pla dib @ The Heritage Village, Seri Kembangan

from thenomadGourmand

Once in a while, up pops an outlet that doesn’t churn out the dreary copy- cat dishes or fusion disasters.
Naturally, such outlets immediately inspires hope, yet anxiety as well, “could it be a fluke?” , ” can the rest of the menu held up to expectations? “.
Hence in bated breath I await for opportunities for subsequent visits while I tuck away the pictures from my first. And to be happily satiated again & again on my return visits simply inspired today’s blog post.

pla dib @ The Heritage Village, Seri Kembangan is one such place. Apparently a franchise from Thailand, pla dib (meaning raw fish in Thai) does Thai fusion and does it damn well.

With the restaurant named after ‘raw fish’, I was hard pressed not to order the Salmon Labb (RM10), a ceviche wannabe dish.

pladib - salmon labb

Raw salmon slices doused with shoyu & lime juice, sprinkled with chilli flakes & crushed peanuts made the perfect starter. The fish was at parts raw (sections that weren’t ‘cooked’ by the lime concoction) & parts cooked slightly. Each slice was delightfully tangy, sweet, spicy and sour, a medley of flavours all on the tongue at the same instant. Hmmmm… yummy!

pladib - salmon labb 2-1

pladib - salmon labb 2

My choice of main was this intriguing Black Fried Rice (RM20).
It is actually Thai jasmine rice with squid ink, fried with seafood and comes with a raw egg on top. I likey!!

pladib - black fried rice-1

Pour it over the rice & mix, stir & blend it all in.

pladib - black fried rice 1-1

Truth to be told, you can’t taste the egg since it would have been overpowered by the condiments used to fry the rice. But this dish is seriously very tasty. Somewhat like normal fried rice but chewier in texture, more fragrant as the spices used are different & the BLACK colour just added to the novelty of it all.

pladib - black fried rice

Even the fried basil leaves were fragrant, crispy & sweet.

pladib - black fried rice 1

Unka ordered the Set C (RM30+) and I must say their sets are value for the moolah, specially since we ordered the duck confit!

Pladib Restaurant - set lunch 1st trip

The starter of Crispy Squid with Salt & Pepper on Mixed Salad was as crispy & lightly seasoned as it should be for us to savour the taste of the fresh seafood. The delicate dressing doused on the greens wrapped up this little salad nicely.

pladib - calamari salad

Duck Confit with Fettucini. Ohhhh… I really liked this dish. A drumstick (no thigh sorry ), with the texture of the duck succulent within & nice crispy edges on the outer layer.

pladib - duck confit 2

The fettucini was lightly tossed in some sweetish savoury sauce & I was glad that the Chef took the trouble to create something different from the usual boring pasta sauce.

pladib - duck confit

Certainly one of the better duck confits I have eaten! Not better than Nathalie’s but an improved version of Silver Spoon Trattoria’s in Menjalara Kepong.

pladib - duck confit 1

Oh, the set lunch came with coffee or tea, both of which we tried (on different occasions ) & concluded that it was pretty bad as it was thin & weak.

pladib - coffee w set lunch

The Thab Thim Krob (RM8) came as part the set. To avoid the Thab Thim Krob from diluting once the ice melts, pla dib serves theirs in the form of ice -shaved coconut milk so each spoonful tasted the same as the first, even if the ice has melted.

My order, the Durian Gelato (RM8) is pure frozen creamy durian, with actual durian bits in it! Pungent & sweet, I love this!

Pladib1

During another lunch date, we ordered from the set lunch menu again; SET B (RM23+) which comes with a 3 pcs steamed mussels with Thai Basil, Black spaghetti with wasabi mashed potato & Flamed Crispy Mango with strawberry ice cream.

The mussels were scrumptious + fat & it came in an appetizing garlicky fragrant sauce. The black spaghetti was lightly tossed with oil (of which we hope is olive oil), the seafood fresh & bouncy & the wasabi mashed potatoes has the merest sting of the notorious horseradish yet enough to make it interestingly palatable.

Pladib2

Pla dib - Black spaghetti with wasabi mashed potato

Pla dib - Black spaghetti with wasabi mashed potato 1

His dessert came as part of his set lunch, while I got mine complimentary cos pla dib is running a promo currently where 1 main course gets a dessert free. Unfortunately, I do not get to choose, so both of us ended up with the same dessert. The mango and STRAWBERRY ice cream (seriously, choc/vanilla would have been a way better choice!), was mediocre. The mango could have been of better quality too.

Pladib

I ate most of the food off his plate ;-) but for my main I had the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Roasted Rice (RM20).

pla dib - lemongrass chic with roasted rice

I actually find the “roasted” rice more interesting that the chicken itself. It was shaped into a little cute triangular cube! Very chewy in texture, the outer “crust” was nicely crunchy while the insides remained pillowy soft. The smoky flavour from the grill added character to it too.

pla dib - lemongrass chic with roasted rice 1

The boneless pieces of chicken though marinated with lemongrass and tumeric lacked much flavour within. Squeezing the lemon over it helps. The chicken came across as very healthy as there was little oil used & in some ways it got me thinking of “ayam percik” . ;p

pla dib - lemongrass chic with roasted rice 2

Seriously I love this place & I can’t wait for my next visit to sample more of its innovative dishes. They installed a smoke fire oven here as well for pizzas but that is only available at night.Yes, it is a bit far off, but for good food I will travel. ;-)
Like I said earlier, lip-smacking & fabulous food that are both inventive & original is worth the time & effort. Thankfully too, its prices won’t burn a hole in your wallet!

pla dib Restaurant
G13 & 14, The Heritage Village
Jalan SB Dagang
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor
(opposite Mines Shopping Fair)
Tel: 03-89381936
Business Hours: 12.00pm to 3.00pm; 6.00pm to 10.00pm
Closed on Tuesdays.

GPS: N 03 10 25′
E 101 39 91′

A little trivia:
pla dib is located at The Heritage Village in the Seri Kembangan, across The Mines Shopping Fair. If you can find your way to The Mines, it is very easy to locate this place.
Its origins is from Bangkok.
Besides KL, pla dib has outlets in Singapore.

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