Boat noodle is probably the only famed Thai food that I have not tried. I was once told that its sauce contains pig’s blood, the secret ingredient that makes its flavour. Hence I always give it a pass, whenever I am in Thailand
I don’t particularly feel good about this. As for CS, he hates any Thai noodles that does not give prawns, so he’s out from the equation.
Boat noodle landed in Malaysia about three years ago, in pork-free version. The restaurant was conveniently named The Original Boat Noodle. Pork-free means pig-bloodless, so the only thing that stopped me was eliminated.
There were two versions of boat noodles – Pathumtani and Ayutthaya, priced at RM1.90 (before GST) per bowl. I ordered for two just to get the taste of both, and to see the portion for myself. Menu are available in chicken or beef and I chose the latter.
Between Pathumtani and Ayutthaya menu, I preferred the Pathumtani. It has a pleasant combination of tangy and nutty flavour, probably from lime juice and grounded peanuts. Anyone who likes Pad Thai will love this.
On the other hand, Ayutthaya flavour is on the saltier side, with flavour derived from the soy sauce base.
How many bowls do we need? It depends on how much you can eat, as boat noodles can be quite addictive. As for me, I stopped at 5th bowl. It satisfied my hunger without the feel of overeating.
Boat Noodles offers only two choices of dessert – Ka Num Tuay and Sang Kaya. I tried the Ka Num Tuay (RM1.00) which was twin sister of our kuih talam – green pandan layer and coconut layer. Not bad, since I have sweet tooth. However, if I have to choose between this and kuih talam, kuih talam wins hands down.
A thai food specialty house will not be complete without a Cha Yen Tea. At RM7.90, I was surprised that it’s more expensive than the tea from Gongcha and Tealive.
It did has its redeeming point, though. It’s a big cup of tea and it taste exactly (authentic) like the one we had in Thailand streets, with a hint of floral aroma. I guess the bright cyan-colored cup, made up of thick plastic makes up part of the price too. For once, I was glad to be served with ‘proper’ plastic cup. I ordered for a takeaway, and it did not get out-of-shape as easily as paper or the transparent PE cups.
Disclaimer : All prices named above are before GST, and as per what I paid during my visit.
