Lookout Point in Ampang is fairly well known as a place where (mainly) tourists and romancing couples go more for the view than the food... but little did I know that there is a pretty famous Thai restaurant just down the road (or in this case, hill) from there, called Fish Farm Thai restaurant.
If you live in Ampang, then this restaurant is not that far away... but otherwise, it can be a bit difficult to get to as:
- the roads into the general Ampang area can be jammed,
- the turning into the restaurant area is easy to miss (there's a small neon sign but it's kinda small so you'll miss it if you are driving fast), and
- it's pretty dark when driving in (after you turn off the main road):
(Seriously, the "road" into the restaurant is steep, bumpy, dark and narrow - certain cars like Proton Kancils will have a LOT of problems getting there)
(I have a map attached below - hope it helps)
Still, upon arrival (after parking in an equally dark open air parking lot!), I appreciated that this rustic restaurant by the lake was pretty charming in it's own way:
(Watch out for the geese! They peck!)
You can even watch the many "chefs", busy grilling the seafood at the front of the restaurant:
Still, overall it can be a bit uncomfortable as it is very packed and noisy, with tables placed ridiculously close together.
(A toddler at the next table flipped his baby chair's "table top" and it missed hitting my head by about 1 inch!)
As for the food, there is a wide range of mostly Thai food (they specialise in grilled seafood) and a few desserts.
(No pork!)
We ate a LOT that night (as there was a big group of us) so I'll keep it simple and divide what we tried into 2 groupings - "Nice" and "Ok lah".
NICE:
- Tom yam seafood soup (white) (RM 14)
We chose the clear tom yam instead of the red one. Nice! - Sour, spicy and nice fragrance of herbs but the serving was kinda small.
(Also, strangely, one of our 2 soup servings was VERY sour... *lol*)
- Bamboo shoots fried with prawns (RM 12) and Fried Paku with belacan, big (RM 15)
Both vegetable dishes were pretty good - fresh and "crunchy"... :)
- Pandan chicken (RM 2.50 per piece)
The chunky pieces of chicken were fragrant and tender. :D
- Sotong with Spicy Coconut Milk Sauce (RM 22)
The squid was fresh and bouncey, coated with a crispy batter and topped with a tasty, rich and slightly spicy curry sauce. Yum.....
- Thai Style Lime Steamed Fish (RM 36)
The fish was fresh and was really appetising - prepared with the spicy, sour and slightly sweet clear sauce.
- Salt BBQ Fish (RM 36)
This took AGES to arrive at our table and disappeared in an instant when it did. :)
It's sad that the crispy skin cannot be eaten (it's coated with a thick layer of salt) but the flesh was tender and juicy - tasted good on its own or when dipped with the chili sauce.
- BBQ Lamb, big (RM 20)
Another one of the popular dishes at the restaurant and I can see why - smokey, fragrant and adequately tender. :D
UM. OK LAH:
- BBQ Japanese Snails, big (RM 22)
OMG - yuck.
These were kinda tasteless (except for a bad "snail-y" aftertaste) and kinda chewy because they were overcooked.
(I think they were having a bad night? - there are good reviews of this online on other blog posts...)
- Seafood Fried Rice, small (RM 6)
Normal.
- Kram Krim Krob (RM 5 per bowl)
OK lah.
... Didn't like how chunky the ice was, and it tasted more like bubur cha cha because they added in strips of sweet potato instead of jack fruit.
- Mango Sticky Rice (RM 8)
Not nice.
(Mango was sour. Rice was undercooked and not flavourful. Coconut sauce was watery and tasteless)
While I enjoyed the night out, eating and catching up with my friends, I'm not sure if I would want to make the journey out again unless someone else was driving - it's not that the food is not nice, but it's just so far from my house....
:(
Overall: Cute, quaint ambience (like a village on the water), wide range of Thai food fod a reasonable price BUT some hits and misses on the menu, driving there can be a challenge and service is (friendly but) erratic because there are just too many patrons....
Summary Sheet:
Veg Fish Farm Thai Restaurant @ Hulu Langat, KL
KM4, Jalan Ampang - Hulu Langat, 68000 Ampang, Selangor
Taste: 6
Ambience : 5
Service : 5
Price** : RM 35 per person
Parking: OK
** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 019-2606 493 / 010-2111 519 / 012-2868 193
Opening Hours: 11am to 11pm
Parking : Dark parking lot but it's free.
NO PORK SERVED
MAP:
View Larger Map
OTHER REVIEWS:
- KY Speaks
- I Come, I See, I Hunt, I Chiak
- What Life is All About
- Nut Cow
TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Restaurant, BBQ, Barbeque, Thai, Hulu Langat, Ampang, Lookout Point
Posts
too dangerous to risk your life for just a meal? haha.
ReplyDeleteNow who says food can't be an adventure...? ;)
ReplyDeleteP.S. As an aside, I did give Lookout Point a try once, mostly being coerced by my band of friends to go for the "view"... Let's just say I won't return again in a hurry... not unless the food and service improves dramatically in the future... :P
cool place.. me and cumi went for lunch a while back.. it was HOT! maybe cooler at night eh;)
ReplyDeleteyikes! what does one do if confronted by a violent goose? run away or stand your ground :D
ReplyDeleteto joe who is constantly craving:
ReplyDeleteI'm ok with going there as long as I am not the one driving - I may be able to survive the trip but for sure my car will die.
to life for beginners:
Haha.. Well, that night I learnt that food or the journey towards food can be like an off road extreme adventure.
to ciki:
Cooler at night but it was uncomfortably packed with people.... :(
(And there were definitely some hungry mosquitoes hovering around too!)
to sean:
Ideally the best response is to roast+eat it (revenge! muahaha) but realistically: run away!
:)
Err.. its PERODUA kancil ;p
ReplyDeleteTo tng: lol. I m such a ditz sometimes. Especially when it comes to cars!
ReplyDeleteWow, from the map .. this restaurant is located out of no where..
ReplyDelete