Simpang Kitchen: Thai Singaporean Cze Char

With Taukwa and Cactuskit

Fried Sotong with Crispy Garlic $8

Our favourite Thai food when we were living in Bangkok was not the typical staple that we order here whenever we visit a Thai Restaurant. One of my favourite dishes was Pad Krapau which loosely translates to fried basil leaves. Although it is called "Pad Krapau", minced pork seems to be the main part of the dish. Another dish that I love was the Kana Pad Mu Krop, or fried Kale with Deep Fried Pork Belly. Hmmmm...... I used to just pop downstairs (of my apartment) for a Kana Pad Mu Krop with rice for just 20 baht (80 cents) and that was a simple and very satisfying meal that really hit the spot.

Now, that kind of food is still hard to find in Singapore, which is why I quickly came down to investigate this little eatery when I heard about it from some of my patients.

It turns out that it is run by a Thai Lao Ban Niang who is married to a Singaporean man. To be able to order Thai food in Thai is usually a good sign that the food is going to be quite authentic.

Everyone tells me that there are three dishes here that are outstanding. The garlic sotong, kangkong with chili padi and the butter pork ribs. So I ordered these, but our man, Cactuskit just couldn't resist ordering some other dishes that looked good on the signboard.

One of the things the Thais love to do is the fry the garlic with the skin intact. In Thailand, they have these really small garlic which are sweet and very aromatic. Unfortunately, I haven't seen such garlic here, but what they did was to use the commonly available garlic for the Garlic Sotong which was eaten with a chilli dip. The Lao Ban Niang told us it was actually a dish to accompany beer. To borrow the phrase from one of our readers' daughter, it was "Bombastical" (meaning quite Shiok). However, please be aware that you would end up with a breath that would scare off a Vampire with a severe cold. 4.25/5


Boong Fai Daeng (Kangkong with Chili Padi) $6

Perhaps the dish that really did it for me was the Boong Fai Daeng. Fai Daeng literally means "Red Light" and refers to the red colour of the chilli padi on the bed of greens. In Thailand, this dish is usually made with the leaves of the morning glory, but in Singapore we use Kangkong instead. (Please see interesting discussion on this in our comments section) The signature taste of the dish is a smooth caramel Wok Hei flavour and this one really did remind me of the real deal. 4.5/5


Butter Pork Ribs $8

I was a little dissappointed with the Butter Pork Ribs though. Perhaps I was expecting it to be like the excellent one I had at Two Chefs. Their version is very different. The deep fried and then topped with a mixture of deep fried eggs, basil, chilli padi and dark brown morsels which we assumed was the butter. This was supposed to be one of their signature dishes but I wasn't overly impressed by it. 3.5/5


Curry Mutton $4

Cactuskit just had to order their curry mutton which is part of their repertoire of "Value Meals" I was really quite surprised that the whole claypot of curry was only $4 and it had quite a few pieces of mutton in it! Frankly it looked more like a $8 dish. It was creamy and spicy, definitely can eat but not exceptional. 3.75/5


Caramelised Yam $6 - photo by Cactuskit

We had a surprise off menu dessert of caramelised yam with compliments from the Lao Ban Niang who was so charmed by Cactuskit. If you recall, Cactus was the "Aunty Killer" who also charmed the Kway Chap Aunty from Yong Li into inviting his family to her home for a very special dinner.

This dish has to be eaten hot, while the sugar is still sticky. It is picked up and dunked into a bowl of ice water which then hardens the caramel. If you wait too long, the whole dish will be one big piece of rock hard candy. The contrast of the crunchy caramel with the powdery yam got Cactuskit so excited that he finished almost the whole plate by himself. 4/5

Conclusion

Good place to go for a cheap Cze Char with some rather unique Thai inspired dishes.

Simpang Kitchen
Simpang Bedok Food Centre
#02-03
96695293
12pm-3pm, 6pm-10.00pm
Closed on Alt Mondays

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Yellow light Thai Food: Some hard to find Thai here

With Eastcoastlife

Miang Karm (Betel Nut leaf wrapped condiments) $8

Humans are creatures of habit. But habits are not bad, they are used by our brain to automate certain processes so that you don't have to waste time and extra energy to make certain decisions. When it comes to food, we also form habits of ordering certain foods when we eat so that we don't have to waste too much brain power.At least for me, whenever I eat Thai Food, I always end up ordering the same stuff. It saves the hassle of having to risk ordering something you are not going to like. Same goes with Northern Indian, Japanese and so on.

But every now and again, you might want to venture out to try something new. Well, if you are in such a mood, then you might find something like Miang Karm a bit more adventurous.

In Thailand, this dish is actually available from the Supermarket where all the condiments and the Betel Nut leaves are packed in styrofoam trays with gladwrap. All you need to do is to make a little pouch from the leaf and put in all the condiments and pop it in your mouth. This dish is not readily available in Thai restaurants here but one restaurant that does sell it is Yellow Light Thai Food. I really enjoy this dish as a starter, it is refreshing and the combination of the fried coconut and the tangy sauce gives it a nice zing to start your meal. 4.25/5


Fried Salted Egg Yolk Ball $3 each

Yellow Light is actually a Thai Restaurant started by a Penang lady of Thai descent around 30 years ago. It called "Yellow Light" because it did not have a signboard, so the regulars all recognized the place by the yellow light that was hanging outside. Even though the restaurant did not originate from Thailand, the owners work very hard at making sure the food is as authentic as it gets.

Aside from the Miang Karm, I also tried their Fried Salted Egg Yolk Ball which I must admit, I have not come across even though I spent two years living in Bangkok. It is essentially a salted egg yolk wrapped with a paste made from minced pork and deep fried. Certainly something new to try if you haven't come across it before. 3.5/5


Belachan Fried Rice $12

For those who like the pungent smell of dry Belachan, you would like this dish. I especially like the sweet pork belly that they have as one of the condiments which go very well with the savoury rice and dried shrimps. 4/5


Tom Yum Soup $12

I felt the Tom Yum soup lacked a certain kick that day. It is unfortunate since I feel that the owners here really do emphasize a lot on authenticity and they make a lot of effort and passion goes into the dishes since the owner happens to be the chef as well. The soup just lacks that sourish ooomph that day. 3.75/5


Green Curry Chicken $12

Their focus on authenticity can easily be seen in the extra effort they put in to procure the small pea sized brinjals that are always seen when you eat Green Curry in Thailand. The green curry is good but again lacks the special something to get you to order that extra portion of rice. 3.5/5

Conclusion

Nice little family run Thai restaurant. The chef owner puts a lot of effort into making the food authentic and so you can find some things here that is not found in other Thai Restaurants in Singapore. However, it is a constant debate over whether to keep the food authentic or to modify it to suit the local taste. All the effort of getting stuff like baby brinjal might just go to waste because Singaporeans don't appreciate them at all. If you are looking for Thai food that is a little different from elsewhere, this might be a place you would want to check out.

Yellow Light Thai Food
95 East Coast Road
Singapore 428793
11.30am to 2.30pm
6pm to 10pm
Closed Mondays
6345 7324

This was an invited review

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Ieat Makan Session at Joe's Kitchen

My mother would have described it as "Kee Ka La Kior". (lit Kee Ka La sound ie noisy)

And that probably sums it up for the first ieat Makan Session for 2008. Well that's what you get when you try to cram 47 people into a small eatery which can comfortably seat 40. But hey, it's a great way to meet new friends and share a 14 course meal in "togetherness"!

For this session, I had asked Thai Chef Joe to whip up some dishes which I was accustomed to in Thailand which is difficult to find in Singapore. He did better than that, he even simulated a real time "Bangkok" blackout in the middle of dinner. It is amazing that when the lights go out, our kakis response is the predictable "OOooooooo" followed by a period of silence followed by someone making a wise crack to break the silence. Err, the guy making the wise crack that night would have been me!

Anyway, we were treated to some authentic Esarn food which comprised of sticky rice eaten with Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad), grilled chicken and pork neck. After spending two years in Thailand, I must say that these has become my favourite of Thai dishes although it took some time to grow on me. Not surprisingly, a lot of our kakis didn't take to it immediately. Trust me, after a few more goes, you'd prefer this over the normal Thai food. There is a good reason for it being the most popular dish in Thailand, you know.



The Kao Dang Na Dang is also another dish not commonly seen here. It is basically an appetiser comprising crispy rice cakes with a savoury minced pork and peanut dip. I thought that the chef was a little too generous with the peanuts that night and as a result the dip was a bit too oily. But some people like holydrummer was saying it was the best stuff he had ever tasted! Could still be better, my friend, with a bit more tweaking!



A lot of our kakis likened the grilled pork collar to a Thai style Char Siew. Khaw Mu Yang, or grilled pork collar is one of the most common street foods in Thailand and commonly eaten with sticky rice and Som Tam. I really miss this dish as it is not very commonly found in Thai restaurants here. Most of the kakis found it very good, though I can tell you that it can be even better if it were cut thinner and grilled till the fats melt and causes the smoke from the charcoal to flavour the meat. (Joe told me he will tweak it a bit an add it to the menu!)

Joe actually went out to buy a new grill just so that he could make the grilled pork and chicken dishes for us. The grill also meant that now he can also chargrill the condiments like lemongrass, onions, galangal, ginger etc before adding it into the Tom Yum Soup! Thanks for making the extra effort Joe!



Speaking of Tom Yum soup, Saturday's version was the closest to the one's I had in the street stalls of Thailand so far. It had the right amount of hot and sour to get the salivary glands going. Initially, he had wanted to make seafood Tom Yum, but I requested the fried fish Tom Yum instead. In retrospect, I think some of the kakis would have appreciated it more if there was seafood in the Tom Yum to give it a sweeter taste. Nevertheless, dipping a piece of the tasty, crispy fried fish into the Tom Yum soup was definitely one of the highlights of the evening for me.



The crab tang hoon drew mixed reviews from our kakis. Eastcoastlife liked it. In fact it was the only dish she liked out of the whole menu. You can read her review here. Bashful Hunter on the other hand thought it was the only item on the menu that was not so good. He was comparing the crab tang hoon with Ya Kwang's version. So it really goes to show that taste is indeed subjective even amongst a group of seasoned foodies.

Conclusion

Thanks very much to Joe and Jamie for so kindly hosting us on a Saturday night and for making the extra effort to specially cater the menu to my specification. I was happy to be able to eat my favourite Som Tam, Gai Yang with Khao Niao and also Mango Sticky Rice.

Thanks especially to Damien for organizing the makan session!

And of course thanks to everyone who turned up to add to the Chaos of the Makan Session! I hope everyone had fun and look forward to seeing you all at the next one!

If you all know of any particular restaurant which can host our makan session, do write in to let me know!

You can read Keropokman's reviews here
Eastcoastlife here
The rest of the comments on the Forum here
Ladyironchef's cleavers a bit blunt, so stay tuned

Link to previous post on Joe's Kitchen

Joe's Kitchen Blk 125,
Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-182
(Opp Alexandra Hospital)
11am to 3pm 5pm to 10pm
62708484
Jamie 98577007

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Joe's Kitchen: Joe's a Thai Guy

With ieatfamily, Chinchaiguy, skinnyfoodie and cafelatte

Claypot Crab Vermicilli $15

I have eaten very little Thai food in Singapore. I used to love Thai food, but I must have eaten Thai food less than five times since we came back from our 2 year stint in Bangkok. And that was like five years ago. I guess it must be that I have never found really authentic Thai food in Singapore and also that I just cannot get myself to pay $6 for a plate of Khao Pad Gai (Fried Rice with Chicken) when I used to buy it for 20 Baht (80 cents) just down the road from my apartment.

My favourite Thai food is difficult to find in Singapore. It is typical Esarn (North East region of Thailand) cuisine which comprise of Som Tam (Green papaya salad), Khai Yang (Grilled Chicken) and other salads eaten with Sticky Rice. Except for Golden Mile Complex, you can hardly find this in any of the Thai Restaurants in Singapore. In fact, the Thais themselves love Esarn food. If I were to pick the top Thai food that is most eaten by my Thai friends, I would say it is Som Tam with lots of chilli padi eaten with Sticky Rice. It is to the Thais what Hokkien Mee and Chicken Rice is to us Singaporeans.


Prawn Cakes $2 per pc

When I was invited to Joe's Kitchen, I was told that the chef was previously the head chef from Parkway Thai. With a name like Joe, I thought he was a Singaporean guy. But I was pleasantly surprised that Joe turned out to be a Thai guy who had married a Singapore girl (our secret weapon for attracting foreign talent). Not only that, but Joe's from Esarn as well! OK, Thai food cooked by a Thai guy in his own little restaurant. This is worth checking out!

I was pleasantly surprised with the Thot Man Goong (Prawn Cakes). The texture was perfect. It had a nice springy consistency with bits of prawn in it and marinated just right. Same stuff I used to get in the best Thai restaurants in Bangkok. 4.5/5


Mango Salad $6

The Green Mango Salad was also refreshingly good. Joe gave it a bit of twist by garnishing it with deep fried cuttlefish which gave it that extra ooomph. The heat and saltiness has been toned down so it did not have quite that kick you'd often get in Thailand. However, he confirmed that he does use palm sugar rather than granulated sugar, so it is still quite authentic. I'd like mine with a dash more fish sauce and vinegar though. 4.25/5


Stuffed Chicken Wings $2 per pc

Stuffed chicken wings are one of the easiest things to eat and great for the kids. One of the things about the Thais is that the labour cost is so low that they can afford to get people to do the most labour intensive work. I remember eating seafood in Thailand where they actually served the meat from the crab legs ready peeled! I used to imagine a group of ladies in the back using their teeth to crack open the shell and pulling out the meat from the crab legs! Suffice to say, I never really developed a taste for ready peel crab legs served cold with a dip.



The same amount of labor intensive work goes into preparing the stuffed chicken wings. For every wing, someone has to dislocate the joint, pull out the radius and ulnar bones of the midwing and then stuff it with a mixture of water chestnuts, corn, chopped chicken meat and mushrooms. Hard work but really easy to eat! Being partial to anything with crunchy water chestnuts, I really enjoyed this. 4.25/5


Green Curry Chicken $4.50/$8.90

One of the problems I find when eating Thai food in Singapore is they way they have to modify the dish to suit the local palate. So take for instance the Green Curry Chicken. The spices have been toned down and they have made it richer by adding more coconut milk. They also made it less sweet. Instead of the baby green brinjal which comes in two sizes (chickpea and egg sizes) they use the mature purple ones. I found that the Green Curry lacks balance and the coconut milk was overpowering. 3.5/5


Pineapple Fried Rice $4.50/$8.90

A proper pineapple fried rice needs to have the rice baked in the pineapple. This is quite obvious from the name of the dish in Thai (Khao Ob Saparot - Rice baked (in) Pineapple). However, even in Thailand, this dish is often simply a fried rice with pineapple. A nice pineapple fried rice should be mildly spiced and have that sweetness of the pineapple infused into the rice. But the fact is that most of the time you get to taste the Pork Floss and the Cashew nuts. Unfortunately, Joe did not choose to bake the rice in the pineapple, so this is rightly called pineapple fried rice and I found that again he has toned down on the spices. This dish can be so much better. 3.75/5


Tom Yum Soup $4/$8.90

Tom Yam Soup is arguably the most famous Thai dish overseas. In order to make a good Tom Yam, the soup stock has be great. The Tom Yum soup at Joe's is very good, although, again I found that the spices have been toned down. I think that it might be wise for them to actually let the guest choose the amount of spice they want in their dishes. You know, like 3 grades of spiciness - Ang Moh level, Singaporean level and Thai level so that we can get to custom it to our liking. For me, I would have liked the Tom Yum to be more hot and sour. 4/5

One of my favourite Thai dishes is Prawn Baked Vermicilli which really is a Teochew dish that the Thais have adopted. The secret to a good vermicilli is that piece of pork fat that they place at the bottom of the deep pan when they cook the dish. Aiyah, Joe removed the pork fat because most Singaporeans are health conscious. You want a die die must try Crab Baked Vermicilli? You need that extra ingredient! 3.5/5

Conclusion

Judging from the dishes that did not have to be modified to suit our local tastes, I think that Joe has the ability to cook up a really authentic Thai meal if he was given permission to. I would really love it if they would add Sticky Rice with Som Tom and Khai Yang to their menu. Too many Thai Restaurants assume that Singaporeans will not like it, but I am sure that a place selling these dishes will be a hit with Singaporeans.

At any rate, Joe's Kitchen is a great place to enjoy Thai food where it is small and informal enough for you to get to know the chef and his wife. For me that means that I can get them to cook the dishes the way I like it. Aside from that I think the prices are also quite reasonable, so it is worth checking out the place if you have a craving for Thai food.

Joe's Kitchen Blk 125,
Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-182
(Opp Alexandra Hospital)
11am to 3pm 5pm to 10pm
62708484
Jamie 98577007
Disclosure: This was an invited review

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Hooked on Heads: Hooked on everything else as well!

With ieatMama, iwatch_ueat, liverpool, PowerAunty and the PowerGang

Fish Head Curry (whole) $30

Quite a few people have written to me about Hooked on Heads, but I never quite got round to it. However, last week a series of events happened that finally brought me to this restaurant. Firstly, my friend from church emailed me about this stall raving about the Mee Siam and Har Cheong (Prawn Paste) Kai and then PowerAunty found out that ieatMama was in town and wanted to meet her. Knowing that both these ladies love fish heads and peranakan food, I finally arranged to eat here. At least I will have two experts to give their opinion on the Fish Head Curry!

I must admit that I have never been big on fish heads, but I really enjoy watching how people who love fish heads really slurp up all the fiddly jelly bits with gusto. I imagine it is like eating chicken feet or oxtail where there is a lot of effort for that bit of tasty gristle.

Anyway our two experts concur that the fish head curry was really sedap! (tasty). The curry is made with milk and coconut milk so it is not too jerlak, but still creamy and the fish was really fresh. It wasn't overly spicy so it suited me fine but for someone like Liverpool, he complained that it was too mild. If like me you are not big on Fish Head Curry, this one might get you "Hooked on Heads". 4.5/5


Mee Siam $3.80

The Mee Siam here is quite different from your normal Mee Siam. If you are a stickler for the more traditional Mee Siam, you might not take to this. However, I loved it because it had the sweetness and creaminess of the Indian version but at the same time it retained the tanginess of the more familiar Mee Siam. Both PowerAunty and ieatMama gave a resounding two thumbs up as well. 4.6/5


Mango Salad $6.80

Although there is a strong emphasis on Peranakan food, the restaurant owners has not allowed this to restrict his menu. They also offer Thai food as well as local Cze Char dishes. I was amazed at how well Thomas and wife Gina were able to juggle it all. And what I really enjoy is the way they tweak the dishes just that little bit to make it even better. Take for instance the Green Mango Salad which is a traditional Thai Dish. Aside from the crisp, tangy shredded Mango and other greens, they have also topped it off with shredded dried Cuttlefish which has been lightly toasted. The savoury flavour and chewy texture of the cuttlefish was an excellent contrast to the tangy, crunchy salad. 4.5/5


Prawn Paste Chicken $8

I have been lamenting the fact that though many places serve Prawn Paste Chicken that one can hardly taste the flavour of the prawn paste. So I am happy to report that the prawn paste chicken here is excellent. They use only mid wings here and they are marinated long enough such that the red colouring has really seeped into the flesh. Thomas also explained that they use modern fryers to deep fry the chicken instead of a wok. So with the right temperature control, the meat of the chicken is kept nice and juicy inside. One of the best Prawn Paste Chicken I have tasted. 4.5/5


Crispy Sole Fish $18

There are three versions of the Crispy Sole Fish. We had the plain one which is dipped in a Thai style green chilli sauce. This is a real visual treat and though it was executed perfectly, I found that there was a lack of ooomph in the flesh. What was interesting though is the unique garnishing which is made from thinly shredded lemongrass. I think the Garlic Fried or Thai Sweet Chilli version should taste better. 3.75/5


Banana Fritters Special $3.80

Make sure that you leave some room for desserts as they have got a nice selection here. The first I would recommend is the banana fritters which is eaten with ice cream and golden syrup. I used to have this a lot when I was living Thailand. But the version I had was simply a banana halved lengthwise and fried in a crisp batter, very similar to our Goreng Pisang. This one is a little bit different. It has a crispy golden shell on the outside and fluffy on the inside, almost like a donut with banana inside. They use Del Monte bananas here which is nice and sweet. It was both a visual and gustatory treat! 4.5/5


Mango Sticky Rice $3.80

I used to buy Mango Sticky Rice for 50 Baht (less than $2) from the roadside hawkers in Bangkok and it was one of those things that I was really hooked on. Although it seems like a simple dish, there a real art in getting the sticky rice to the right consistency and it has to have a good balance of sweet and salty. Thomas was explaining to me that they use Thai sticky rice which cooks evenly unlike those of Vietnamese origin. This is one of my all time favourite Thai desserts and I am very happy with this one. 4.5/5

Conclusion

We all had a great time in this restaurant that really exceeded our expectations. They have a nice Lunch Sampler Set for 2-4 people that features a half Curry Fish Head with a choice of other dishes for $22.80+ on weekdays which is quite good value. For those eating alone, you can get a mini set with a choice of 2 dishes for $5.80+. Everyone was so delighted that we all vowed a return visit to taste the other items on the menu.

Hooked on Heads
Tower 2, #01-01/02,
Sin Ming Plaza 6
Sin Ming Road 64554948
www.hookedonheads.com

Recommended by Rebecca and Karen

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Northen Thai: Tom Yum Soup with a Twist!

With smart, mien, iwatch_ueat, fertilefoodie and accidentalfoodie


I have been eating at this stall for 2 years and I am still amazed why they have not gotten a newspaper writeup or have any mediacorp stars' face pasted on the stallfront yet!! Time and time again, when I bring my friends here, the response has always been a resounding SHIOK!! This time round, the four new foodies all agree that this stall deserves a rating of between a 4 to a 4.5.

Besides the taste, the other great thing is that the Tom Yum Fish Soup is unlike anything I have ever eaten here or in my 2 years living in Bangkok! It is not the classic Tom Yum that we know. The soup is more like a cross between Tom Yum and Tom Kha (With coconut milk). The soup is robust with the flavours of lemongrass, basil, chilli padi and Kaffir lime leaves to give it that tangy and spicy taste with just a tint of coconut to give it some body.



The other thing to die for is the crispy fried fish. For me at least, the fried fish was astounding! It has just the right balance of seasoning (and most likely MSG) to get your umami receptors happily pinging away.

Conclusion

You must try this because it is not only really shiokadoo, it is the only version of it I know of anywhere in Singapore! $3 4.5/5


Northen Thai
Coffee shop at the Cnr of Tyrwhitt
and Kitchener Road
10.30am to 4.30pm Closed on Sundays

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