Since Chef Paphatson Singhakhat joined Fa Ying several months ago, their kitchen has been bustling happily with the sounds, sights and tastes of their signature dishes being given a refreshing boost. Yes, the sweet-smiling, soft-spoken Chef O, as she prefers to be known, has been busy reinventing Fa Ying’s current popular dishes and also coming up with new exciting ones. Well, for the new dishes, guests will have to wait till September when they will be unveiled.
Recently, I had a chance to check out the reinvented and refreshed current favourites at Fa Ying. Read about my earlier reviews of Fa Ying here and here. With vast experience from The Oriental Bangkok and Jim Thompson restaurant in KL tucked under her belt, Chef O injected her interpretations and tweaks on Fa Ying’s staple offerings.
Thai Watermelon Salad
Pomelo Salad with Prawns
Lemongrass with Tiger Prawns Salad
Thai Watermelon Salad (RM12), Pomelo Salad with Prawns (RM16) and Lemongrass with Tiger Prawns Salad (RM22) all have been given a new breath of air, in terms of style, presentation and composition while still maintaining the intrinsic flavours of Thai dressings.
I love her new presentation of their ever-popular appetizer, Mieng Kam. Bundles of wild pepper leaves (daun kadok) holding all the condiments are served in shot glasses and one simply fold up the leaves and put it in the mouth – oh so easy and so good!
Grilled Cod with Manow Sauce
Thai-style Fettucine with River Prawn
Grilled Cod with Manow Sauce (RM42) and Thai-style Fettucine with River Prawns (RM32) look very different visually now, compared to the earlier styles (as you can see from my earlier review). Certain ingredients in both these dishes have been tweaked by Chef O’s special touches, resulting in more invigorating presentations.
Some dishes which used to be served free-form have now been skewered making them easier and more suitable to be eaten as snacks when having drinks. So now we have the Grilled Seafood Skewers (RM22) and Dory Fish Skewers (RM18) under the “Grill” section of the menu – perfect to go with your beers and cocktails at the bar.
Thai-style Crabcake Burger
Chef O has fine-tuned some dishes which she feels need a more authentic Thai touch. For example, the burgers now come with fluffy lightly-battered vegetable strips instead of potato fries as she feels the latter is too westernized. Likewise, the Traditional Tom Yum Soup (RM16) is now punchier and gives a denser kick to the tongue.
I got a sneak preview of Chef O’s Mee Krob which will be served as a new snack item come September. It is a typical Thai street snack comprising of deep-fried beehoon, topped with shreds of crispy omelette, fried beancurd, crunchy beansprouts and tossed with a spicy-sweet tamarind sauce. I have a feeling this will be a popular item with the small eaters!
Thai Minced Beef stuffed in Cucumber
Some dishes remain unchanged as the chef prefers them in their current style. The Thai Minced Beef stuffed in Cucumber (RM12) and the Grilled Scallops with Spinach (RM16) remain status quo. The Thai Fish Cake (RM12) may look the same but I was told Chef O has rejuvenated it with some magical spicier stuff so be prepared for some exploding flavours.
Besides the traditional Thai desserts, new variety of cakes are now available – check out their Pineapple Crunch, The Blackout (a deep dark chocolate indulgence!) and of course the unique Green Curry Chocolate Cake.
Can’t wait for the unveiling of brand new dishes by Chef O in September!
Fa Ying by Rama V
GB-08 Paradigm Mall 4
7301 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 603-7803-6281
Good to hear something new from Fa Ying…still loving their watermelon salad, mixed salad, and grilled scallops though =)
Ya, their Watermelon Salad is da best!
I am a fan! Must go try the new dishes soon!
Go, Mei, go!
Oh a new place to try at Paradigm! Yay!
Go try soon!