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Soi Thai Kitchen
The quest to bring authentic Thai food to Singapore has always been the goal that set part these little institutions from the chain stores serving Thai food. More established names such as Nakhon Kitchen and Aloy Thai would often come to mind as they have succeeded in drawing the crowds to them, given the stamp of approval and encouraged them to even set up more than one outlet. We decided to try another up and coming operator that has already quite a few stores open, and we checked out their latest one at JCube!
taking the 4th floor of JCube just overlooking the ice-rink, Soi Thai Kitchen is now considerably a familiar name on the "authentic Thai food" scene. as with the other eateries, their fit-out is simple, they carry the full works for signature Thai dishes and probably a stand-out feature for them, they offer very generous portions at affordable prices. we have varied responses to the food itself, although there are several selections that are fairly on point.. 
first up, the Pad Thai which came in a very very ample portion, certainly good enough to make one meal if you're eating alone. there is a hearty serving of seafood, peanuts and spices that makes the dish really flavourful when mixed together. in our opinion, this was their stand-out dish and something that's good enough to eat on its own. we also liked the minced Basil Chicken that also came in a big plate. watch out for the diced red chilli padi in this one, it can be really potent. 
No Thai meal can probably be complete without a bowl of Tom Yum Soup. we often hear that the clear soup version is actually the most spicy one, but we decided to try the Red Tom Yum Seafood Soup this time which we felt was more original. the spicy kick was present but the overall soup lacked flavour from the various spices so this one was a little miss for us. Similarly, we didn't find the marination of the Pandan Chicken strong enough and the taste felt somewhat flat. 
it seems like Soi Thai is really better with their basil based dishes and this Basil Tofu was very tasty as well. it was one of the dishes that accompanied well with steamed Jasmine rice and we lapped it up readily. the cold drinks such as Lemongrass drink and Thai iced-tea were also great tasting thirst quenchers. in all, we think that Soi Thai Kitchen delivers real value for money, and if you live in the West, the outlet at JCube is probably the one to visit. 
Soi Thai Kitchen (JCube) 2 Jurong East Central 1, #04-12 JCube Singapore 609731 Opening Hours Daily: 11 am to 10 pm Authentic Thai food at affordable prices.. Labels: #authenticthaifood, #jcube, #jurongeast, #padthai, #pandanchicken, #soithaikitchen, #thaifood, #tomyumsoup Dim Sum Inc by Crystal Jade
Michelin rated Singapore restaurant chain Crystal Jade has got a new Dim Sum concept that is designed for fast, no frills dining. Coined as Dim Sum Inc, they have opened up 2 outlets in Chinatown and developing new town Punggol. the menu carries a pretty wide selection of Dim Sum, Hong Kong styled roast meats with rice or noodles and other cantonese small bites. the food variety focuses on giving patrons a quick meal, that is also ideal for takeaway or simple meetings. the range is affordably priced and probably akin to the fast food version of the entire Crystal Jade franchise..
we visited the outlet at Punggol Terrace which has a small indoor seating area and a few more outdoor seats. the concept is really no frills, where we ticked our own orders off a 2 page menu sheet and would have to pay upfront whilst making our orders. the Dim Sum also includes the cute and eye-catching types such as colourful Har Gao and animal shaped lotus buns. drinks are served in unique long bottles to complete the experience. 
we found it hard to explain to our friends what no-frills Dim Sum really meant so this Cheong Fun or traditional Hong Kong styled rice roll could be a good example. most rice rolls served at Dim Sum restaurants come with some filling (shrimp or roasted pork) and would take a longer time to prepare, the ones served here are simpler plain rice rolls drizzled with sweet and sesame sauce, abit more like those we find at local food centres. most of the Dim Sum baskets for dumplings and buns come with 3 of each type, ideal for smaller groups or individual dining. 
a dish that we found to be particularly good was this XO carrot cake. fried in little chunks with XO sauce, there is also a spicy kick to the dish that made it enjoyable and appetizing. we liked the shrimp & pork wrapped in beancurd skin with oyster sauce, which had generous servings of filling, smooth beancurd skin that was flavourful with the sauce. other Dim Sum selections that we enjoyed were the custard buns and Cantonese styled congee. 
and so the much Instagrammed about animal-shaped buns, they certainly look pretty when all decked out together. To manage expectations abit though, we found out for the Punggol outlet that there was only one selection of animal at any given time. for our meal, they only had the yellow chick buns (would have loved the pink porcupine ones). while the exterior was cute for the camera, we found that the lotus paste on the inside somewhat fell flat, it was a tad too dry and felt more like red bean paste. oh well, this order was for fun and for the kids anyway. all in all, it was a good experience. the food was served fast, warm and generally reasonably priced. we would recommend Dim Sum Inc for quick and comfortable dining, in air-condition and without having to deal with long queues. 
Dim Sum Inc by Crystal Jade 681 Punggol Dr, #02-36 Oasis Terraces Singapore 820681 Opening Hours Mondays to Fridays: 11 am to 10 pm Saturdays & Sundays: 9 am to 10 pm The latest all-day dining quick service concept.. Labels: #animalbuns, #crystaljade, #dimsum, #dimsuminc, #fastdimsum, #punggol, #xocarrotcake |
..ThE lEgEnD..
Last Movie: Ad Astra
Golden Village, Singpost Centre 
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