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KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Sometimes a conundrum can be a good thing, a puzzle to unravel. And if that conundrum is served to you on an inviting platter, it’s just-fried aroma wafting enticingly, well, then all the better.
If it looks like a meatball but tastes like a salad, then what is it?
For sure, visually these are meatballs. Orbs of finely minced pork, studded with herbs like lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. I detect chilli flakes too, and the gooey texture of… glutinous rice?
These look like meatballs but they taste like my favourite Thai salad… the tangy and funky flavours of laab, which has Laotian origins but is now a staple in northern and northeastern Thailand.
Figuring out which these are is proving to be the highlight of our visit to Thai Chala, a small restaurant in Sri Petaling that offers a wide spectrum of Thai flavours. Upon entering, one is greeted by the vibrant, sunny interior.
We learn that the shop was started by a chef who is from Hat Yai in southern Thailand, with family in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. Hence the variety in their menu when many Thai restaurants tend to focus on a specific region or the more commonplace fare from the central region.
The vibrant, sunny interior of Thai Chala in Sri Petaling.
Given the sweltering weather, we begin by ordering cold beverages. When in a Thai eatery, this almost inevitably means cha yen or Thai iced milk tea. Here they are served in aluminium mugs, the way they would be in a Thai coffee shop or restaurant.
This, plus the requisite puang prik or condiment caddy, gives Thai Chala a head start in the authenticity game. The caddy is filled with a quartet of condiments; here you can season your food with prik pung (dried chilli flakes), nam pla (fish sauce), granulated sugar or vinegar with sliced chillies.
Instead of the popular som tum or Hatyai fried chicken, we decide to share a large Thai-style omelette or khai jiao. The edges are fluffy and extra crispy whilst the centre remains savoury and almost custardy. Simple but sensational.
For our mains, we opt for rice dishes rather than Thai Chala’s ample noodle choices, which range from “vintage” tom yam soup with Mama brand instant noodles to khanom chin rice noodles with green curry chicken.
Rice lovers would surely approve of Thai Chala’s generous portions. This is certainly the biggest serving of pad krapao moo sap (rice with stir-fried holy basil with minced pork) I’ve encountered in the entire Klang Valley.
‘Puang prik’ or condiment caddy (left). Cha yen or Thai iced milk tea.
A simple but sensational Thai-style omelette or ‘khai jiao’.
The moo kratiem or fried garlic pork rice is also stellar; the fragrance of the fried garlic cloves — whole cloves of the tiny Thai garlic known as kratiem, rather than thinly sliced garlic flakes — will whet even the most jaded of appetites.
Which brings us back to our mystery dish, the last to arrive at our table; the menu advises a minimum waiting time of 15 minutes and it’s well worth the wait.
The same page in Thai Chala’s menu refers to this dish as “Pork in the Dust”, which makes it even more intriguing. The Thai name laab moo kluk foon translates roughly as “spicy minced pork salad in dust” which indicates laab that has been breaded and deep-fried.
The “dust” (kluk foon) refers to the process of deep frying the meatballs, for these are meatballs, albeit ones made from elements of laab (minced pork, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, lime juice, nam pla, etc.) and its traditional accompaniment of sticky rice.
Here, the latter comes in the form of sticky rice that has been toasted then ground into fine rice powder, before being mixed with the rest of the laab ingredients and shaped into balls.
‘Pad krapao moo sap’ or rice with stir-fried holy basil with minced pork.
‘Moo kratiem’ or fried garlic pork rice.
Mystery solved: How a salad became meatballs!
For those who frequent Thailand or are aficionados of Thai cuisine, you might recognise this dish by its more common name, laab tod or fried spicy minced pork salad. You have to admit — “Pork in the Dust” is a far catchier name!
Thai Chala
15, Jalan Radin Tengah, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, KL
Open daily 11:30am-10:30pm
Phone: 017-218 5992
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