Phai Lin Thai Restaurant - Bandar Sri Damansara Club

Phai Lin - Thai Restaurant

PS - Had since closed down. Updated May 2011

The old had gone and the new has come! The old Jade Palace demise was on the cards for a while. Twice, I have the whole restaurant for lunch with no one else! Then what herald the coming of another restaurant to replace the predecessor. Surely something went wrong. Bad landlord? Bad location?

Phai Lin must have been very confident that they have a good product, promotion, place, price and people? Definitely, otherwise who want to dump a few hundred thousand down the drain. Sri Damansara Club is a nice place to eat with the staff or entertain guests. I wish them every success.

Here are some of my thoughts. They have a good product and positioning as there are not many Thai restaurants within 5 kilometers radius. But the people in food preparation has dished out a lack luster but edible food that ranked 6/10 overall on my scale. I do hope they improve themselves. But then food presentation was encouraging and the service was good. The price was ok given that this is a restaurant with comfortable surroundings, ambiance and neat table wares.

Fish cakes that has a bit more flour than I like, therefore less springy. Taste wasn't as authentic as the aromatic 'ummph' from the Thai herbs were not there. RM18.
Another popular starters. Pandan Chicken. 10 pieces for RM22.00. Enjoyed it. Tender and succulent but slightly rough in parts as they used a mixed of the rougher texture fillet with more tender thigh. Pepper-laden and pandan leaves fragrance is a winner.
The red snapper (but on checking it looks more like a Jenahak - Hung Joe) steamed with soy sauce was packed with ginger, Chinese parsley, celery and what else, soy sauce. I checked the cheeks but found that there was not much meat - evidence of a lean fish! The fish could have been fresher and it is definitely from the chiller for a 2-3 days. Sometimes it is so difficult to manage the restaurant esp logistic. Who would want to go to the market everyday for fresh produce and seafood? Even though the fish is acceptable, I hope they will raise the bar.
This moderate to large plate of kailan was slightly overdone but the chewy salted fish was a welcome though an not too healthy choice. The sauces were delightful, salty and sinful. Just as it should as else it would not qualify as salted fish kailan.

Comments

Anonymous said…
hmm...it's quite heart sicken when rst serve unfresh stuff....thats y ppl like to go to crowded restaurant at least the turn over is high, we expect the raw material is fresher...ya!
Kenny Mah said…
Ah, well... may they improve with time! :)
cariso said…
I agree with SimpleGirl. I will 15-16 at restaurant lacking customers. must be 'something' not right.
Selba said…
Hopefully they'll improve their food if not, shame on them... Thai food should be delicious.
Unknown said…
I agree with Sinple Girl too..... when the restuarant lack of customers... food tend to be not fresh.....
Ciki said…
aiiyo... 6/10 only ar:(
foodbin said…
hope they will improve after seeing your comments
Quite a few places with decent dishes failed commercially due to a myriad of reasons, chief of which is the inability to compete with other similar eateries arising from another multitude of problems which couldn't be solved ( in time).
Looks easy but its not !
LOL !
Big Boys Oven said…
I find there is many thai restaurant whether mid or upper, they serve queit similar dishes with different prices, i guess they must get creative !
Little Inbox said…
Hung Chou suppose to be cheaper than red snapper wo...
Rebecca Saw said…
ehh..wat happened to my comment??

anyways, i find Thai restaurant too many laa nowadays..some does it well but too many sucks..
rip-offs...
worldwindows said…
SG...The food is average though but the ambiance is nice for entertaining in a club setting rather than a crowded mall.

LfB...They will improve but be quick as customers may lack patience.

Cariso...Critical mass...how to do it, every boss headache!

Selba...Thai food is usually delicious as the spices and herbs will do the job. Fresh ingredients is another pre-requisite.

FP...They need to have deeper pockets to win customers in the long run i.e. use better ingredients. Investing in fittings, equipment and furniture is not good enough.

CampC...Hope to see 7-8/10 soon!

FB...I will still be going again.

BSG...I agree and as a boss it is so frustrating seeing no returns for the investment and non-committed staff.

BBO...Coca has turned their mostly suki/hotpot menu into a Thai restaurant. I thoughtI read good reviews. You are one of them?

LI...I go for Hung Joe as it is fresher than red snapper and I have better experience ordering this dish. Good most of the time!

TNG...Mostly are southern and central Thai. I wish there are more of the eastern/northern variety.

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