Thursday, March 20, 2014

Nakhon Kitchen

Credits to the colleagues who were fast and puntual for dinner, also not forgetting our organiser who took the time and trouble not only to introduce Nakhon Kitchen to fellow us but also make our visit there real.

Located within walkable distance from Hougang Bus Interchange or Kovan MRT, Nakhon is one of the top Thai Cuisine recommended. Known for its popularity, we were prepared to wait in the queue for dinner but we were lucky to grab hold of the last table before the crowd moved in. For those who are thinking of reserving, I'm afraid that there are no such privileges.

Nakhon Kitchen

Indoors and outdoors seatings are all available. Help yourself with the condiments and the toilet roll given on the table. Cheers to their efficiency, although we had order quite a number of dishes, they all did come within 10 minutes to ease our appetite.

Condiments on Table

Dinner started with carb intake from the deletable plate of black olive fried rice with minced chicken. Each grain of rice was consistently coated in the dark sauce and every mouthful gave a good crunch with the onions as well as the cashew nuts. Do remember to squeeze the lime juice over it to enjoy its refreshing taste!

Black Olive Fried Rice with minced Chicken - $6

Opted for the clear type of Tom Yam out of 2 others which were its thick and with coconut type. This dish which originally gained us some hype before the meal turned the other way round. Though it was clear, the spice had fully shot up to my threshold for spiciness as i had my first mouthful, with tears welling up. Nonetheless, the seafood ingredients were not any lesser and truly Thai!

Tom Yam Soup (Clear) - $6

A consecutive hit of surprises after the incredibly spicy dish, the green curry color was another out of expectation. It's green was way off artificial in its lime color with aplenty of essential ingredients like brinja and peppers adequately added to its flavour. Beef slices were tender but for not-so coconut milk lover like me, I find that the dish was kind of overdose with coconut milk.

Green Curry Beef - $8

How can one leave the stomach empty without such staples drink like Thai Iced Tea as well as the Iced Fragrant Lemon Grass Drink? A few sips or two of these cooling beverages in between the meal were simply amazing as it aids in reducing the spice from the food ordered.

Beverages - $3 Each

This fiery dish had its spice comparable to Tom Yum Clear Soup. Avoid the chilli padi to skip your tongue from getting numb. A typical Thai appetizer with grated green mango, fish sauce added to its taste topped with a handful of cashew nuts.

Thai Mango Salad - $5

Searching for "Wok Hei" in Thai's Way of Hor Fun? Sorry! There's none here. The starchy gravy and sticky hor fun that lump altogether with its typical ingredients like prawns and vegetables were more of less the same to a typical plate of Hor Fun from a Zi Char Stall, less the Wok Hei smell.

Thai Style Hor Fun

Fancy tearing off the dried pandan leaves that wrapped those yummy chicken up? Well, one simply cant wait any longer to check them out. These tender meats were processed in turmeric powder and have a good infused aroma in it. For me I would like to taste the original instead of dipping them into the sweet & sour chilli sauce which would eventually covered up its flavour.

Pandan Leaves Chieck - $6 (4 Pcs)

We will never let go of the vegetables, thats my kakis style of dining! We had the sitr-fried asparagus with mushrooms. This was one of the few dishes with no spice included and suitable for children. Simply love the sweet tasting gravy over the crunchy asparagus and carrots.

Stir-fried asparagus with mushroom - $6

Another appetizer we had was its home made fishcake, its spongy chewy texture was what we got. What I like about Nakhon was that they actually make use of those dolly paper to absorb the oil from the food.

Home Made Thai Fishcake (4pcs) - $6

The deep fried brown stripes of pork were outstanding and delicious, one of the favourite dishes for the night. It looked a little bit hard on the outside but in fact it was crunchy once you sink your teeth into them.

Deep Fried Pork With Garlic - $6

Dinner ended well with Red Ruby as the last dish shared among 4 of us when it was supposed to be Mr Chua's dessert. Everyone had enjoyed his/her lion share and of course the thinly sliced fragrant chempedak on the heap of snow mountain with the starring red rubies burried underneath.

Red Ruby - $3

In summary, I would say that the level of spiciness is not of the average and definitely not for the faint hearted. For those who have taken a closer look at their menu, the dishes cost an average amount of $6 which is pocket friendly as compared to those overly expensive ones in the malls.There are only 1 kind of serving throughout without complicating matters. For those who want to enjoy this cost saving Thai Cuisine, be early to avoid the queue!

Rating: 3.5 / 5