There is a certain pleasure in discovering hole-in-the-wall restaurants – the sort you might drive past or walk past – without exploring its hidden charms – simply because it looks so very ordinary. And yet, there can often be a treasure trove of culinary gems to be discovered in these unsuspecting places. This is exactly the sort of rewards you will reap if you choose to sample the food at Yad Yead Phod Cha Na, a fuss-free eatery in Kuala Lumpur’s Kuchai Lama area.
Sandwiched along a narrow road in an area packed to the rafters with shop lots, the restaurant is the brainchild of friends Sam Loke and Nampejnamnung Sutarratanamanee (better known as Angie). Loke is a Malaysian who spent a few years in north-eastern Thailand and fell in love with the food. After returning to Malaysia, she roped in her good friend Angie to help cook the food of the region (known as Isaan food) and together, the two opened Yad Yead Phod Cha Na.
This was nearly six years ago. “I am from Thailand and I grew up in Bangkok. My family ran a small Thai restaurant there so I learnt how to cook and run a food business from the time I was little, so for me, this was a natural thing to do,” says Angie.
The restaurant occupies a fuss-free space where the focus is clearly on the food. — SAM LOKE Yad Yead Phod Cha Na has been in business for a few years now and although Loke and Angie initially served Isaan food in its original mould – spicy with sour undercurrents – the have since revised th.