Plaaaa-dib!

That’s how you say it. Loooonnngggg Plaaaa (rhyme’s with ‘car’) and Dib (rhyme’s with ‘clip’).

When Anna first emailed me to ask me to put a group of ‘floggers’ (people who write  food blogs, not necessarily Catholic) together to visit this restaurant established by the Bluwater group.

With outlets in Bangkok, Singapore, and this latest one in Kuala Lumpur, it is truly worth a visit to experience exciting flavours presented with a twist. Best of all, the menu is wide ranging enough that, even on that night, everyone left with their own favourite. Please note that the presentation you see here in these pictures might not be what you would get as they were presenting a sampling menu for us. The dishes are all available on the menu however.

Raw Shrimp with Fish Sauce

One of the first dishes to come out and a personal favourite. Ever since I had Ama-ebi in a japanese restaurant in Honolulu for the first time in 1987 I’ve always been fond of Sweet Shrimp. And this was one of the best renditions. Fresh, clean, briny, sweet cohabited intensely with the sharp nuttiness of raw garlic in the salty fish sauce with a tangy lime counterpoint.YUMMMMM!!!!

Pladib actually means “freedom of food.” In essence, if I understand it correctly, they play with their food (something our parents taught us we should never do) and have fun with it. Pladib was started a few years ago in Bangkok when the owner, who isn’t a trained chef, started playing with flavours and textures and was feeding his neighbours who loved his food. And from that passion, Pladib was born.

Pladib’s starting point is Thai cuisine. But then it’s infused with Japanese, Italian, French techniques and flavours. This translates into things like Blackened Glutinous Rice, Duck Confit’s with Fettucine, Rainbow trout baked with lime leaf and garlic, and…well, you get the drift.

Salmon Labb

Salmon Labb. Labb dis Salmon long time! Lovely pieces of salmon, sliced thinly with shoyu and roasted rice. In Thai cooking, roasted rice is a condiment and adds a nutty dimension to the dish.

The “Mayobi” dressing is a bit precious in terms of how they chose to name it. Gimicky even. But there’s nothing wrong with the way the dish was presented. Soft Shell Crab is one of the delights of modern asian cuisine. And a Mayonnaise/Wasabi dressing is a natural to go with it.

If you can’t get fresh wasabi use grated horseradish instead. It’s not the same but its the idea that counts. Fresh wasabi DOESN’T come out of a tube or is a green powder which you mix with water. It’s a root. And it’s supposed to be grated.

Smoked Salmon Salad, Salt & Pepper Squid, and assorted appetisers on a plate

This little appetizer was beautifully presented on a plate. And everything was as fresh as can be. Visually it was a feast. On the palate, it was delicious.

Same as above but on my plate

Single Sun Beef

Nice idea. And a lovely flavour. They sun dry the beef and then add the herbs and spices to it. It tasted like a cross between “long yoke” and beef jerky.

Pladib Art & Mint Soursop Blast

These drinks were one of those items I was referring to when I said that there’s something for everyone to make an exciting experience. The Mint Soursop was refreshing and the ice crushed enough that it felt almost creamy. However, the Pladib Art was not entirely to my taste. I think I had too much Benalin when I was a child.

Creamy Capellini Angel Hair with Ebiko

Creamy, without being cloying, light, yet rich, this was textbook perfect pasta in a cream sauce. With that lovely sweet, taste of the sea.

Black Spaghetti with Seafood

Black food always does it for me. Don’t ask me why. It just seems so exotic to have something black and have it taste savoury. Very special.

The special of the day - Spinach Fettucine with Mentaiko

Very balanced flavours and attractive to look at.

Black Fried Rice with Squid Ink

When I was 8 years old we went to Tokyo. And for the first time in my life we had raw egg with my sukiyaki. I was so excited. A raw egg in my food always transports me back to that moment in that little Japanese Restaurant with Mum, Uncle Selva, and Aunty Ruth. It was still winter in 1973, and I was in my ‘hippy’ clothes. I thought I looked cool. It was cold and the warm sukiyaki felt sooo good lubricated with the unctuousness of the raw egg. It’s a Very bittersweet, nostalgic memory as they’re all gone now.

But that doesn’t detract from the fact that this was probably one of my favourite dishes on their repertoire. Black food and raw egg yolk. Savoury, slightly gamy, garlic, almost sticky rice. Ummmm…

Mashed potatoes and wasabi

There’s nothing that says comfort food more than Mashed Potatoes. Add to that the sweet, savoury, nutty flavour of cooked garlic and you’ve got a winner. Sherlene, from Bluwater Estates, summed it up when she said “I could eat a whole bowl of this on my own.”

Grilled lemon grass chicken with roasted rice

This is a take on Thai street food. Very good. Well grilled.

Smoked Salmon Pizza

That pizza base really impressed me. Thin, flaky, crunchy and oh yes, did I mention thin? It was papery and crackled like the skin of a centenarian.

Special - Durian Gelato

A must for Durian lovers everywhere. Redolent of fresh durians. And that’s important. Some durian ice cream desserts taste cooked and that’s a no-no in my book. It should taste like cold, smooth, frozen, creamy durian. And this one did.

Thab Thim Krob but with a twist

Thab Thim Krob is usually Water Chestnuts rolled in tapioca flour and cooked and then sprinkled liberally on top of shaved ice and doused with Coconut milk. All the ingredients were there but in this case they made a sorbet of the Coconut water and mixed it with the milk. Really stunning rendition of this favourite Thai dessert.

Prices? VERY reasonable. I believe you could get away with around RM50 per head or less. This includes drinks, food, dessert.

All in all, a fantastic evening of simple food elevated to a another level made even more special by good company. Thank you all who organised this and for all who came. Sherlene and Anna, thanks so much. When’s the next one?

Other blogs that have reviewed this and who attended were;

Pure Glutton

Aly’s Wonderland

Babe In The City

Fat Boy Bakes

Pladib
G-13 & 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