H O S T E D
Kicking off Andaz Singapore’s female chefs-powered series at “Auntie’s Wok & Steam”, is Chef Tubtim Warapai from Park Hyatt Bangkok who is in Singapore to showcase her authentic North-East Isan style of cuisine. Between now and 14th Feb (yup, Valentine’s Day), you can taste her repertoire either a la carte, as a lunch tray set ($26++) or a Dinner Set for 2 pax ($68++).
My plus-one Kenneth and I had the Dinner Set which we were agreed is good value-for-money as it includes 2 desserts and lets you choose 3 appetisers and 3 main courses from a decent number of options. The pair of us also had a couple of extra items sent by the kitchen team. Here is a rundown:
1. Som Tum - Chef Warapai’s version of the classic green #papayasalad comes with raw cabbage and hits all the mouthwatering points of spiciness and sourness.
2. Pad Thai - this is on the light and healthy side with springy rather than oily noodles.
3. Grilled Pork Neck - wonderfully done appetiser of tender meat laced with the right touch of fat accompanied by an addictive spicy, herbaceous dipping sauce.
4. Softshell Crab with Green Mango Salad - this fiery-hot number left us gasping but wanting more in that #painispleasure way.
5. Thai Beef Salad - a dryish dish dressed in dried chillies, fresh mint, toasted sesame seeds and kaffir lime.
6. Red Curry Prawn - our favourite from the 3 mains we chose because the gravy was very fragrant (we could not stop splashing it on the accompanying white rice) and the prawns were large and fresh. Love that strips of succulent bamboo shoot were thrown in too.
7. Crab Fried Rice - cooked with organic eggs, spring onions and garlic, this gives off a healthy vibe as it’s not greasy.
8. Pad Krapow Moo - Chef Warapai’s take on the classic of minced pork stirfried with chilli padi, garlic and Thai basil is aromatic and not overly spicy.
9. Thai mango sticky rice and Red Ruby desserts - while the mango was sweet, I enjoyed the Red Ruby more personally.
The restaurant's comfortable ambience and great views from the 25th floor are also good reasons to dine there.
