Tantalising Thai

My friend @boymaurice had told me about this Thai eatery in Orchard Plaza, and their crispy chicken wings were what he’d raved about in particular. After ordering them on my second visit, I can confirm that the fried-to-order Tha Siam Chicken Wings are really that good. Extremely crispy on the outside, they are so juicy within (6pcs: $5 / 12pcs: $8).
For my main dish, I went with the Stir Fried Kai Lan with Roasted Pork Belly ($8). The slices of fatty pork used in the frying were on the chewy and salty end of the spectrum but they worked well with the vegetables. Plonked on the mound of plain rice was a runny-yolked fried egg (the cherry on the cake, so to speak).

They use “ter hoong” (small intestines) and fry it till really aromatic. I am fine with the chewiness but older folks might find it too hard. There were plenty of crispy, wispy ribbons of lemongrass and garlic in there as well, which I loved munching on.

H O S T E D
When Wiki, the owner of @deetonguethai got in touch with me about checking out their new Thai restaurant in Ang Mo Kio’s Djitsun Mall, I accepted as I’ve been a fan of the food at her first restaurant for a couple of years.
In terms of the menu, @khaohomsg’s is not as huge as Dee Tongue Thai’s but still comprehensive with its selection of grilled items, salads, soups, seafood, cooked dishes, rice and noodles.
The Papaya Salad with Salted Egg ($8) was one of my favourites as it is very similar to the one I’ve had at Dee Tongue Thai. I found it most appetising with the salted egg mashed up and mixed with the juicy papaya strips in sour-sweet dressing.

I was recommended their clear style of Tom Yum ($10) which I am partial to. I liked theirs as it’s really aromatic from the herbs used. Good news for those who can’t handle anything too spicy - they keep the chilli heat dialed pretty low so you can keep on slurping without combusting. Chose to have our Tom Yum with seafood but they do versions with pork, chicken or beef as well.

The Thai Milk Tea is concentrated and not overly milky or sweet - which suited us just fine.

Based on a tip from a friend, we visited @thasiamthaikitchen for lunch. The shop unit number is #04-19 but you just have to follow your nose when you get to the fourth floor of Orchard Plaza to find them.
Operated by a couple of Thai ladies, or at least that’s what I saw when we were there, this casual eatery does one-dish meals and a number of a la carte items too.
Their Signature Spicy Fried Rice ($7) is tasty. It doesn’t have a burning spiciness, but more of a balanced heat. And most importantly, it comes with a properly fried egg - frilly around the edges and runny in the middle. We preferred it over the Phad See Yiu ($7) which was decent but lacked personality.

Ordered from @part.thai for the first time yesterday. The man behind this new home-based Thai food delivery is Singaporean-Thai Rishi who use to live in Thailand too.

The menu offers a respectable number of items that are properly thought through and can travel well. I was also told all of the spice pastes, such as the Tom Yum and Green Curry used in the pasta and fried rice etc., are created from scratch at home - yay to that!

Here are the dishes I picked (I requested for “medium spiciness” for them) and my thoughts on each:

1. พาสต้าต้มยาํ กุ้ง Creamy Tom Yum Prawn Spaghetti ($25 for 2 pax) - Our unanimous favourite and THE dish to order for sure. What a mind-boggling flavourbomb. Yes, the prawns were large, fresh and sweet but it was the intensely fragrant creamy sauce with thinly-sliced lemongrass that had me most enthralled.

2. ไก่ทอดตะไคร้ Thai Lemongrass Fried Chicken ($18 for 2-3 pax) - A recreation of a dish that had Rishi hooked when he was living in Chiangmai, this featured chicken marinated in three spices and lemongrass, then fried to a crisp. Shiok!

3. ข้าวผัดเขียวหวานไก่ Green Curry Fried Rice ($15 for 2-3 pax) - Aromatic and a little moist, the rice was fried with pieces of chicken breast, Thai spices, basil and kaffir lime leaves.

4. ข้าวผดั กระเพราไก่ Thai Basil Pesto Fried Rice ($15 for a 2-3 pax) - Also tasty but I feel it would suit those who like a drier style of fried rice.

5. ไข่เจยี ว Crispy Thai Omelette ($5) - Fluffy and crispy, the Thai-style omelette was a hit with us as expected.

To have Part Thai’s food delivered to your home, do call or Whatsapp:

91268970

Please note that all orders require 24 hours’ notice.

H O S T E D
Located in the Arcade adjacent to the Capitol Kempinski Hotel are a few new restaurants serving different types of cuisine. Managed by the hotel itself, they range from German to Italian to Spanish and Thai. “Chalerm Thai” is the one my friend Zhenia and I had lunch at earlier this week.
We began the meal with three appetisers that were spot-on in whetting our appetites as they did not lack in punchiness. While Zhenia went gaga over the Deep-fried Lemongrass Chicken Wings ($15++ for 6 pcs), I was most drawn to the tender, smoky Grilled Marinated Pork Neck with Spicy Lime Sauce (18++). The both of us also did a fine job of demolishing the Prawn Salad ($15++), hands-down, the spiciest of these three dishes.
I had requested for a clear version of Chalerm's Tom Yum Goong ($15++) because I had heard from another friend Maurice it’s very good. The Chef-in-charge who’s Thai, kindly obliged and I was very pleased because Maurice was right - theirs is intensely fragrant and packs a strong kick of hotness despite looking rather “innocent”.
We thought the Phat Thai Kung ($14++) was decent enough, ticking all the required boxes but the item that made us sit up and gawk was the signature Stirfried Soft Shell Crab with Yellow Curry ($20++). Its flamboyantly vibrant colours belied a less-than-fiery taste, so no tastebuds were singed. Its surprising low-level spiciness allowed us to better appreciate the nuances in the thick curry sauce as well.
For dessert, we had the Thai Red Ruby ($8++) and everyone's forever favourite, the Mango with Sticky Rice ($10++). The former, in my opinion, is a notch above many others because their version comes with a scoop of fabulous coconut ice-cream that’s made in-house at the Capitol Kempinski. Undoubtedly more substantial, the latter which is served with warm glutinous rice, is big enough to be shared between two or even three depending on the size of each person’s appetite (or greed 😁).

H O S T E D
Helmed by a female Thai Chef, the refreshed menu at Blue Jasmine Thai Restaurant & Bar remains unabashedly bold and bright in flavour profile. Encompassing both classics and street food, there is ample variety to choose from whether you are there for a feast with family or friends, or hanging out with colleagues for after-work drinks and light bites. With the newly-introduced Lunch Set (it includes an appetiser and dessert with your choice of main), there is another reason to visit when you feel like indulging in a value-for-money meal.
A must-try in my opinion is the Phad Kee Mao (Thai Drunken Noodles). It is one of my all-time favourite Thai dishes and Blue Jasmine’s rendition is fragrant with “wok hei” and highly addictive. You can choose for the rice noodles to be stirfried with either minced chicken, beef or seafood ($14/$16/$18++) along with the default prawns, squid and more.
The addition of salted egg to the Green Papaya Salad ($12++) imbues it with a nice local touch. As the default heat level is pretty lethal (I like it though), do ask for it to be less spicy if you want to play it safe.
Another creation that is great for sharing is the Sesame Beef ($20++). The bite-sized meat appears crunchy but is surprisingly tender. Also, because of the coriander roots and white sesame seasoning, tastes good too.
For dessert, I tried the Red Ruby ($12++) and loved it as fresh berries join the coconut sorbet and tapioca flour-coated water chestnut.
In terms of ambience, Blue Jasmine feels like an oasis as it is up on the breezy 5th level of Park Hotel Farrer Park. Most diners will likely choose to be in air-condition but I can imagine how pleasant it is to sit at the new alfresco gastro-bar area on a cool evening. No doubt the cares of the day will slip away under the persuasive power of Happy Hour’s $10++ tropical cocktails, wines, beers and other drinks.

It had been ages since we were at “Dee Tongue Thai”. Hence it was imperative to order most of our favourites at our first meal there in months. We did however, also add on the Grilled Pork, a dish we had never eaten before. It turned out to be a wonderful choice.
The meat was deliciously chewy yet tender (it had to be from the neck or jowl) and marinated in such a way that after being grilled, it boasted a light taste of bacon albeit without the sweetness. This “bacon vibe” was enhanced when I swished the pork in the accompanying mildly spicy dip which also had a smokiness to it. So, not surprisingly, this item has joined the rather long list of dishes we love here.

Yesterday’s lunch featured this very tasty ”Pad Mama” made magically much cheaper after we redeemed two #burpplebeyond deals for our table of four.
The fine instant noodles were fiery spicy and had a hint of tangy (some Tom Yum seasoning maybe?). We savaged the plateful in the shortest time. Too shiok it was.
I found our three other main courses decent enough. Here they are, ranked in order of my preference: garlic chicken, a frilly-crispy minced pork omelette and stirfried minced beef with basil.

The “Sambal Prawns Petai“ isn’t as fiery hot as many of the other dishes here. It leans towards the sweet side and has medium size prawns (deshelled save for the tail) stir-fried with white onions and a generous amount of petai, the infamous stinky bean.
I really like their version a lot but unless you are really into petai like me, I wouldn’t recommend ordering this because they use very “green” ones that have an even stronger smell.