J had been telling me even before we arrived in KL that we had to go eat this Boat Noodle at Avenue K because he saw it the last time he was here but didn’t have the chance to try.
To be honest, we didn’t have a great start while here as we were just appalled at the lack of reasonable service. Well, we got here just before 8pm on a Tuesday evening and the restaurant was almost empty with only 2 occupied tables. We wanted to sit at a 4-seater table by the glass railing but was stopped by one of the staff as he insisted that we had to share a table with another 2 customers also on a 4-seater table.
Fine, we did that. Maybe it was a strict restaurant policy. Or perhaps they were expecting more people to come in later.
Anyway, the two persons whom we were seated with didn’t take too long to finish their food and they left shortly after so we had the whole 4-seater table to ourselves.
The entire process of trying to catch a waiter’s attention (‘cos they were either too busy chit-chatting among themselves or nowhere to be found) and to place our order wasn’t pleasant at all as we were served by one waiter with a sullen face. He was extremely unfriendly too.
While we were waiting for our food, another couple came in. We were prepared to have them sit next to us if ‘sharing table’ was the policy. But no, the same waiter ushered them to an empty 4-seater table instead. He was all polite and smiling and was even making small talk with the couple.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head that very moment. Dude, what’s wrong with you? Is it because we don’t look local or we don’t speak Bahasa Malaysia? Tsk tsk.
Anyway, all the way until 8.30pm when we left, the restaurant was still as empty.
Enough said.
Let’s take a look at the menu (click on image to enlarge):
On every table, there were order chits and a pencil so just indicate your orders down and hand the chit over to any of the service staff.
For the boat noodles, there were only 2 types of broths (Pathumthani & Ayutthaya), 2 types of noodles (rice noodle & egg noodle) and 2 types of meat (beef & chicken) which would yield 8 different selections.
We ordered their Cha Yen a.k.a. Thai Iced Tea (RM6.90) and requested for it to be less sweet. Turned out to be wonderfully balanced. It was smooth, refreshing and as good as what I had in Thailand. Perfect drink for a #chillchill moment. ??
The Grilled Chicken Meatballs (RM4.90) were just like those we could get from street food stalls in Bangkok. Texture was more like bouncy fish ball, not the meaty kind. The accompanying tamarind dipping sauce was really spicy. Overall, not bad.
Didn’t expect the Chicken Wings (RM4.90) to look so dry and shrivelled up but they were pretty tasty when paired with the sweet chilli sauce ‘cos the exterior was really crispy and the flavour was predominantly lemongrass which was quite appetising.
We didn’t fancy egg noodles so we ordered rice noodles in both broths and meats (RM1.90 per bowl). This was Beef Rice Noodles in Pathumthani broth which was a clear broth that tasted of soy sauce, tamarind and spices. There were some very thin slices of beef and a beef meat ball.
And this was the Chicken version with shredded chicken meat and a chicken meat ball.
This was Beef Rice Noodles in Ayutthaya broth which was a lot more cloudy and more sour as well. Tamarind flavour was very strong in this. It also left a bitter aftertaste in the mouth. Probably because the flavour was new to me so it took me a while to get used to it.
It tasted alright when I had it the second time but still not a big fan of it. Between the two broths, Pathumthani was still better.
We ordered the Ka Num Tuay (RM1 for a set of 2) without knowing what they actually were.
They turned out to be steamed coconut milk pudding. The white part on top was purely coconut milk flavour that was slight salty and the bottom part tasted like kaya with a strong fragrance of pandan. Texture was like the nyonya kueh lapis style. We liked it so we ordered another 2 sets since they were so cheap, lol.
All prices are subject to 5% service charge and 6% GST.
All in all, this was one of the worst services we ever encountered. The only saving grace was that the food was good. We are unlikely to come back to their Avenue K’s outlet but wouldn’t mind trying other branches (visit their website for outlet locations) if we’re back in KL.
And this post marks the end of my KL eat-venture. Kinda sad to end this ‘cos I’m missing all those good food I had when in KL so I’m planning another trip back there soon after I’m back from Vietnam and Thailand, lol. Till next then, folks. Eat, drink and be merry! ?
The Original Boat Noodle
Lot L2-17B & SAC 12-1
Second Floor Avenue K, 156 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: +60 010-3631948
Website: http://boatnoodle.com.my/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/myboatnoodle/
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm daily