July 2008
With plants and wrought iron furniture at the front veranda, ‘Baan 26’ looks good from the outside. The interior however doesn’t seem too appealing. Yes, it does look humble, like a typical Thai home, and truth is, I have seen neighbourhood restaurants like this in Bangkok and even Chiang Mai. So I guess there’s some authenticity there considering the fact that Baan 26 is after all a Thai restaurant.
There’s quite a variety in the menu — from salads and soups to fried rice, noodles and main dishes that cover chicken, beef and even duck. They even serve mieng kam, a DIY appetiser that you don’t usually find in other Thai restaurants in KL.
To start, I had the Thai fish cakes (even though the Thai mango salad with crispy catfish sounded delicious). I always believe that one of the ways to judge a Thai restaurant is through its tom yam. And so I ordered the clear tom yam chicken noodle, which was tasty. The soup is a good mixture of sour, limey, spicy and salty with a hint of sweetness. I chose glass noodle to go with the soup and the combination came out well. It was both light and appetising. The Thai green curry chicken tasted authentic as well with the right balance of spicy creaminess.
The good thing about Baan 26 is that there’s nothing pretentious about the restaurant. The menu may not be inventive but it features all the Thai dishes that we are familiar with, like lime and chilli steam fish, Thai basil leaf spicy minced chicken and crispy duck in plum sauce, just to name a few.
The ambience is casual. In fact, it is one of the very few on Changkat Bukit Bintang that doesn’t bother with decking itself up to look chic, modern and funky. And perhaps this makes ‘Baan 26’ feel like a neighbourhood restaurant that you can go to anytime of the week and not just during special occasions. Lim Chee Wah
Rating: 3/6
Image by Lim Chee Wah