Monday 26 January 2015

Mia's Review: Spicy Thai Thai Cafe [Food-Tasting]


Located in the eastie heartland, nestled right behind the Basketball Association of Singapore, getting to the Spicy Thai-Thai Cafe from the nearest MRT station (Paya Lebar) might seem a little daunting on the map, but it actually only takes you a mere 15 minutes' walk on foot! And with a signboard so big, it's really hard to miss this restaurant once you turn in from the main road.


With the area of a regular kopitiam, Spicy Thai provides a large airy eating space, an awesome choice for mookata, with an absolutely no frills, minimalist set up to the big restaurant.



The boss himself, a homegrown businessman, Mr Ron Poh, is such a hands-on man, he has done up the ceiling lights all on his own too!


With two Thai chefs from the suburban North Eastern Thailand whipping up your orders in the kitchen, expect yourself to try out some authentic North Eastern Thailand style dishes, which can be even more flavourful as compared to the Bangkok style dishes usually served at our Thai restaurants here.

Organic Wheatgrass Drink - $3.50

Rather than going for the usual Thai Iced Tea, Janel and I wanted to try something more unique, and decided on this glass of the deadly green. Although healthy, we all know how palatable wheatgrass drinks can be, but this was surprisingly light and refreshing on my tongue. Even though there's still this distinctive wheatgrass taste, the usual turn-off of the 'raw bitter vegetable' taste was missing, plus it rewards you with a refreshing sweetness in the aftertaste too. A healthy drink that's easy on your tastebuds, so why not?

La La (Clam) Bee Hoon - $18


Yes, your eyes aren't playing a trick on you. There's really an overflowing amount of fresh clams tossed in this slightly spicy beehoon. They were so generous with the clams that I really felt that there's more clams than beehoon in the pot. Just imagine my surprise when I started tossing the piping hot beehoon around, expecting the 'overflowing clams' to start disappearing into the beehoon, and instead, tossed out even more clams that were stacked beneath the beehoon.
So for all those fellow shellfish-lovers out there who enjoys a slight spicy kick in your food, this lala beehoon is a must try!

The clams, albeit not monstrous sized like those I've eaten overseas, were still pretty fat for local standards and fresh. The beehoon, having soaked up all the flavour from the savoury and spicy gravy, will definitely have you going for seconds.
This is my favourite dish of the day and I strongly recommend that you try this out, peeps!

Basil Mussels - $15



Yes, another one of my favourite seafood, mussels! Cooked in a spicy and savoury broth, the mussels were just a little spicy and very flavourful, chewy and yet, not overcooked and rubbery despite served steaming hot above charcoal flames. The remaining yummy broth simply screams, "Get a bowl of white rice!"

Dill Pattie (Cha Om) Omelette - $8

 If you're not familiar with dill, it's actually a herb that packs a load of nutritional benefits, which includes protection against free radicals and carcinogens, anti-bacterial properties, and rich in calcium, dietary fibre and other minerals.

And frankly speaking when I first saw the omelette, I was slightly taken aback at the amount of greens in it. Well, I'm not exactly a carnivore, but I'm highly selective with the greens I put into my mouth. And with this dish, it seems like dill has made it on my to-eat list! Even though generously packed with the thai herb, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that dill actually doesn't taste herbal or bitter at all. In fact, there's a very subtle sweetness to it, which actually will get covered up by the taste of the well flavoured omelette, which basically means that the dill will be pretty 'negligible' in taste, unless you intentionally pull them out of the egg to get a true taste of it.

BBQ Pork Neck - $10


Grilled till perfection using charcoal and served with a tangy and spicy dip, this dish is a must try for all pork-lovers! Albeit slightly dry, the fact that it was charcoal-grilled also gave it a delicious fragrance to the chewy and savoury meat. I exceptionally loved the slightly charred bits. Heh, my sinful pleasures. 

Stir Fry Smelly Beans with Prawns - $12


Smelly beans, or better known as Petai, is actually also packed with tons of nutrition to give us health benefits, which helps with cases of anemia, HBP, diabetes, heartburn, hangovers, constipation and the list really drones on. However, due to its distinctive pungent smell and the raw and hard texture, it's also one of my most hated greens. 
But you know what, I actually went for seconds for this dish! The strong savoury flavour and spiciness of the dish really did well to mask the distinctive taste of the petai, which I'm not a big fan of. Although the raw, hard texture is still something I'm not really loving very much, the addictive taste of the gravy got the better of me and I just kept scooping more onto my own plate. 
Heh, petai can't stop my gluttony here. 

 Hommok (Thai Style Otak) - $16

This was undeniably Janel's favourite dish of the day.
Comprising mainly of seafood, egg, coconut flesh and thai spices, I will say that this is one of the most visually appealing dish we had for the day. I mean, just look at all that vibrant colours stuffed into a small young coconut. Can it get any better? 

And I have to say, this dish is all kind of tastes in just one bite. There was the freshness of the seafood, savoury from the egg, sweetness from the (huge chunk of) coconut flesh, and then everything was further oomphed up with a strong taste of Thai spices. 

Sleeping Fish Set - $15

Just like how they're usually served in Thailand, these Short Mackerel looks a little strange with the head tilt that's due to the fact that it gets its backbone broken just behind the head such that it can fit into the bamboo steamer used to cook it in salt brine. 

To enjoy this dish, grab a piece of the cabbage, pack in some of the vermicelli, basil, coriander, and a bite sized piece of the mackerel. Then, add in the chili of your choice (there's 4 types for you to choose from) before wrapping everything up and stuffing it into your mouth.  

And just like any other mackerel, the fish does have this distinctive 'fishy mackerel' taste, which I'm not a big fan of. But the addition of both the basil and the thai chili sauces really helps to mask the typical fishy mackerel taste. And you know what, I'm usually not a fan of fresh basil either. It's really interesting to find how 2 really strong tastes, which I happen to not be a fan of, complementing each other so well that I ended up enjoying the dish. 

And of course, how can we end this without desserts?

Tapioca in Coconut Milk - $3.50

To be frank, this is not something I'll call dessert. To me, tapioca is as good (and filling, obviously) as a main dish! 
Drenched generously in rich coconut milk and served comfortably warm, this is a dessert for sharing, and definitely not with an almost full tummy.

Lemongrass Jelly with Aloe Vera Cubes and Calamansi - $2.50

I definitely enjoyed this light and refreshing cold jelly dessert. The ice cold jelly was so easy to swallow and soothing to the throat and the tangy flavour from the calamansi just makes you want more of it. A good choice of dessert to refresh your palates after a feast on all the spicy, flavourful dishes. 

Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe is located at 
115 Aljunied Avenue 2, #01-35
Singapore 380115
Tel: 67478558

For more information, visit their website HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo



33 comments:

  1. Oh God, all the foods look super delicious. I really want to eat right now. especially that beans with prawn.

    www.tomntins.blogspot.kr

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  2. wow looks so delicious ..... hope u enjoyed there :)

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  3. Yummy pictures... very well reviewed. I so want to visit. Thanks for sharing.
    GIGLove

    Heena
    www.icynosure.in

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  4. Wow, the food looks absolutely amazing. I am so hungry now. :D

    GIG Love
    STYLE WITHOUT LIMITS

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  5. I love thai food.. this is yummy!~ giglove http://cre8tonebabe.blogspot.com

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  6. All the food photos are looking awesome and making me hungry!

    From GIG Love

    Snowman1314

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  7. I have occasions where I crave for wheatgrass juice. But I'm not a hundred percent sure what organic ones taste like. I only try the powdered ones.

    Beauty Blogger Philippines - Kumiko Mae

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  8. That is a lovely little cafe with some delicious food indeed! Drooling looking at all those pictures.

    GIG Love
    New Post - xoxo Chaicy - Style..A Pastiche!
    Facebook

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  9. Everything looks so yummy, apart from the fish, it scared me a little haha. Everything is so reasonably priced, I'd be happy to pay that.

    GIG LOVE | The Life of Leeshastarr

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  10. I should try that Organic Wheatgrass Drink. it's so greenn !

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  11. Thai food is the best.. I think I'm going to love this cafe food... Thanks for the lovely review!~ Yummy and delicious! giglove http://cre8tonebabe.blogspot.com

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  12. Gosh... the mussels and petai were just DELICIOUS!!! I'm drooling over here now~~~

    GIG

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  13. For a dessert, Thai famous with coconut ice cream. Did This restaurant provide this famous dessert ? If yes, you should try it <3
    MISS IKA'S BLOG

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  14. Great post, really enjoyed reading it, thanks for sharing!! GIG Love!
    xoxo Francy @ http://www.fancy-francy.com

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  15. I am practically drooling here as I scrolled down your post! Those dishes look so delicious. But what I find very interesting is the dessert being served plus that wheatgrass drink! This is very different from the usual Thai food I've seen here in the US.
    xx Donah

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  16. Hommok looks really interesting. That jelly is a great choice for a dessert - tasty and refreshing.

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  17. Organic Wheatgrass Drink how it taste? good or nay? XD
    but smells beans with prawns are my favorite! <3

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  18. The food looks really good! But for me Thai food is all about the Tom Yum! =)

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  19. The food looks so yummy! Thanks for making me hungry!!!!!!

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  20. the food looks delish but I'm quite sensitive to spice :/ haha

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  21. That organic wheatgrass looks yum! I know i'm weird but I think you build a liking for it over time :)

    Gig Love
    Petitepralines.blogspot.com

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  22. I absolutely adore Thai food and these shots have my mouth watering. This sounds like a great spot - Thanks for sharing your special find with us! <3 GIGLove

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  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  24. Out of all the foods you ate, which one was your favourite?

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    Replies
    1. I've mentioned in my post. You'll know if you've read it.

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  25. Lovely decor in this cafe. The wall art is stunning!

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  26. Looks absolutely delicious! I'm really into spicy foods at the moment, so this place I'd definitely visit if i had the chance x
    | Life as a Petite || Fashion, Crafts & Lifestyle Blog |

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  27. i love thai food and these pics makes me crave to go visit thailand ....

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  28. This makes me wonder if there is any decent Thai restaurants like this in Seoul.... Your food pics look super delicious, I hope I can find something like this here T__T

    http://reonsoresque.tistory.com

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  29. Yes, wheatgrass is really good. It's taste green and refreshing too especially if it's fresh. The lemongrass jelly definitely something i wanna try.

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  30. Everything look so good! Do you know what else was in the wheatgrass drink to give it that sweet taste?
    xoxo giglove
    Andréa Christine | My Hair Story

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  31. Fresh sea food always makes my mouth water! It is really surprising that a cafe can offer such great quality. Glad you had a great time! :)

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  32. Whenever I hear "spicy" when it comes to food, I'm hesitant because I'm terrible at handling spicy stuff. But still, everything looks so good! :)

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