Spicy Meal @ Khua Kling + Pak Sod, Thonglor

Khua Kling + Pak Sod is a small family-run restaurant located on Thonglor soi 5. The restaurant offers authentic Southern Thai delicacies by the real Southern Thai chef from Chumphon. Upon opening, the restaurant quickly became the talk of the town, and has remained popular among Bangkokians. However, I just had a chance to check out the restaurant last night with my girlfriends and boyfriend. Siju, of the Dwell with Siju, my boyfriend and I arrived early just to avoid the typical scary Bangkok evening traffic on a rainy day. The place was still rather empty, but it was not long until the room was completely filled up with spicy food lovers. I highly recommend reserving a table a day or two in advance. The numbers are 02-185-3977 and 086-053-7779, and for foreigners, 081-811-5458. By the time the rest of the gang arrived, the place was so full of life.

Growing up with a mother who loves and enjoys the Southern food, I have come to love many dishes like Sataw Phad Kapi (สตอผัดกะปิ) and Khua Kling (คั่วกลื้ง). The level of spiciness I could take is very low, but this does not stop me from loving the Southern food. At this restaurant, you will find every dish is super duper tasty. Let's start on what we ordered, shall we?

Nam Prik Goong Sod (น้ำพริกกุ้งสด) was the first to arrive on our table. This dish offers a lovely combination of freshness from vegetables, tenderness from shrimps and aroma of Kapi (shrimp paste). It is a very good starter for a meal. Goong Phad Sataw Kapi (กุ้งผัดสตอกะปิ) is sooooooooo good! This dish as I mentioned before is one of my favourite Southern Thai dishes. This is a highly recommended dish. Sataw seeds are very soft but still chewy... the way they should be cooked. The overall taste just could not have been better.

Pak Liang Phad Kai (ผักเหลียงผักไข่), or stir-fried malinjo leaves with eggs, is so good that we reordered. Such a healthy choice with protein, fibre and vitamins in just one dish. I recommend having this with warm jasmin or brown rice. You will not regret it.

A meal here would not be complete if we did not order Khua Kling. There are a few varieties of Khua Kling on the menu, but we chose Khua Kling Kradook Moo Orn (คั่วกลิ้งกระดูกหมูอ่อน). This is a must order if you are trying out this restaurant. After all, the name of this dish is in part of the restaurant name. A word of warning, look out for those little chilies, or what Thais call Look Dord (ลูกโดด), as they can be deadly.

One last dish that cannot be left out from this review is Khao Phad Platoo (ข้าวผัดปลาทู). It is one of the best I have ever tried. I love how the dish has the aroma sweet basil leaves and the little bit of saltiness from Platoo (ปลาทู), or Thai mackerel. The combination is heavenly.

Apart from above dishes, we ordered a lot more like Kang Kua Pu Bai Chaplu (แกงคั่วปูใบชะพลู) and Kai Jiew (ไข่เจียว). However, there are so many other dishes I wish I could order, so I will certainly go back for more!

So how would I rate Khua Kling + Pak Sod? I would give 8.5 out of 10 for overall.

• 9.5 for Food... Every dish we had was amazingly delicious. However, the spiciness could be a problem for some people.
• 8 for Ambiance... Homey feel is a plus, but once the restaurant is filled up, it could feel a bit too busy. The huge portrait of the late father of the daughter owner really makes you feel like you are eating at a friend's place rather than at a restaurant.
• 7.5 for Services... The owner sometimes come to take orders, and she is very lovely and pleasant. However, some of the waitresses seem a little bit clueless. For example, a waitress served us two pots of hot jasmin greentea without cups, and unfortunately we could not possibly drink the tea straight out of the pot, we had to ask her to bring the cups for us. Another thing is the restaurant is of those park-by-the-sidewalks, which is perfectly fine with me. The problem is we did not have anyone directed us where we could park or not, but maybe I misunderstand the restaurant policy.
• 9 for Prices... For all we ordered, the bill checked out to be just around 2,500 baht. I could safely say it is relatively cheap considering the restaurant is in Thonglor, one of the most popular areas in Bangkok.

Until next time, stay full and stay happy.