Flying Chillies

With a quirky name like Flying Chillies, you’re forgiven if you think this new restaurant at The Gardens MidValley serves spicy food by slinging it to your table. The reality is something less comic: Flying Chillies deals in serious Thai food – authentic and good enough to knock your socks off. After all, this baby is yet another new addition to the SEA Cuisine family, by the same folks who brought us quality Thai dining places like Amarin Heavenly Thai, Good Evening Bangkok and Rain Nudle House. Unlike most Thai restaurants that boast exotic decor, Flying Chillies is almost completely bedecked in white, from the clean lines of white timber strips lining the walls and ceiling to its creamy white seats. Choose to dine inside on bench seats dotted with colourful pillows for cosy gatherings, or enjoy your food al fresco for a spot of people-watching within the mall.

We started dinner with the Flying Chillies Combo, a medley of four appetisers comprising Royal Thai Money Bags, Thai Fishcake, Spring Rolls and Sesame Chicken Toast. The most outstanding of the four has to be the fishcake, accentuated with kaffir lime leaves and chilli. If you’re one who can’t resist a good Thai salad, the Crispy Catfish with Green Mango Salad comes highly recommended. But don’t expect a hunk of deep-fried fish. What appears instead is a crispy square of floss - we found out later that this was a mixture of catfish and other secret ingredients, which paired beautifully with the tangy salad. Next, came a procession of Special Fire Pot Tom Yam, Soft-Shell Crab with Green Peppercorns & Thai Herbs, and Pandan Leaf Chicken, served with bowls of fluffy Thai rice.

The soft-shell crabs were plain on their own, but when eaten together with the fried green peppercorn berries, basil leaves and garlic chilli lime dip, it was a sure winner. The Pandan Leaf Chicken was predictably good and lived up to expectations. We discovered the true meaning of Flying Chillies after sampling the Fire Pot Tom Yam. Served in a heated pot, one spoonful almost sent us flying off our seats as the soup was very spicy. This is definitely for the brave-hearted, so don’t dismiss the two-chilli rating on the menu. At RM25 per pot, however, it was slightly overpriced as it only contained two large river prawns. Dinner ended on a sweet note with Red Rubies Water Chestnuts in Coconut Milk and Mango Sticky Rice. The Red Rubies dessert was heavenly - each tiny cube of water chestnut was evenly encrusted with a chewy red glutinous coating that coloured the coconut milk a pretty pink.

The Sticky Rice came with a sprinkling of tiny Thai nuts which didn’t really impart flavour but gave a nice contrast of textures. Countless of restaurants end up serving this dessert with limpid mango but thankfully at Flying Chillies, the mango slices are juicy, sweet and flavoursome. All in all, this is a place to consider if you’re craving good, authentic Thai grub. Short of jetting up north to the country itself, it doesn’t get better than this!

Address T219 Third Floor The Gardens, MidValley City, Kuala Lumpur Train MidValley (KTM) Tel 03-2287 7708 Open 10am – 10pm Cuisine Type Thai(Halal) Price Range RM30 to RM50 Credit Cards Yes Smoking No Food 4/5 Service 4.5/5 Order This Soft-Shell Crab with Green Peppercorns & Thai herbs Skip This Fire Pot Tom Yum

Text Chin Chern Yen Photo Euhau