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July 2nd, 2018 
365days2play Who knew that one would be able to find a restaurant focussing on food from Indochina in the heart of Robertson Quay, and a very good one at that? Newly opened River Wok offers flavours from countries like Laos, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The menu is a reflection of Executive Chef Kantha Chookiat’s travels and extensive cooking experience in the region. Chef Chookiat grew up in Chiang Mai, Thailand and has over 30 years of culinary experience.
Posted in 1.0 Media Invites, 1.2 Restaurants 
Tags: indonesian cuisine, media invites, Restaurants, River Wok, Robertson Quay, Robertson Quay Restaurants, Thai Cuisine, Vietnamese Cuisine 
Comments Off on River Wok at Robertson Quay–Surprisingly good IndoChina food in a predominantly Western food enclave February 20th, 2018 365days2play [Media Invite]
Situated atop the densely forested Labrador Nature Reserve, and yet only a 10 minute walk from Labrador MRT Station, the restaurant Tamarind Hill qualifies to be called a hidden gem. When you arrive at the restaurant, it’s hard not to be wowed by the charming colonial bungalow that has been decked out to exude a rustic-luxe Asian flair, amidst vast greenery. It really feels as if you are cocooned away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of Singapore.
The bungalow may seem small from the outside, partly because it is obscured by all the plants. But once you open the main door, you will surely be wowed by this imposing and grand looking bar area. This is probably the most instagrammable spot in the entire restaurant!
The restaurant serves traditional and contemporary Siamese cuisine, and is led by Executive Chef Wanthana Nikonsaen who hails from a small village near Laos, North-East of Thailand. But I was there to try the Lunar New Year menu, so I was keen to see how this menu might be different from all the Chinese New Year menus I have tried in the past few weeks.
For $88/pax, Tamarind Hill will be offering a 4 course set menu comprising fixed dishes of appetisers, soup, mains and desserts. If you want to have Yu Sheng / Lohei, that’s an additional $38 (small for 3 – 4 pax) or $68 (large for 7 – 8 pax). Check out the photos of the food below. If you have the chance, sit outdoors in the al-fresco area because the greenery all around is just so pretty.
Posted in 1.0 Media Invites, 1.1 Hotel Restaurants Tags: Chinese New Year, Labrador MRT Station, Labrador Park, Park Cafes and Restaurants, Tamarind Hill, Thai Cuisine Comments Off on Chinese New Year 2018 – Tamarind Hill, literally a hidden gem in Labrador Nature Reserve May 19th, 2015 365days2play Well by affordable, I do mean relative to the other celebrity restaurants at Marina Bay Sands. The recently opened Long Chim takes the space that was formerly Guy Savoy. The thing that struck me most when I first heard that Bangkok based Michelin-Starred Australian chef David Thompson would be opening a restaurant in Singapore, was the rather unflattering name of “Long Chim”. Long Chim means “come and taste” in Thai, which is the restaurant’s invitation for you to come and try out its street food inspired Thai dishes.
I’m afraid my photos don’t do justice to the food this time round, as the restaurant was dark and bathed in yellow hues. You’re best checking out the mouth watering dishes on the Long Chim website itself.
Our friend from the UK was in town, and we were torn between impressing our friend with the Chinese cuisine at 9Goubuli (also at MBS) or checking out something new, ie Long Chim. Turns out said friend is a fan of Thai food, so the choice was easy. Interesting to note that the English are more used to spicy food, as compared to say the New Zealanders, probably due to the large population of Indians and Pakistanis.
Long Chim boasts a very impressive entrance, despite its humble motto of featuring street food inspired cuisine. The wait staff will ask you if you’re going to have a drink first or head straight to dinner, which reveals David Thompson’s roots. We took a long time to decide on the dishes to try because the menu is just 2 pages long, with the 1st page being more of single pax dishes type.
Recently awarded the No. 7 spot on San Pellegrino’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015 and 13th on World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2014 for his restaurant in Bangkok, Long Chim is Chef David Thompson’s first venture into casual dining. At first glance, the menu seems affordable, as most of the dishes are around $20+. But then again, it’s comfort food in casual plating that we’re talking about, even if the food does please in general.
Posted in 1.2 Restaurants Tags: Long Chim, Marina Bay Sands, Thai Cuisine Comments Off on Long Chim–Affordable eats at MBS Celebrity Row July 7th, 2013 365days2play Of late, I have been trying to get my parents to try out new restaurants instead of the same old thing every time. When I say “same old thing”, I really do mean that! My parents are perfectly fine with eating at Sushi Tei three times a week! The problem partly stems from the fact that my father is a Pescetarian, and my mother is a health abiding citizen, so Japanese soups and fish fit their idea of healthy and not meat fare.
But being a food blogger, I find this extremely limiting and I’ve kinda reached the last straw. I’ve decided to take my parents to sample new places whether they like it or not! Thank god the results have been quite promising. Just today, I brought my parents to try out German food at Werner’s Oven in East Coast Road! That’s really quite a feat, but as always, the deal sweetener is when I say, “it’s okay, the bill is on me” !!!!!
We had a lovely meal at Thanying too, thanks to some vouchers I managed to lay my hands on. I think Thanying has seen better days in terms of numbers of patrons. My parents say that a decade ago, going to Thanying would have been a highlight. Well it still is, and the food is really very good, so it’s a pity that the restaurant was about only 1/4 full on the two occasions we had lunch there last month and the month before.
Tom Yam Goong (Thai Spicy Prawn Soup with mushrooms) $10
Started off the meal with 2 soups. The first soup was an appetite pleaser, ie the Tom Yam soup. Lots of fresh prawns and mushrooms but be careful about not slurping too much soup too quickly. It was damn spicy even though the menu said “hint of spice”!
Posted in 1.1 Hotel Restaurants Tags: amara hotel, Green Curry, Tanjong Pagar Restaurants, Thai Cuisine, Thanying, Tom Yam Soup 2 Comments » May 27th, 2012 365days2play This place is amazing. Every time I pass by Nakhon during dinner hours, it always has a snaking queue! The Bedok Nakhon is located at the left end of a HDB block. Once, I tried to get a seat at 9pm on a Sunday night, and I had to wait at least 20 minutes! This is despite there being a coffee shop on the opposite end of the HDB block. A couple of my friends have eaten at the Nakhon Hougang/Kovan branch and they like the food due to its home-style cooking and very affordable prices.
There is not much seating, which is partly the reason why the dinner queues are so long. I was here on a Friday afternoon for lunch at 1.30pm and the crowd was pretty manageable. We got a seat immediately. The food was also served surprisingly fast, especially for my beef noodles. Like within 2 or 3 minutes after ordering.
Beef Kuay Teow $4
I’m not very adventurous when it comes to Thai food. I usually stick to my favourites like Beef Kuay Teow, Phad Thai or Green Curry with Rice. I don’t mind the taste of Tom Yam soup but it is usually too spicy for me, not just at Nakhon, but at Aroy Thai and Thai Express as well. Beef Kuay Teow is so super safe, I don’t even think it’s Thai! You can get this dish at Chinese Cze Char stalls!
This beef kuay teow was pretty tasty, as all fried kuay teow are apt to be. It wasn’t overly oily, the noodles were firm and had a nice bite. There were numerous slices of beef which were tender, not overcooked, but I thought could do with a bit more flavour. Eggy bits dotted the dish. For $4, I thought it was a steal, considering the fact that it could actually cost more at Cze Char stalls, not to mention that Nakhon’s environment would be at least 1 notch higher than a coffee shop. They also have chicken or pork kuay teow, also $4.
Basil Seafood Rice $8
My father was going to order the Seafood Fried Rice $6 when the waiter recommended the Basil Seafood Rice. This one I thought was quite expensive for a setting like Nakhon. Granted they gave 2 huge pieces of squid, 1 mussel along with some prawns and fish, but for $8 I would expect double the value of the Beef Kuay Teow!
My father said the dish was acceptable. I tried the squid, and I found it to be kind of soft on the inside. I wonder if it was because it was undercooked. I did like the slightly sweet gravy that was provided though.
Fish Cakes $6
A friend once told me he would not ever order such fish cakes as they are more flour than fish. I have to agree with him on that, there are no slivers of fish, nor a texture of minced fish. It really is more cakey than minced fish. Maybe Thai fish cakes are meant to be just normal fishcakes with a stronger fish essence? I’d actually tasted Nakhon’s fish cakes before but because I wanted something to nibble on, I insisted on ordering this even though my father asked me to take the salad. So I guess you could say that for a fishcake of this sort, it was enjoyable for me. Didn’t try the sweet sauce with diced peanuts as my father had walloped the entire thing. Blah.
These were the dishes I had 2 days ago. On a separate occasion, when accompanying a gluttonous friend, I ordered the Thai Red Ruby dessert on his recommendation just to be sociable since I’d already had dinner. That was way below expectations. While the red rubies were delightful to the eyes and pretty enjoyable as they were crunchy on the inside yet sticky on the outside, the milky liquid they sat in was severely diluted. Also, I was expecting a generous amount of the red rubies, but it was not to be.
I think Nakhon is still worth a try since it is on the whole pretty affordable. There are hits and misses but if you stick to the safe dishes, you shouldn’t be disappointed. I’m quite keen to try out more of their dishes soon so watch this space for more updates.
Nakhon Bedok Branch
Address: Blk 136 Bedok North Ave 3, #01-166 Singapore
Tel: +65 6245 5548
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Posted in Food, Others, Travel Tags: Bedok, beef kway teow, casual eateries, fish cakes, Local eats/Hawker food, Nakhon, Thai Cuisine 2 Comments »