Pong Cheer Cheer Thai Food – Authentic Thai Food in an Industrial Estate

While roaming around the industrial estate in Defu Lane, I chanced upon Pong Cheer Cheer Thai Food. My first thought when I saw the stallfront was that it looked really interesting. Their setup also reminded me of what I saw along the streets of Thailand!

In 2018, Ms Nachatchadaporn Sirimueang and her husband started Pong Cheer Cheer in Defu Lane. They used to have another outlet in Giant Tampines which ceased operations in late 2019. Initially serving up more Tze Char Style Thai dishes, they decided to specialise in a classic  Thai dishes in August 2019. With that, they came up with a new menu which comprises dishes such as the Braised Pork Trotter Rice, Thai Style Kway Chap, Basil Leaves Minced Chicken Rice and also the Saba Fish with Rice set.

More commonly known as Khao Ka Moo in Thailand, Pong Cheer Cheer’s Braised Pork Trotter Rice ($4) definitely brought back great memories of when I was first introduced to this awesome dish in Bangkok. Topped with a generous portion of braised pork trotter, the fragrant white rice comes with an egg and house-made Thai salted vegetables. The meat was tender, yet chewy, and its skin melted in my mouth. A lot of hard work must have gone into the preparation of this dish!

Tailoring to the tastebuds of Singaporeans, they decided to use the back thigh meat so that it is not too fatty. The meat is left to stew for four hours in a braising sauce made with a combination of Thai spices and Chinese herbs. Dried shiitake mushrooms and Thai palm sugar give the sauce a tinge of sweetness. Ms Nachatchadaporn also painstakingly prepares the Thai salted vegetables on her own, and hence you will find that it is not as salty as the store bought ones. She uses fresh caixin and cooks it with Chinese preserved olive vegetables, and it goes perfectly well with the rice and meat.

Their rendition of Thai Kway Chap ($4) has a light herbal taste and is not as peppery as those you might be familiar with in Thailand. Cooked with Thai seasoning, it consists of a myriad of ingredients including daikon, taupok, pig’s skin, shiitake mushrooms, roasted pork and an egg!

While looking at the patrons before me collect their food, I could not help but take notice of the Saba Fish. You will be impressed by the sheer size of the fish(priced affordably at $5)! I am usually not a big fan of saba fish as it tends to have a very strong fishy taste. However, this was pretty good and wasn’t fishy!

The stall owner explained that a lot of preparation goes behind cleaning the fish in order to get rid of that fishy taste. They definitely know their stuff for being able to execute it pretty well! He also told us that saba fish has very little taste naturally so they invented their own homemade sauce to complement it. This sauce is slightly sweet and tastes similar to teriyaki sauce. If you will like some Thai sweet chilli sauce to go with your dish, you can request it from the friendly owner! This dish also comes with a side of mango salad which is also available a la carte at $4 a portion if you can’t get enough of it! The mango salad is really refreshing with its tangy flavours and spiciness.

Overall, the experience here was quite pleasant. The stall owners were very friendly and the prices were very reasonable. The next time you are having a Thai Food craving, do drop by Pong Cheer Cheer!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.