[ CLOSED ] Baan Tong Thai

Tiong Bahru is well known of its good hawker food (read my post on Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre) and its quaint little cafes. But lately, there is a new addition to the neighbourhood — a new Thai restaurant, Baan Tong Thai!

Opened for about 6 months ago, this restaurant is rather packed with working crowd when I visited on a weekday for lunch. The kitchen is said to helm by a Thai chef who is also the co owner. Service is brisk and when we sat down, we were served 4 different Thai sauces: seafood (green), BBQ (dark red), Balachan (with seeds) and sweet sauce.

Of course, we have to have some Clear Tom Yum Soup ($8.80). We ordered the seafood here, but other options include chicken and prawns). It’s a well-balanced soup, and you do get to enjoy all the flavours of sweet, sour, savoury and umami, before the chili hits you. Their prawns didn’t make the mark though.

Pork collar is one of the favorite cuts among the Thai, this is because it has the right amount of lean meat, muscle, and fat. But sadly, I have yet to find a Thai restaurant in Singapore that does it well. They are either too dry or bland. The BBQ Pork ($14) here is also, unfortunately, dry and tough.

Prawn Cakes ($6.80)

We ordered prawn cakes and fish cakes but I prefer their fish cakes. Using only the freshest Batang fish meat and spices, Fish cakes ($6.80) make a great snack on their own dipped in sweet Thai sauce.

This Thai version of Honey Chicken ($9.80) turns ordinary chicken into an amazing-tasting meal.

Seabass is turned into crispy fried fish and smothered with strips of mango, chillies and spring onions marinated in a fish sauce, sugar and lime juice mixture. This Mango Seabass ($31.80) is what epitomises the Thai philosophy – hot, sour, salty, sweet!

Dessert was Sticky Mango Rice ($6.50), right type of mangoes were used – a perfectly ripe and very sweet!

Not a fan of their Chendol ($6.50) but to the dining partner, it was a hit! Jackfruit was added in and the whole cup was heavily flavoured with gula melaka and jackfruit, cannot really taste the chendol strips.

Nevertheless, their Thai Ice Tea ($3.50) is not bad, not too sweet and it was well balanced.

The manager was very proud of his Thai Ice Tea and showed us the premium tea they used to make the tea. So if you want to have a cup of good Ice Tea, go for this brand!

There are definitely hits and misses but Baan Tong Thai has definitely captured the essence of Thai cuisine.

Baan Thong Thai
16 Kim Tian Road
Tel: +65 6270 1008
Opening hours: 11am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm