Beijing, China: Serve the People

Chairman Mao would have been proud. His famous maxim "Wei Ren Min Fu Wu", literally translated as "Serve the People", has been put to good use by a popular Thai restaurant in the embassy district. Even the taxi drivers seem to know this humble eatery by name, which is no small matter given how big Beijing is.


Serve the People is primarily staffed by Chinese youths with a fairly good command of the English language, and I suppose it's because it needs to cater to the foreigners and expatriates here who make up the majority of its clientele. Cheerful, friendly and eager to oblige, these youths are a good bunch to have compared to some of the grumpier old folks I've come across. Eye candies are available too, if I may just add ;)


My Southeast Asian-inclined tastebuds were yearning for something spicy, and a quick check on Lonely Planet and Frommer's brought this place up with some pretty encouraging reviews. Reading the menu I realised that it has almost everything that you could get in a decent Thai restaurant in Singapore, and perhaps even more. It also meant that hungry (and greedy) me wanted almost everything on the menu, but since I was alone I had to make some choices.

Chicken Green Curry


The Chicken Green Curry was surprisingly good. Instead of leaning towards the Beijing-penchant for having things on the sweeter side, this curry was addictively spicy and flavourful. The gravy was rich and thick and had all the spices necessary for a good Thai curry. Served hot-pot style, it was kept warm throughout.


The chicken slices were tender and came in a generous portion. I'm quite sure this serving was meant for two but I suppose I was more than hungry enough to have been able to finish it all up on my own. I honestly never thought I could find such a good rendition of a Thai green curry in the middle of Beijing, not by a long mile, so this truly exceeded my expectations.

Phad Thai


The quintessential Thai noodle dish. The Phad Thai from Serve the People was just average, and lacked the authentic flavour that could have been helped with some grated peanuts. A big mistake was for the chef to succumb to the typical Chinese practice of adding cabbage to stir-fried noodles, which was what he did here and which was just odd. If you put that aside, it's alright I suppose, sweeter than I would have liked but at least the green curry was around to save the day.

Coke Bottle


We have not seen this served in Singapore for a long while now, it's all cans and PET bottles on our side, but at least they're more easily recyclable than glass bottles. Coke, is well, coke - probably the best soft drink in the world that's all.

Service
Very good. Friendly and polite.

Price
About 60-75RMB for all three items.

Place


No. 1 Sanlitun Xiwujie, Sanlitun,
Chaoyang District, Beijing.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Bangkok Gem @ Food Republic

We all know my professed love for phad thai (amongst other loves like girls and burgers) so I'm always on the search for some good fried Thai noodles. Bangkok Gem at Somerset 313's Food Republic serves up a fairly good Phad Thai, complete with the fine crunch of chopped peanuts and spicy zest of chilli flakes. The Pandan Chicken wasn't as worth the money though, when all you get for two bucks is a single small portion of wrapped chicken. Do let me know where else in Singapore would you go for some delicious phad thai! :)

Price
$6 for the phad thai,
$2 for a side order of pandan chicken.

Place
Food Republic, 313 @ Somerset, 5th Floor.

Picture taken with the Apple iPhone 4.

J.B, Malaysia: Sedap Corner

City Square is a fairly large shopping mall just a few minutes walk away from the Causeway, and anyone would guess that it was purpose-built for Singaporeans. Here you can get your Kenny Rogers, Nando's, Swensen's (named Seasons here), Starbucks, J Co. Doughnuts and what not all at "reduced" prices because of the weaker Malaysian currency. But I won't really bore you with restaurants and cafés that you can find in Singapore, so here instead is a small and humble eatery serving decent (Malay)Asian fare.

Phad Thai


For a place that does not style itself up as a Thai eatery, I must have been taking a gamble when I ordered the Phad Thai. Still, and very fortunately so, this turned out to be very good indeed, with the spicy chilli flakes and crunchy peanuts adding the all too familiar flavour and texture to the dish. I was a little amused to find a serving of sugar as well, but I put that aside and the noodles were perfectly fine without it.

Nasi Briyani


The Nasi Briyani was something that got the thumb-ups too. The rice was fresh and fragrant enough, while the curry was thick and flavourful.

Chicken Curry


The Chicken Curry on the other hand was a bit more watery than the one used for the briyani, and as such could not carry the flavour and spice of the dish well. Plentiful portion of chicken and potatoes aside, I would not order this again if I ever return.

Sedap Chicken Plate


The Sedap Chicken Plate wasn't as "sedap" (tasty or delicious) as promised as the fried chicken was a tad too overdone and dry.

Beansprouts with Salted Fish & Sambal Kangkong


Some vegetables for a balanced, healthy diet haha. They were passable I guess. One tip to anyone planning to have lunch or dinner here: try to go for the à la carte hot-plate dishes, they looked really good and that's something many people were ordering.

P/S: Since I was talking about how food is cheaper here in Malaysia, can you imagine how cheap (when converted to SGD) their McDonald's McValue Lunch is when it starts from RM5.95? S$2.60 for a Mcdonald's meal anyone?

Service
Good.

Price
RM9.90 for the phad thai
RM8.90 for the nasi briyani
RM12 for the chicken curry
RM8.90 for the sedap chicken plate
RM7.90 for the beansprouts with salted fish
RM7.90 for the sambal kangkong

Place
City Square, Level 2
Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Ah Loy Thai @ Shaw Tower

Ah Loy Thai at Shaw Tower remains, without a doubt, my top favourite for Thai food in Singapore. The coveted first runner-up of this blog's 2009 round-up, Ah Loy Thai has continued to impress me with good food at very affordable and value-for-money prices. It's little wonder that this place is packed to the brim during meal times, and reservations are highly recommended for this small and humble eatery. I plan to put it to the test against Jai Thai soon, but for now Ah Loy reigns supreme, in my opinion at least. Following my favourable experience there last year, I am now back craving for more :)

Fried Glass Noodle with Seafood


This is definitely the best dish of the night. The noodles were adequately moist without being overly wet, and had a few juicy prawns and squids for that extra crunch. Tiny shrimps were spotted as well, perhaps from the minute hint of chilli "hae bee hiam" (spicy dried shrimp floss sambal) that Ah Loy adds in for good measure. Love this.

Phad Thai with Seafood


The quintessential Thai noodle dish was alright, but not impressive. Still, the sheer amount of prawns, fried eggs and diced toufu - mixed with all the dried chilli flakes and grated peanuts - was satisfying enough for any hungry eater.

Pineapple Fried Rice


A healthy portion of fried rice indeed, but I think the Tom Yum Fried Rice would fare better with that added spice and tom yum flavour. To be honest, my friend who had the pineapple fried rice commented that there wasn't much pineapple taste to it, was a tad too oily and in fact, had a little too much MSG in it as well. Ah Loy may just have taken the easy way out with the pineapple flavouring, so I think.

Seafood Tom Yum Soup


What's going to a Thai diner and not having tom yum soup? The soup here had a good balance of sour and spicy, and the serving of mushrooms and seafood ingredients was pretty generous given the relatively low $5.50 price tag.

Mango Crispy Chicken


Ah Loy Thai has quite a variety of side dishes too, like this crispy chicken that's cooked with sweet chilli and mango slices. This was not too bad, a tad sweet, but it would go well with your fried rice or noodles.

Pandan Chicken


Singaporeans like to order this in most Thai eateries I realise. Deep-fried chicken chunks wrapped in pandan leaves for that hint of pandan flavour and more so, aroma. I especially like the ones served here because the chicken pieces were tender and marinated well.

Fried Calamari


More deep-fried goodness. The calamari rings came in a sizeable portion and were nicely crisp without being too oily. Good, light batter used.

Fried Toufu


I like the addition of sweet chilli to the soft toufu, but the batter is too light for it to be crispy. A good example of a crispy "outside" (and smooth, soft inside) would be the fried toufu from Thai Noodle House near Coronation Plaza, along Bukit Timah Road.

Remember to have some sweet Thai Iced Tea (a more ice-blended variant is offered here) or sour Kumquat Juice to both whet your appetite and accompany your meal.

All-in-all, a most satisfying dinner at Ah Loy Thai with nods of approval (and full tummies) all around the table. To those snobs who think good food has to come with a high price tag, I'd say either think again or continue to live in ignorance (or, beg for more free tastings). Ah Loy Thai is great stuff and it surely is here to stay :)

Service
Good. Better if they set the dishes on the table gently.

Price
$5.00 for the fried glass noodles with seafood
$4.50 for the phad thai with seafood
$4.50 for the pineapple rice
$5.50 for the tom yum soup
$5.90 for the mango crispy chicken
$6.50 for the pandan chicken
$5.90 for the fried calamari
$5.00 for the fried toufu
$1.30 for thai iced tea
$1.30 for kumquat juice

Newsflash! 10 April 2010 Someone alerted me that Ah Loy Thai has raised prices by about $1 after its latest renovations! Guess decorating the place has to be paid by the customers :(

Place
Shaw Towers (Beach Road), #01-39/40.
Opposite Tom's Palette.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Thai Central

Some people may confuse Thai Central at Chun Tin Road (along Bukit Timah Road) with Central Thai at Orchard Central, but they're really two different Thai eateries altogether. Thai Central here is a modest, affordable restaurant that serves very simple Thai fare and is popular with families who live around the area.

Seafood Phad Thai


The Phad Thai is not only my favourite Thai noodle dish, but it is also my typical litmus test for every new Thai eatery that I visit. Thai Central's version was decent, with a few prawns, squids and fried tofu slices. Alright enough, but relatively smaller portion.

Chicken Dishes


A pity most of the pictures for this dinner turned out poorly (probably too tired that day), and it explains why I'm hiding them all in collages haha! The Fried Chicken with Thai Sweet Chilli was merely fried chicken with sweet chilli served at the side, so that was quite unimpressive to say the least. Similarly, the Honey Baked Chicken was sweet and tasty but the lack of any sauce or gravy makes eating it with rice a tad dry and difficult. The Fried Chicken in Basil fared a little better but basil can be an acquired taste for some.

Side Dishes


I thought the Spicy Fried Tofu was quite good, with a balance of sweet and spicy. The Sambal Fried Kangkong was typical, nothing much to shout about, and so was the Tom Yum Soup. The soup is normally served the "clear-style", but my parents are so used to the red version that we requested for a change. The staff obliged with a smile.

Red Ruby


A classic Thai dessert, and I like the one served here at Thai Central. I'm quite sure it's largely because of the delicious coconut ice-cream.

Sweet Tapioca with Coconut Whip


A very simple dessert that is meant to fill you up if you aren't already full. Warm sweet tapioca chunks that are a delight to munch on.

Service: Friendly and polite. Short-handed during dinner though.

Price: All dishes shown here are less than $10 each.

Place: 16 Chun Tin Road.

Additional Comment: No pork, no lard.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Maxwell Food Centre

Mention Maxwell Food Centre and many would start talking about its famous fish soup and banana fritters. I know hawker centres like Maxwell are fast becoming a thing of the past with the younger and more affluent generation these days being quite disdainful of such places and are instead much more interested in the high-end (often, pretentious) restaurants to assert their social status and identity. Nevertheless, hawker centres intrigue me quite a lot because it carries a lot of history and culture, and it's a pity that the best ones are just soooo far away from my place.


Now, you would think that I would have joined the snaking long queue for the famous fish soup, but it was just too long and I thought it wouldn't be very nice to make the rest at the table wait for me. So I settled for a plate of Phad Thai from the Senat Issan Thai stall (interestingly, it boasts a printout from HGW of an amazing score of 8.0, but that's only based on one review!), and it turned out to be too plain and too full of beansprouts. I saw tourists ordering other dishes and those look more appetising surely. Another time then.


What I did get to try is the Goreng Pisang (deep-fried banana fritters), which was so cheap and so good. For only about a dollar, kiss your diet goodbye and indulge in this piping hot, fresh and crispy snack that's so soft and juicy inside. One of the yummiest that I've found so far.


You get "odd" things as well, with newly introduced "organic" soya drinks attempting to replace the traditional soya stalls with claims like "low maltose", "no sugar" and "extra sweet". I found the latter two a bit of an oxymoron and I think that can only be explained by artificial sweeteners *gasp* that is as unhealthy. Still, since this was near the Senat stall, I got a cup of their Signature Soya to see how it would be like, and I can only say it's sweet but it sure doesn't taste that natural.

I think another trip back here for that famous fish soup is in order.

Pictures taken with the Canon Ixus 80 IS.

Cafe Sapunsa

If you happen to be in the Robertson Quay area and you're on a lookout for something other than the more ubiquitous Western, European or Japanese fare, may I suggest to you this small and almost hidden Thai eatery at Robertson Walk. Its located somewhat behind the 7-11 convenience store and doesn't have much of a sign (hence the lack of a storefront picture in this post), but it does have the menu placed outside for you to take a look. This is also the place for you if you're in the area but want something of a less hefty price tag.

Seafood Tom Yum


The seafood tom yum soup scored a bonus plus because I like it served hotpot style to keep the soup warmer for a longer period of time. It's spicier than many of its counterparts in other Thai eateries but Glenn somehow found it quite addictive and kept drinking it. The portion of seafood ingredients was adequate but not necessarily a lot either.

Green Curry Chicken


This what what I found addictive instead, and perhaps for the wrong reasons? Typical green curry flavour, but slightly milkier and sweeter. If I had more space, this would have gone well with steamed white rice.

Phad Thai


The phad thai was an obvious choice for the both of us and at least it was aesthetically pretty to begin with. As for taste, I would say it's okay but not exactly impressive, need a bit more of the wok-hei flavour. The good thing is that it can fill the both of us up nicely, especially since we already have two other dishes.

Service
Very good.

Price
$10.00 for the seafood tom yum soup
$10.00 for the green curry chicken
$9.00 for the phad thai

Place
30 Robertson Quay, #01-04 Riverside View.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Thai Noodle House

I hear this is one of the places for "unadulterated Thai fare", and when you step in you would probably be convinced so, with the walls adorned with pictures and posters of Thai kings and other elements of Thai history. It's a pity that I didn't get to try the usual tom yum and green curry because everyone else was tucking into their soup-based noodles, so it just means that a second trip is on the cards in future :)

Crispy Fried Beancurd


The batter was very light, and so helped to retain the flavour and texture of the tofu inside. Tastes better with the spicy chilli dip served alongside it.

Phad Thai


The phad thai was alright but just a bit too much beansprouts for my liking. As you can see, they're quite generous with the seafood ingredients, which is always a good thing!

Beef Noodle Soup


I have to admit I didn't taste this, but everyone who had this said it was good because of the beef balls, beef slices and beef chunks - the picture tells it all. Good for those who love their beef.

Tanghoon Fishball Soup


Quite ordinary type of fishball soup. I think I must return soon for the tom yum and green curry! And maybe the fried rice too? Haha, I'm hungry just thinking about it.

Service
Very good.

Price
$7 for all the dishes, except tha tanghoon fishball soup, which costs $9.50.

Place
5 Coronation Road, #01-03 Coronation Arcade.

Additional Comment
Closed on Mondays.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Black Canyon Coffee

I meant to blog about my dinner at Sofra Turkish Restaurant but I suppose I would leave that for Sunday! Meanwhile, here's a quick post on a quick lunch that I had recently at Fusionopolis, no it's not coffee at all but my favourite phad thai!

Prawn Phad Thai: 3.5/5


The phad thai was just about alright, it wasn't too oily and I appreciated the grated peanuts to add the typical crunch to the dish. The chilli powder was somewhat too fine and powdery though, and for a "prawn" phad thai, it only had three small prawns. Nevertheless, as a noodle dish as a whole, I would say it's close to par with that from Thai Express.

Thai Iced Tea: 4/5


What I liked most was the thai iced tea, in part because it had the authentic tea leaf taste to it and also because I appreciated the fact that they used the shaved type of ice just like in Thailand. It's definitely expensive for a single glass of iced tea, which you could easily get at a maximum of $1 in Bangkok. Tastes great but not exactly worth the price!

Service
Good. Can get very quiet here, perhaps because not many of the office tenants have shifted in just as yet. A MRT station is on its way.

Price
$8.95 for the phad thai
$3.50 for the thai iced tea

* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Man, that just made my thai iced tea to cost $4!!!

Place
1 Fusionopolis Way, The Connexis #02-01/02.

Additional Comment
You might be interested to know that they have quite an extensive menu with Western fare as well. I might just try it someday when I return to Fusionopolis.

Pictures taken with the Canon Ixus 80 IS.

Ah Loy Thai

Ah Loy Thai is a small eatery nestled in a fairly quiet corner at Shaw Towers but come lunch or dinner it's bustling with activity. Not surprising though, good food at good prices will certainly draw a crowd, don't you think? And oh, Ah Loy should not be confused with Ah Roy at Funan IT Mall as the latter also serves Thai food, albeit in a finer (and therein, more expensive) setting.

Seafood Tom Yum Soup: 4/5


One of the better tom yum soups here in Singapore. My friend prefers the clearer, spicier rendition of this soup though, but I think that's only because most Singaporeans prefer spicy dishes at their spiciest, they don't really like to settle for mildness haha. I meanwhile would think this soup had a good balance of spicy and sour. Good portion of seafood ingredients given the fairly low $5.50 price tag. We also ordered the chicken tom yum soup because Huixiang wanted "variety".

Tom Yum Fried Rice: 4.25/5


I couldn't exactly taste the tom yum, but perhaps that's because I was happily drinking the soup at the same time that I couldn't tell the distinctive flavour in the fried rice. Very tasty fried rice with the right amount of moisture and oil. Pretty generous with the seafood ingredients too.

Phad Thai: 3.75/5


Looks can be deceiving. The phad thai looked whitish and bland-tasting when it arrived (yes, it did look like it would be bland) but it turned out to be much more flavourful. I would prefer it to be a tad spicier with a little more grated peanuts for the extra crunch.

Pineapple Fried Rice


Kimberly and Huixiang both ordered this, it looked alright but I didn't get to taste it. Doubt it was as good as my fried rice! Hahaha. It was a healthy portion and well worth the price.

Service
Very good. I actually tried to reserve a table for five fifteen minutes before our arranged dinnertime, and the ladyboss (so she seemed to be) was nice enough to make sure we could have the table in time. She even apologised that we had to sit outside of the restaurant, but I thought it was actually cooler outside since there was the air-conditioning from the building itself.

Price
$5.50 for the seafood tom yum soup
$6.50 for the chicken tom yum soup
$5.00 for the tom yum fried rice
$4.50 for the phad thai
$4.50 for the pineapple fried rice
$1.30 for the thai iced tea (yums!)
$1.30 for the "kumquat" (lime juice)


Place
Shaw Towers (Beach Road), #01-39/40.
Opposite Tom's Palette.