Father's Day Dinner

(Pak Abu enjoying his tub tim krob)

The family took Pak Abu out to dinner last night in celebration of Father's Day. Daughter Nawwar suggested this Thai restaurant called D' Haven in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar, which she said served reasonably-priced but good Thai food.

I specifically mentioned 'reasonably-priced' because the kids didn't know I had, days before, decided to pay for the dinner. They were under the illusion that they would have to split the bill between them.

Understandably enough, their choice of an eating place for such occasions (Mother's Day, Father's Day etc) almost always was based on their cost-sharing ability and collective affordability.

Thus there were howls of protests when I told them I would pick up the tab; noo, not because they didn't want me to pay (I would be so lucky!), but because I had not alerted them in advance about it.

"Maaaa, we would have chosen a much much more expensive place if we knew you were paying!" they chorused in annoyance. See what I mean? How not to love such open-faced honesty?

I had never been to this outlet before, but had eaten in the previous restaurant that occupied the same premises. It was called "Red Chambers" and the food (noodles and stuffs) was a-okay.

We ordered the usual Thai fare - mixed tomyam with glass noodles, pandan chicken, beef cooked in basil, mango salad, green curry and a couple of others (I can't recall their names), followed by traditional Thai desserts.

Strangely enough, their pandan chicken came sans pandan leaves, thus making the chicken pieces look woefully incomplete, nestled amidst the lettuce.

I must say the dishes were a toned-down version of the real thing; they were most likely prepared to suit farang (white man) taste. That is not to say they weren't delicious, because they were.

So if you want the standard Thai 'killer' tomyam that works faster than any purgative, this is definitely not the place to be.

But if you want to savour Thai food minus all those fiery prik kee noo (cili padi), D'Haven is just about right.

Anyway, we had a swell time out, with good food and light banterings being the order of the evening. Happy Father's Day, Pa!