Baan Rao is a simple yet classy restaurant that serves Thai food prepared by an all-Thai kitchen team to ensure the authenticity of its food.
If you do not visit this neighborhood regularly, you would be surprised to know that Baan Rao actually started off as Thai food stall in the coffee shop just two doors away.
After the expansion, the number of dishes on their menu has doubled and new dishes are constantly being introduced. Fried Curry Crab was one of them. This highly popular dish is loved by the Thais can be found literally at any seafood restaurant in Thailand.
Here, the standard crab dish is sensibly priced at RM65 and comes with two medium sized crabs. The crabs were alive before being cooked, so the freshness was tip top and you can taste the sweetness and juiciness in the flesh.
Since we have tried the original fried curry crab in Bangkok, we are able to make a fair comparison. Flavor wise they are very similar, just that Baan Rao’s rendition has less gravy and not so oily too.
The other crab dish we had was the Thai style Black Pepper Crab. Despite the peppery appearance, the sauce was not as hot as expected with the right touch of sweet and savory. Although the crabs are said to be medium sized, as you can see from the claw they are still quite meaty.
There are a couple of choices for fish and I was tempted to order our favorite steamed fish with lime and chili. But eventually we picked the Salt Grilled Tilapia @ RM45 which came highly recommended by the owner.
It was a fine recommendation alright, as all of us thoroughly enjoyed it. The fish was huge and fresh without muddy taste, and was stuffed with lemongrass and pandan leaves for extra aroma.
If you like spicy food, then you must try Baan Rao’s Stir-fried cockles with chili paste @ RM25. It was unexpectedly delicious and impressed everyone at the table.
I think I can finish an entire plate of rice easily with this alone any day. For those who don’t fancy cockles, you can substitute it with chicken, pork, prawn or mixed seafood.
Some other dishes we had that night included (from top to bottom) Green Curry Chicken @ RM23, Yum Pak Kood (cold paku with minced pork & prawn) @ RM22, Stir-fried Kailan with Crispy Pork Belly @ RM22 and Stir-fried Pork with Basil @ RM20. All of them were pretty much standard tasting and on par with what other good Thai restaurants are serving.
And of course we can’t miss trying the Moo Ping (grilled pork fillet) too @ RM12. It’s an affordable dish for sharing considering it only costs RM4/stick on average.
They were great too and had what I deem a perfect distribution of meat and fat for that juicy bite. Definitely one of the best in town and highly recommended.
Dessert wise you simply won’t go wrong with their homemade coconut ice cream @ RM9. It’s as good as it gets and we like the addition of crackers for a salty-sweet combination.
For drinks we had the Thai Iced Milk Tea @ RM5.90, Thai Iced Green Tea @ RM5.90 and Coconut Shake @ RM7.90. Personally, my favorite would be the Coconut Shake because it’s rich and full of bits of coconut flesh. But the milk tea was nice too, thick and aptly sweet and you can certainly taste the palm sugar in it.
You can probably tell that we enjoyed the food at Baan Rao. Safe to say it’s also a sentiment shared by many since the restaurant was full house for dinner on a normal weekday. That said, a reservation is advised if you plan to come here – especially in the weekends.
Baan Rao Home-Style Thai Recipes
No.8, Jalan BM 1/2, Taman Bukit Mayang Emas, Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7886 0016
Business hours: 12pm – 2.30pm, 6pm – 10.30pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RestaurantBaanRao
