Taste of Thailand @ Yishun Industrial Park A
With all the coverage on the worst flooding ever in Thailand, one just cannot erase the word Thailand from the mind. So when it comes to food, I cannot help but think of Thai cuisine. I have been looking for this eatery since they have shifted out of Sembawang Shopping Center years ago. One of my uni friend had actually brought me to this cheap and good Thai Zhi Char like place and whenever I think of what to eat while I am in Sembawang, I will think of this place.
I have been wondering where exactly is the new location and finally got to know from a colleague staying in Yishun that the owners have shifted the eatery to Yishun Industrial Park A. How do I get there with public transport? I really have no idea and have not really tried finding out. I am lucky today that my friend agreed to drive me to look for it. With Google Map, we found the place easily with the address. It is just beside the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniyar Temple if you have any difficulty locating it.
View of the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniyar Temple from where we parked the car. There are limited lots so do go early. Even if you go there late, it is not difficult to park alongside the small roads.
You will not missed the place with its brightly lit signage and number of helpers hanging around to cater for the peak crowd.
Their menu is simply summarised into one page. Most of the customers will order the popular items like we did. 🙂
The 2 sauces that were served. The green one tasted very refreshing and smell like the thai lime. The one in the background tasted more sambal-ish but is not spicy. Nice to be drizzled over fried stuff.
Within 5 minutes of putting in our order, all our food were served. First came the Chilli Asparagus 芦笋炒辣 (Small – $6) . We had opted for a slightly different vegetable from the rest as I have gotten tired of eating Sambal Kangkong most of the time. The asparagus was crunchy and stir-fried with prawns, cuttlefish and straw mushroom. The chilli was not too oily nor too spicy. Nice dish for a change. 🙂
The Deep Fried Cuttlefish 炸墨鱼 (Small – $6) came next. It was so lightly battered that you can see the cuttlefish.
From certain angles, the cuttlefish looks like thick fries. I am not a cuttlefish lover but found this dish quite nice to eat. The cuttlefish was not chewy and you can cut through it easily. The batter is so thin but fragrant and it goes very well with the chilli and sauces that was served.
Tom Yam Soup 冬炎汤 (Small – $3). I find this so value for money. There were 2 big prawns, few slices of fish, cuttlefish and straw mushrooms in the soup. The soup was nicely balanced. You get the sweet and tangy taste in each mouthful without it being overly spicy. A pity it was not as pipping hot as I had wished. This portion is just nice to serve 2 persons 2 small bowls each. If you like more soup, you may like to order the medium one. If you want to specify the ingredients in your soup, you can too as they have beef or prawn tom yam soup available for ordering.
Closeup of the ingredients inside the Tom Yam Soup
Pineapple Rice 黄梨炒饭 (Small – $3) – I remembered the pineapple rice used to be served in a pineapple shell ( it is actually a pineapple with the meat dug out but the shape maintained and then used as a bowl) but I guessed for hygiene and convenient reasons, they have changed to using plate instead. Rumors were that the pineapple shell used as bowl in most Thai establishments are recycled. I do not know how true this is but nowadays, it is getting harder and harder to get pineapple rice served in a pineapple shell. The pineapple rice is served with a generous portion of pork/chicken floss (I cannot tell) and is not oily. It is good on its own as a main dish as it is fried with pineapple (of course!), chinese sausages, egg and prawns. Yum.
One of the signature dish here is probably the Thai Deep Fried Fish Delight 泰式三味鱼 (Small – $13). Everyone of the fishes served seems to come out of a mould. LOL.. They look similarly fried and perfectly balanced with their tail pointing up. It is served with a bowl of special blend chilli sauce which you can choose to pour over your fish. The chilli sauce is more sweet than spicy, balanced out by the tanginess but not overly sour. It goes well with the other fried dishes and nice to be drizzled over plain rice too. The fish was so crisp that my friend devoured almost everything!
Our meal cost us only $31 dollars for 2 pax. (was $32 but they gave a $1 discount). The prices shown on the menu are all nett and there is no service charge. For this pricing , I find the food to be very decent. The entire eating area was almost full during the peak dinner time and the rate at which the food was served was not reduced. I guess they had probably pre-prepared some of the popular items so that they can serve quickly and customers do not get angry waiting for too long. If you really want pipping hot food, I suggest you do not go before the crowd arrives.
Taste of Thailand
Blk 1001 Yishun Industrial Park A
#01-1001 Singapore 768743
Opening hours: Mon – Sun 11.12am – 2.15pm, 5pm – 9.30pm
