Dinner at Nakhon Kitchen, Singapore
Thai is probably one of my favorite cuisines. The balance of flavors that you manage to find (sweet, sour, spicy, salty) in its dishes, when executed properly, is incredible. Thai restaurants range from the upscale (i.e., Jim Thompson) to the cheaper ones, which are vastly concentrated in Golden Mile Complex. Golden Mile isn't very convenient for my family, and in the past the only real good Thai food places we frequented were rather pricy. My brother really wanted to have some Thai food before he left to University in Europe, and my aunt recommended this place close to her house. Nakhon Kitchen actually now has numerous branches around Singapore and is known to offer affordable, tasty Thai food. We decided to visit the branche in Marine Parade. They don't do reservations and their seating is extremely limited, so we actually had to queue for about 25 min. before finally getting a seat.
The first dish to arrive was the Clear Tom Yum Soup with Mixed Seafood. The portion wasn't very big, but it was enough for 4 small bowls. In hindsight, that was probably good, because it wasn't that good, and a small bowl was more than enough.
We ordered two types of rice, the first is the Pineapple Fried Rice. Always a favorite, their rendition was quite tasty, although I think it could've used some more floss and the pineapple taste was very hard to detect.
We also ordered the Olive Fried Rice, since we had previously had this at one of the more upscale Thai places, and loved it. This version was a misser, and we definitely won't be ordering this anymore.
My favorite dish, Green Mango Salad, was executed very well. The sauce was perfectly balanced and we enjoyed it that much, that we ordered a second serving, since the first was finished so quick.
Another Thai staple, we got their Green Curry with Chicken. You can also opt for other proteins, such as beef or prawns, but I think chicken is classic. Their green curry was very nice and wasn't too spicy. Perfect to go with the pineapple fried rice.
I always like ordering fish in Thai restaurants, either steamed or deep fried, since their sauce is usually very nice. We got the Deep Fried Garoupa with Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce. It was disappointing because it was relatively small and wasn't fried properly, so many of the bones (that usually can be eaten if it's fried properly), weren't edible. The fish was extremely overpriced, since it was tiny. Overpriced...
One of my brother's favorites, Stuffed Chicken Wing, was very nice. It was extremely big though, so I only managed to eat half. The filling was very juicy and the exterior was nicely crisped.
His other favorite is the Pandan Chicken. This was also done very well, with the chicken being moist and juicy. It wasn't dry at all and I loved dipping it in the sweet chili sauce that came along with it.
We ordered the Kailan in Oyster Sauce, because we love vegetables. But this tiny portion was way overpriced and not worth it. It was tasty, but for that price tag, even I wouldn't order it again...
We were recommended the Prawn Cakes, so we decided to go for a serving. They had forgotten our order though, so we only got this after reminding them. These were huge, but sadly enough there wasn't much prawn inside. Seemed more like a meatball of some sort.
Even though we were full, I just had to order the Thai Mango with Sticky Rice. A classic dessert, I was happy to find it on their menu. The mango tasted fine, but the sauce on top of the rice wasn't very tasty. I noticed actually that the topping was the same coconut cream as the one that they top the curry and the other savory dishes with. Meaning that it isn't sweetened at all. The rice itself was also lacking flavor. So basically the rice with the sauce would've gone well to accompany a savory dish, not a dessert.
I spotted this on the dessert menu as well, and the curious foodie in me decided to order a portion to try. This was genius and so simple, it really was just Tapioca with Coconut Cream. The tapioca had been stewed in this sugar syrup until soft and topped with the coconut cream, it was just bliss. Luckily I ordered this, because it made the ending to the meal slightly sweeter.
The Thai food is pretty good, and considering that it's quite affordable it'll probably be a place we'll come back to. We now also know what to order, so the next time we can skip all the misses. Standouts seem to be the chicken dishes; pandan chicken, stuffed chicken wings, green curry, so next time we'll probably just order that and some rice to go along with it. The green mango salad is also good, so at least I have one of my favorites as well. For affordable Thai food this is a place to visit, although don't have too high expectations.