Snitch by The Thieves

Situated on the third floor in the centre of The Gardens Mall is a fancy-looking place called Snitch, which is established by the same team behind Breakfast Thieves in the neighbouring hood of Bangsar. I have made several visits since getting to know about the place, either to have proper meals with friends, or just for a quick coffee before my baking class next door at ABC Cooking Studio.

One advantage of dining with a group of friends is that we would get to taste different dishes without having to overeat. Their pasta menu seemed to appeal to everyone, in different ways, as they came in rather international flavours.

The Kaprao-Nara (RM36), as its name sounds like, is a Thai twist to the Italian staple. It is spaghetti cooked with Thai basil spicy chicken mince, fresh bean and shiitake, topped with a fried egg, chilli, coriander and citrus parmesan cream.

 

The menu had plenty for seafood lovers, like the Crab Getty (RM42). Everyone was full of praises for the panko soft shell crab, which was soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The flavour of the creamy salted egg yolk infused with the blue swimmer crab meat, ebiko, and capsicum is topped off with spring onion and bird's eye chilli.

I like the names they give their dishes, like Finding Dory Aglio Olio (RM40), which essentially is a seafood aglio olio. The plate is filled to the brim with prawns, calamari, baby scallops, crispy baby prawns, blistered cherry tomato and mushroom. The spaghetti is almost hidden under all these marine treasures and then sprinkled with chilli garlic lemon oil.

Being a spin-off of a Melbournian cafe, we had to try their Aussie Blended Iced Coffee (RM22). It was refreshing, especially for a hot arvo.

Of course, the place would not be complete without coffee and cakes. Freshly baked cakes and other pastries are available to order at the cake display counter, so I am guessing that there is a possibility that they have different cakes every now and then.

Flat white RM13

Note: There is a hidden bar, which you would "unhide" as you make your way to the washroom. So when they close, you could just adjourn to the bar.

Snitch by The Thieves

T-225A & B, Third Floor, The Gardens Mall, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.

T: +60 3 2201 9699; E : info@snitchgroup.com

Daily 11am till late (kitchen closes at 9:00pm)

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Khin Lom Chom Sa Phan

 As I took a siesta on one of the days of the trip, Mum and Dad went out to get snacks. One of the locals they spoke to recommended to them a restaurant called Khin Lom Chom Sa Phan, which we patronised for dinner.

It was a huge set-up, with both roofed and also alfresco seating. We chose to sit in the alfresco area for the fresh air and view of Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River.

We tried our best to understand the Thai-only menu. I suppose that is one way to gauge whether it is a local haunt or touristy place. The wait staff also did not have very much English, so we decided to go for safe options:

Green curry chicken

Seafood tomyum

Claypot baked mussels

Crispy pork with stir-fried vegetables

Taste-wise, we really could not tell what authentic Thai dishes were supposed to taste like but since they all were rather tasty and judging from the amount of people there, we concluded that they servee good food here. Prices are slightly steep but I suppose the ambience has been factored into it.

Khin Lom Chom Sa Phan

11/6 Samsen 3 Alley, Wat Sam Phraya, Phra Nakhon, 10200 Bangkok, Thailand

T:+66 2 2628 8382, M: +66 81 893 5552

Daily 11:00am to midnight

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Nanda Heritage Hotel

*I have decided to do a dedication post to this hotel in Bangkok where my parents and I stayed last year. Due to the pandemic, they have had to cease operations starting from this month, until further notice. Times are hard. We have to constantly remind ourselves to be kind to one another, and to ourselves.

**Please excuse the quality of the photographs, as they were all taken using my mobile phone. My DSLR did not come along for this trip.

~❀~

Nanda Heritage Hotel is located along a busy road, just a stone's throw away from a flyover bridge. Right next door, there is a local restaurant that is very similar to our kopitiam. A few blocks down the road, there are government buildings, which gave me the impression that they are quite close to some sort of an administrative centre  - I even saw the United Nations Economic and Social Commissions for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) and Royal Thai Army Headquarters buildings in the GrabCar along the way.

We entered the building from the basement, as the security guard thoughtfully allowed the car to drop us off there, to get us off the main road. A short flight of stairs brought us to a simple but elegant space, which we deduced was their lobby. It had warm wood shades with low lighting, which I suppose made sense, as they had one side of the room that was in glass panel to allow for natural lighting.

We later found out that the wooden components of the building were salvaged from the original Nanda Mansion. Ah, so there really is a heritage element to the hotel, it was not just a name. Apparently, the property on which it sits have been in the Lekhyananda family for generations. Nanda Mansion was the family's generations-old European-style teak wood residence that was built in 1920 on Petchburi Road, not too far from the hotel. They carefully removed, cleaned and repurposed many of the original parts of the family home, such as the wood door frames, windows, floorboards, wall boards, carved teak wood banisters, louvered ventilation panels, and the custom-made teak furniture to help create an authentic heritage ambience for the hotel.

The hotel's hidden centre courtyard was inspired by the Parinayok shanty community in the rear, thinking of it as an extension of Parinayok’s maze-like streets without a romanticized "slum" style. They used objects that were readily available, like light steel frame, which they adapted, and re-combined.

Not only did the 100-year-old Parinayok community lend the hotel some design ideas, but it also offers the opportunity to see what genuine Bangkok daily life looks like. We had a walk through the alley next to the hotel, where we observed first-hand the unstaged, non-touristy side of Bangkok.

We were shown to our room, a Deluxe Double Room. A two-pax room, they allowed us to have an additional single bed, which they placed where originally there would be a sofa.

I particularly liked the bathroom. They turned a long, narrow strip into what felt like a spacious area. I thought the use of a sliding door instead of the conventional push-pull door helped in maximising the use of space.

Simple and elegant, their no frills style was very much to my liking. They also provided toiletries, a hairdryer and face towels in the bathroom.

Let's move out of the room. A flight of stairs at our doorstep led us directly to their outdoor swimming pool. 

Flanked by frangipani trees and partly shaded by the shadows of the building itself and the foliage of trees, it makes for a welcome respite from the midday heat. 

For someone like me who cannot swim (yes, I know, I still cannot 😅), just relaxing by the pool on a sundeck chair with a book and cocktail in hand would be more my thing.

Their in-house restaurant, Nanda Restaurant, was where we had our first meal in Bangkok. I ordered a pad thai (my usual every time I visit a Thai eatery). It was plated very prettily and tasted alright. Nothing spectacular but it was not bad. It did, however, satisfy my craving for authentic pad thai (this is when I miss the food scene in Sydney 😞).

 We enjoyed our three-night stay here. The only complaint we have would be how almost all the GrabCar drivers took very long to get to us.

Nanda Heritage Hotel

632 Wisut Kasat Road, Thailand 10200

T: +662 282 2900, E: info@nandaheritage.com

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3 Mama Chef's

If not for XW's recommendation, I would not have thought of bringing Pris to this place, as I have never dined here before. And frankly, I am a little ticked off by the random apostrophe in its name. Why is there an apostrophe? Anyways...

XW highly recommended the Spicy Combination Pork Entrails Soup ($13.90) and although I really enjoyed it, I found it very spicy.

The Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken ($9.00) was tasty on its own.

The Stir-fried Chinese Broccoli with Crispy Pork ($12.90) was nothing to shout decent. Would have been better to cut down on the salt (or MSG).

The dish I enjoyed most was the Century Egg with Pork Mince Chilli Basil ($13.90).

The balance of different flavours combined with century egg, oh so yummy! Maybe I have not had century egg for too long.

Their late opening hours would augur well with the backpackers in the area - that part of Pitt Street is backpackers' central. Short stroll from Central Station, too.



3 Mama Chef's
410 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9212 3933
Daily 11:00am to midnight

Holy Basil

It was hard to imagine such a tasteful interior existed inside of Shark Hotel (not that I think that Shark is shabby or anything). I just did not expect that they would do up the place so well - even using earthen shades of mortar and pestle as decor.

They have quite a reputation and one would easily mistake them for a Thai place. I see a confused look on your face now. Trust me, I had that same reaction until I found out that this family-run business is actually Laotian but one that cooks up a Thai storm. As Laos is a tiny country neighbouring countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and China, it would make sense they use similar cooking methods and ingredients, especially herbs and spices.

First up, we had the Thai Papaya Salad ($11.90). Sour enough to jolt you awake if you are feeling sleepy.

We also enjoyed the Seafood Tomyum ($17.90), which in our opinion, had a generous amount of seafood in it.

One of my all-time favourite orders at a Thai place is the Red Duck Red Curry ($17.90), and in my opinion, the one they served here was fantastic! I could not get enough of the curry! The duck pieces were tender and juicy, too.

Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts ($13.90) was nothing to shout about - done like any other Thai place.

Now, two highly recommended things that you must order at Holy Basil are not main dishes. Instead, one is a drink while the other is a dessert.

The drink is none other than the Watermelon and Lychee Ice Blended ($5.50). Super addictive even for a non-cold drink lover like me!

The most famous dish served here has got to be the Holy Basil Fried Ice Cream ($13.90). You must think that we were mad to pay that much for a piece of fried ice cream, which is less than RM3.00 ($1.00) back home. But hey, this was one hell of a melt-in-your-mouth-roll-your-eyeballs-towards-heaven kind of fried ice-cream. Really.

Be sure to make a reservation, especially if you are thinking of having dinner here. They are very popular and without a reservation, it would take at least 30 minutes before you get a table. But once they get your orders, food as served pretty quickly.



Holy Basil
Shark Hotel 127 Liverpool Street, NSW 2000, Australia.
Tel: +61 2 9283 8284
Open daily 12:00pm to 3:00pm and 5:00pm to 11:00pm

Tree Monkey @ Tropical Spice Garden

During a visit to Penang to pay a courtesy call to my Adjunct Supervisor in USM, Dad played tourist and brought me on a coastal drive. One place he made a point to stop at was the Tropical Spice Garden in Teluk Bahang. Apparently, the last time he visited with Mum, they loved it and felt that I would like it, too.

I was too hungry to listen to his lengthy explanation of how interesting they found the garden to be. Instead, the word "restaurant" on this sign caught my attention.

"Are you hungry?" I nodded. "Sigh, okay, let's go grab some makan then."

We walked up the stairs, which were pretty steep, and found an open-air restaurant atop the hill.

I really liked the outdoor dining area, as in addition to the scenic ocean view, it felt as though we were treetop dining. A few months down the road on another trip up to the island, I brought some friends here, too.

The menu had a fusion of local, Western and Thai dishes. We could smell the Pandan Chicken (maximum four pieces per serve), from our table as it was brought out from the kitchen. The succulent pieces of marinated chicken wrapped in pandan leaf were mouthfuls of crunchy delight. Be careful not to dig into them as soon as they get served because they are extremely hot (temperature-wise).

Their Satay was so-so, especially when compared to those available in the local hawker places.

The fish fillets of the Fish & Chips were crumbed and fried to perfection. They could have given more of the salad, though.

A small serve of Tomyum is a single bowl of thick lemongrass soup with mushroom, fresh chilli and lime juice. A little too thick for my liking but the sour and spicy balance was acceptable.

I am a sucker for Pad Thai and so it was no surprise that I would give theirs a try. The dish of Thai fried noodles with prawns, eggs, dried shrimps, shallots and bean sprouts was too big for me but oh, so nice. With a dash of chilli powder, it was mouth-watering.

Instead of normal nasi lemak, they serve Thai Nasi Lemak, coconut rice with Massaman curry chicken and condiments. Nicely presented and the chicken was fragrant.

The Seafood Fried Rice, fried rice with prawns, squid, egg and vegetables served with fried egg looked small but actually was quite filling. The sambal that came with it was quite spicy. 

The Belacan Fried Rice, shrimp paste fried rice served with sweet chicken and condiments was a plateful of contrasting flavours. Sweet, sour, spicy and salty, all in one. 

Another beautifully presented dish was the Pineapple Fried Rice. Served in a half-cut pineapple, the fried rice with chicken, egg, ham, onion, pineapple and cashew nut came in a big serve, too! It was fragrant, fried well (still moist and not too dry) and if not spicy enough, it is served with a dollop of sambal at the side.

Their drinks did not disappoint, too. Their freshly pressed juiced come without sugar, such as the apple juice below.

They also serve an interesting combination of mocktails, such as this Monkey Juice, which is a combination of mango, banana, pineapple, orange and basil leaves. 

Another refreshing healthy drink is the LGH, which is a concoction of lemongrass, ginger, honey and lime. Dad and I love this drink!

During my first visit, as I was staring into space, I noticed something moving in the trees. Was that a face? Oh my goodness! It was! A really adorable one at that!

Look, a dusky leaf monkey! Aw, cuteness!!!

Not just one but a whole family! No wonder the place is called Tree Monkey.

Should you not mind the price (which I think is reasonable for such fantastic ambience), do not give this place a miss the next time you visit Penang. You will like this place, even more so if you are a nature person.

Tree Monkey
Lone Crag Villa, Lot 595 Mukim 2, Jalan Teluk Bahang, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 4 881 3493/4, Fax: +60 4 881 3494
Open daily from 9:00am to 11:00pm
*Halal