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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Nakhon Kitchen



We had gone to this Thai food place many times and I finally got to blog it here. "Serving you authentic Thai cuisine." is as close as it gets. With the kitchen and many of the food servers from the Land of the Smiles, this is the least you can expect. And what's more, the ingredients and drinks are imported direct from Thailand.





Four condiments are available on each table with the sweet Thai chilli sauce especially outstanding. Almost a perfect bland of sweet, sour and savoury it packs a good kick and goes extremely well with the fried items.

Thai Iced Tea


One of the traditional drinks served here is the Thai iced tea ($3). Brewed in house, it is very.. Thai obviously. The distinct mixture of black tea with asian spice like star anise, cardamom, tamarind amongst others is very seductive. The milk version is served here (also known as cha yen). The lemongrass drink is also worth a mention. It is infused in strong lemongrass and doused with honey. A delightful and refreshing drink that goes well with the spicy thai food.

Stir Fried Kai Lan



We often opt for the stir fried kai lan ($6) for our veggies option as all the other dishes are more often than not spicy. They do serve kangkong and other veggies too. Nice and crunchy, we have no complains.


Thai Mango Salad


The last time I was in Bangkok, I was so surprised that the green mangoes are more expensive than the ripe (yellow) ones. And this is why. The green mango (and papaya) is often used in salads, and Nakhon serves a great rendition of it here. The mixture of sugar, vinegar, lime and fish sauce is perfectly on the spot. The sprinkling of chilli padi gives the dish the kick and the cashew nuts a great compliment. One of the better green mango salad ($5) we ever have had in Singapore.

Prawn Cakes



I fell in love with Thai prawn cakes ($12)  in the same trip to Bangkok. And trust me, it is not easy to find good ones here. The servings come in standard sizes of 4 pieces and a serving of the sweet thai chilli sauce dip with diced shallots and crushed peanuts. Juicy and crunchy prawns packed together with a nicely fried skin, this is Thailand in Singapore. Always a must-order whenever we visit.

Thai Stuffed Chicken Wings


I am always fascinated by stuffed chicken wings ($4 - 2pcs). But it may be because of the fish sauce used, the wings tasted a tad fishy and less chicken-y. Still a great treat, especially with the thai chilli sauce, but I will pick the prawns cakes over the chicken wings anytime.

Tom Yam Seafood (Clear)



The tom yam soup ($6) here comes in clear or thick soup with chicken, prawns and seafood options. Because of the prawn cakes, we usually go for the tom yam seafood. Packed with a nice chilli punch and sour combination, this is one good authentic Thai signature. The fishes pieces used may not always be the freshest but the overall package of things make up for it.

Green Curry (Chicken)


One of our favourite thai green curry ($8) is served here. The chicken version is our choice all the time. Thick, sweet and incredibly fragrant it goes super well with the rice. One down point is the frozen peas used. The brinjal cubes and long beans are quite delightful to bite into.

Thai Pineapple Rice



Nakhon do serve white rice ($1) but how can you avoid pineapple rice ($6)? Nicely flavoured and comes together with a generous serving of pork floss, prawns and cashew nuts, this is a decent version. Even though we had better, but this is good enough.

Black Olive Rice


Another notable rice dish served here is the black olive fried rice ($6). Very fragrant with nice little pieces of marinated meat, olives and shallots. A great alternative if you don't like pineapple rice (!??!). However, the quality of the black olive rice can be inconsistent. We had great servings and not so good ones from the numerous times we were there.

Red Ruby


Desserts are limited with the usual trio of red rubies, mango with glutinous rice and steamed tapioca. The red rubies ($3) is served in shaved ice and sweet coconut milk and shreds of jackfruit (the yellow strips in the photo). Decent, but it didn't blow me away.

Mango with Glutinous Rice


I would say the mango with glutinous rice ($4) is the best dessert here. The mangoes is sweet. The rice is steamed nicely with enough bite still remaining. Mixed well with thick coconut cream, this is a sinful but worth every divine bite. Share it. It will be too much for one person to finish a serving of this after going through the meal.

 One downside may be the waiting time. Both the kovan and bedok outlets are relatively small. Be prepared to queue for up to 1 hour if you go at busy times. Go early, it's worth it. Or go late and risk having your favourite dishes sold out.

Another dish worth a mention is the grouper in thai chilli sauce ($22). Most expensive item on the menu but a good deal as compared to dining in a restaurant. Good size fish fried to perfection with crispy skin and moist meat served with a good dose of thai chilli sauce with diced mango and shallot.

It is notable that the Bedok branch serves food that is less spicy as opposed to the ones we are used to in Kovan. Maybe a one off thing. Not sure.

Nakhon Kitchen
212 Hougang St 21
#01-341
+65 6286 8785

Blk 136 Bedok North Ave 3
#01-166
+65 6245 5548

8 comments:

  1. Do they have papaya salad? No Thai restaurant can declare themselves authentic without a good Som Tum!

    Anyway, with respect to the frozen peas in green curry, authentically, they use a pea-size brinjal and golf-ball sized aubergine other than the bigger brinjal cubes. After all, green curry is a egg plant curry. But I guess they swap them as the golf-ball sized aubergine and pea-size brinjal have a bitter taste (Esp the pea-sized ones), which may not be to Singaporeans' taste.

    As for the pineapple rice, it is more of Singaporeans' imagination of what is Thai food than Thai food itself. It's like what American consider their Chinese food to be Chinese kind of stuff?

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  2. yes they do. i like the mango salad better though.

    erm.. but i had eaten authentic thai food in Thailand before? So a fair comparison. At least a better than the Americans whom never been to China (or Singapore for that matter). :)

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  3. have you ever tried Diandin Leluk at golden mile complex? great food, very reasonable prices!

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  4. I mean the dish Pineapple rice, not referring to this restaurant's version, but the dish in general. Ask most Thais in Thailand, and they'll give you the same expression as Singaporeans being asked where to buy Singapore Noodles.

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  5. nadiyya: thanks for the tip! will go there and try one day.

    yanjie: oh. hahaha. i am sure i had pineapple rice in bangkok too! chiangmai don't have though...

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  6. u may try wangthai kitchen @ toapayoh blk92 toapayoh lor 4.... they served very nice and ofcourse the price is better than those that u went

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  7. anon: thanks for the suggestion! will def go try it out. :)

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  8. Hmmm are you sure the Bedok Outlet is less spicy? May be can bring my friend who cannot take spicy food there instead. I tried the Hougang Outlet: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/nakhon-kitchen-authentic-thai-in-hougang-heartlands/singapore

    It was really good. :)

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