to QQ Noodle House (if this serves as any help lol). 

Dinner crowd comes in around 7:30PM to 8:00PM. But fret not, as the crowd isn't big at all. It is a cozy place for a nice catch up session with friends/ family, or even a simple Thai dinner date.

Got my tummy growling after drafting this post. Time to head out for dinner! ;)