Sawasdee: authentic Thai within reach

As much I enjoy Thai food, I still stay far away from it. Mainly because the economic ones are not authentic (which revolves around tomyam only) and the authentic ones are not economical (imagine high class restaurant). The one that probably top my list would be the one opposite Tesco in Kampar, but to hear that similar one exists in Ipoh, I could not wait to give it a try. More over, I heard numerous good review for the place make me want to try it more.

Sawasdee is situated in Taman Siber, near Taman Botani. It may need some googling up, but if anyone is heading toward Taman Botani (near Taman Song Choon), south of Ipoh, just look for a junction to the left after Shell which will be on the right). The road may look deserted with lots of empty lots, but just locate the crowd, and we will find the place.

The menu is definitely centers around Thai with few chinese selections. Mind you, because it is not a big restaurant, one may need to wait a while if the shop is full. But the food is worth the wait. We wanted to try some basic thai in the form of green curry chicken (RM15). In the first bite, it is not impressive. Though it felt "lemak" enough, it lacks the spice and the hotness. However, with a few more mouthful, the taste start to set in, and it felt satisfying. Not the usual green curry that we got use to, but delicious nonetheless. The BBQ pork (RM15) felt very close to the chinese "namyu" pork, which is deep fried pork marinated with 5 spice and "namyu". On its own it still feel special, but with the Thai sweet sour dip, it lifted the dish to another level. Our sambal paku pakis (RM8) however, felt bit short of expectation. It felt common, like any other sambal kangkung.


The 3 dish could easily satisfy up to 4 person, making it around RM10 per person with drinks. Economical? Definitely. Authentic? How more authentic then to have dishes cook by Thai. Satisfying? This is more than satisfying. There is a wait for the food, but after tasting it, I definitely want to return for more.

ratings: 3 half poink~!
comments: it may or may not be the best economical authentic Thai restaurant out there; after all it depends on personal taste. But it should be among the top Thai shop out there.