Our small group really enjoyed lunch at Rain Nudle House in Pavilion (there are some 13 other outlets around KL, including at Suria KLCC). The food was very good, the service excellent, décor stylish, modern and relaxing, but one thing let the whole experience down. Their use of MSG (Monosodium Glutomate).

Ever left a restaurant and found that for the rest of the day your throat was dry and you needed to drink gallon after gallon of water? Well, that’s what happened to us after eating at Rain.

We phoned them to ask if they use MSG and they confirmed “just a little”.

While not actually harmful, the salt is sprinkled into your food and, as with us, makes you very thirsty. Most modern restaurants have stopped using MSG but not Rain.

Which is a real shame as the food really was worth writing home about. We loved the green curry, which stood up against any in town. Even those at high-end Thai restaurants. We also shared a couple of noodle dishes which were packed with flavour and impeccably cooked.

Credit must also go to them, because my wife can’t eat seafood and so not only did they remove any trace of seafood from the noodles she ordered but they even gave us a complimentary serving of chicken and vegetables to compensate for the lack of prawns in her noodles.

They’ve done very well with the décor and ambience, too. You can easily forget that you are sat right next to the bustling mania of the Pavilion food court, so while some of the piped music choices are a little strange (Spice Girls? In a Thai restaurant? Really?), it works.

The price is also exceptionally reasonable (4 main courses, drinks and side orders of fish cakes for less than RM65). I’d go so far as to say that Rain Nudle House is the best value Thai food in KL. So, lose the MSG, guys. You owe it to yourselves.

Rating: 3/6