Special thanks to Thai Me Up for extending this food review invitation.
Update: This business has ceased its operations.
Located several doors away from The Lightbulb at Jalan Zainal Abidin is a new Thai restaurant called Thai Me Up (夜太美).
The menu at Thai Me Up features several noodle dishes. The chefs hail from central Thailand, so the food here may appear different compared to most Thai restaurants in Penang. In pursuit of authentic cooking, ingredients are sourced from Thailand wherever possible.
The signature dish at Thai Me Up is Khao Soi (ข้าวซอย, RM8.90). This noodle dish is influenced by Burmese cuisine and is wildly popular in northern Thailand and Laos. The name means “cut rice” because noodle is traditionally made from a large sheet of rice dough, steamed, rolled up, and then cut with a pair of scissors so that it forms long strips.
Thai Me Up takes creative license by using soy noodle (豆签) instead. This noodle is quite popular in Malacca. I like the springy texture of this noodle as it gives good mouth feel. The thin strips also do a great job in absorbing lovely flavor from the curry.
The curry is yellowish in color due to use of spices such as turmeric. Thanks to coconut milk content, the curry is rich and creamy. When sipped in small amounts, the curry has a nice blend of sweet and spicy flavors. The taste is further enhanced by using chicken chunks, onion, parsley and chili paste. Overall, this single dish contains over a dozen ingredients!
The next dish is Boat Noodle (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ, kuai tiao ruea, RM7.90), which has recently gained popularly in Penang. Unlike other restaurants, the portion served at Thai Me Up is for a proper meal. Therefore, it is unnecessary to order five or ten bowls anymore. The soup base is made by stewing pork bones in dark soy sauce until it becomes very savory. This dish contains pork cutlets and meat balls, but I still prefer the Khao Soi anyhow.
For noodle dishes, condiments provided are crushed peanuts, chili flakes, fish sauce and sugar. The fish sauce is quite pungent, but I like to enjoy Thai food the way Thais do.
As for side dishes, Moo Dad Deaw (หมูแดดเดียว, RM10.00) is a popular choice. This dish is made from marinated pork strips, which are deep-fried until reddish-brown. The dish is garnished with a sprinkle of sesame seed and fried basil leaves.
As a new restaurant, Thai Me Up is in the midst of developing its menu. Moving forward, more à la carte Thai dishes will be available. The restaurant serves pork but the menu remains beef-free.
Name: Thai Me Up
Address: 39F, Jalan Zainal Abidin, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 016-470-6123
Business hours: 11:30am-3:00pm, 6:00pm-3:30am, closed on Tuesdays
Website: Facebook
Coordinates: 5.41674 N, 100.32568 E
Directions: From Macalister Road (Jalan Macalister), turn to Jalan Zainal Abidin at the UMNO building. Thai Me Up is approximately 100 meters down the road, on the right side. Street parking is available.