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We really enjoyed Charen's fried garlic pork which was juicy, tender and nicely marinated. The perfect savoury snack on its own or over rice. We loved that they were topped with fried garlic bits that were strangely addictive.

My only complaint was that I nearly consumed a little rock in their pad thai on our 2nd visit there. I was rather disappointed with their lacklustre response when I raised it to them. I could have easily broken a tooth, biting on it. I accept that it might be accidental but surely they could have shown a little concern or acted on it in a visibly manner instead making me feel ignored.

We do spend quite a bit of time in the Hougang area but Charen Thai Kitchen is located in a part of Hougang which we do not usually go to except to visit our friendly dentist.

As usual, we had to have the pad thai. Charen's rendition is 'wetter' as you can see from its glistening look in the photo and on the sweet side. It is a good balance of sweet and savoury and we really enjoyed it.

The basil pork with rice is a no-frills kind of dish that hits the spot. The minced pork is stir-fried with basil, long bean and chilli, packing a nice kick of spice and aroma, while the rice pairs perfectly with all those rich flavours. Served with a fried egg and cracker. It’s simple, satisfying, and hard to go wrong with.

The tom yum soup leans more spicy than sour. It’s packed with lemongrass and a good portion of ingredients, making it hearty enough to feel like a meal on its own. What’s even better? They offer a great value-for-money set that includes the a drink. It’s simple, flavourful, and budget-friendly

Set C 》$11.90
Basil Pork with Rice, Tom Yum Soup & Thai Milk Tea

Came by for a celebratory meal as I saw that they sold a wide variety of seafood at an affordable price. They're having a promo for their crabs and we got 2 mud crabs for $48, and topped up $40 for the Tom Yum Mama pot. The pot was chock full of fresh prawns, squid, clams and noodles, though I thought the price was a lil bit steep. Crabs were great and decently sized for the price, and the tomyum soup was on the lighter side (though you can add chilli flakes for a spicier kick!). We also got the sambal kang kong ($12) which was delicious, and Iced Green Milk Tea ($3.50) to wash everything down - pleasantly surprised that the syrup is provided separately so you can dial the sweetness to your liking! Ended off with a Mango Glutinous Rice ($9) which was so good and the mangoes were so sweet, though I felt they could be more generous with the sticky rice. Overall, a great meal at great value, and at a convenient location too! Would definitely return!

A small Thai eatery that's relatively cheap, generally mediocre, but this dish was excellent. Although mama noodles are popular, most are average. The magic here was the soup, which was so tasty and balanced, therefore everything else fell into place.

A small Thai eatery that's relatively cheap but surprisingly mediocre.

A small Thai eatery that's relatively cheap but surprisingly mediocre. This is named soft because there's a non-soft version, which is deep-fried. This wasn't as silky as normal and the stingy crab was dry.

A small Thai eatery that's relatively cheap but surprisingly mediocre. The shock here was the pig skin was quite tough, which is unacceptable for Thai braised pig leg.

Very long never eat what I consider one of Singapore's best pad thai. I'm very picky with this dish hahaha. Still good.

This time, the soup wasn't as deep, and the ingredients seemed less.

Quite diluted/bland and so much ice.

Besides their regular menu, Chok Dee also has seasonal "off the menu" specials.

Calamari rings coated in a luscious yellow salted egg sauce, capsicum and onions are placed on top of an egg omelette which covers a sizzling hot plate.

It goes without saying that the calamari rings were juicy and qq. We really enjoyed the salted egg sauce - it was neither too sweet or salted and you can taste bits of the grainy salted egg yolk in them. It's a little pricey compared to their regularly items though!