Malai Thai Cuisine at Fraser Place KL

Indulge in an authentic and exquisite Thai culinary experience at Malai Thai Cuisine.

Anyone who has been to Thailand would agree that it is really difficult to find the similar pad thai or tom yum here in Kuala Lumpur. However, my little effort in search of genuine Thai restaurant has come to fruition when I found Malai Thai Cuisine.

Nestled in the heart of the bustling city centre, Malai Thai Cuisine is a perfect soothing sanctuary that offers premium quality traditional Thai flavours with a modern twist. Having its door opened for only 5 months, Malai Thai Cuisine has already gained quite a number of returning patrons, both local and expat alike, in seek of authentic Thai cuisine. It is no surprise at all as the meals offered on the menu have been validated by its own manager, Nirunchala Puntong — a Thai native herself.

malai thai cuisine fraser place authentic — Cosy and welcoming.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by the friendly staff who then graciously showed us to our seat. The restaurant was spacious and bright with lovely natural light during the day. The interior was designed in simplicity with a light touch of elegance to ensure maximum comfort for the patrons. The hand-picked imported furniture and accessories in the restaurant undoubtedly further enhanced our authentic experience, giving us a sense of comfort of a Thai home.

We were lucky to have Nirunchala herself to be our host for the lunch and while waiting for the orders, I was bursting to ask, “What does Malai Thai mean?”.

Contrast to what I first thought, Nirunchala explained that Malai referred to a traditional Thai flower garland which was often given as offerings or for good luck. It was as synonymous of Thailand as is its food and on that note, Nirunchala named her restaurant Malai Thai.

We started off with por pieer tod, a long cylindrical deep-fried spring rolls. Thoughtfully served hot and crispy in a glass that was placed on a bed of deep green dried Kailin leaf, the spring rolls were filled with glass noodles and some vegetables. The entire concoction was to be eaten with a dip of sweet chilli sauce and it was simply a pleasant opener!

We were then served with the none other than the famous signature Thai cuisine — tom yum. Packed with fresh prawns, squid, mussels, red snapper, and baby octopus, the mixed seafood tom yum was well-balanced between the sour and spicy flavours with light aroma enough to make your mouth drooling.

Up next was a familiar staple and my personal favourite — pad thai. Malai Thai’s version of pad thai was served gracefully with prawn and the glass noodles were wrapped in a spiderweb-like egg. The pad thai was perfectly yummy with the right balance of sweet, sour, and a little bit of salty taste — just as how it should be!

We ended our culinary journey with panaeng tow hoo from the vegetarian selection. The dish was made up of crispy golden fried tofu with creamy coconut curry sauce. Light as it may seem but enough to make fill us up. Better yet, pair it with the pineapple fried rice (kao pad sub pa rod).