If you’re a fan of Thai food and you enjoy pork, this is it.
Tiffin’s by Chef Korn is a cosy eatery just a floor above Old Town White Coffee and Daiso (at the Celebrity Fitness side of Mid Valley Megamall).
It’s location gave a literal meaning to the phrase “hidden gem”, but allow me to assure you that it is worth the effort to seek Tiffin’s out.
Decor and furnishings are kept simple and it is truly the food that shine. The space is adorned with charming and nostalgic pieces like various sizes of tiffin carriers which clearly refers to the name of the restaurant.
Since I have patronised Erawan before I had no qualms about Chef Korn’s culinary abilities so I strolled in hungry and ready to stuff my face.
Erawan is heavily decorated so I was slightly surprised with the spartan set up here (by comparison). However I can assure you that food was excellent (the ones I ordered, I can’t claim to have sampled all that is on the menu YET) and though prices are on the higher side, it is acceptable to me considering the taste, quality of ingredients and location.
Set meals are always your best bet since it supposedly offers value for money. At Tiffin’s the set menus offers 13 options from noodles to rice to steaks to porridge. Each set includes a daily appetiser and a Thai-based salad which came up to be a pretty substantial for a meal.
Our appetiser and salad: Simple apple tossed in sauce and topped with crunchy peanuts and a moist, finger-licking good chicken wing (top part).
We assumed the fruits was meant as dessert.
I zoomed in on the “khao kaa moo” immediately as it is a personal favourite. The one I had at Lat Thai was disappointing and I’m glad Chef Korn’s version made up for it (admit-ably the price is double the amount).
Now I know where to get my fix! 🙂
Stewed Pork Knuckle Set – RM19.80.
The pork was tender and part soft fat and part absolutely flavourful meat. The sides of kai lan, braised egg and home-made salted vegetables made it a complete meal (not forgetting the appetiser earlier) and thus I was quite stuffed by the time I finished this.
I chose the beef noodles for my dining partner. I’m a terrible date really. I would usually “convince” (read: force) my dining companions to order what I fancy so I can photograph and sample it.
He wanted pork but since my meal was pork based, I insisted on beef so we ended up with the beef.
Options for the carbs were either rice noodles (imported from Thailand) or Egg Noodles. We (or rather I did) chose the rice noodles in an effort to keep the whole bowl as authentic as possible.
We were rewarded with a huge bowl of tender, poached Australian beef slices and Thai beef balls. The soup was flavourful, the noodles nicely cooked and the meat plentiful.
We didn’t have any need for the condiments though we appreciated the quirky touch of having them served in test tubes.
Beef Noodle Set (RM23.80).
Being greedy we added a side order of Grilled Pork Neck (RM16.80) and spent some time savouring slices of juicy, well marinated (hence tasty) pork neck while contemplating the dessert selection.
I was particularly intrigued with the homemade ice cream (flavours include passionfruit, salted caramel, roasted coconut peanut) so we decided on a scoop to share.
Other desserts include Thai cendol, candied bananas, sweet potato and yam, glutinous rice balls, and sago delight but we were happy with our choice of Coconut Roasted Peanut ice cream.
Unlike the ordinary creamy versions, this had added texture thanks to the addition of desiccated coconut and peanut bits. I personally found it too sweet but my dining partner said it was ok.
Tiffin’s by Chef Korn is located on the 3rd floor at theNorth Court side of Mid Valley where Celebrity Fitness is.
It’s next to the upper floor of Daiso and one floor above Old Town.
Open daily 11am – 10pm.
Set lunches are from morning til 3pm.
