We were initially pretty saddened after hearing about the closure of Culture Spoon at River Valley Road; the multi-concept cafe was one that we had visited quite a fair bit over its run, itself being home to several concepts such as that of Wok with Man, Hungry Thieves, Cha Lau by Wok with Man, L Sucre and The Tea Affair during the time of its closure — after all, we had been visiting Culture Spoon for Wok with Man’s Crabmeat Fried Rice, which was a signature offering. The folks behind Wok with Man had since opened a new concept named Thai Noodle House by Culture Spoon following the closure of Culture Spoon. Unlike Culture Spoon, Thai Noodle House by Culture Spoon is a smaller operation in comparison to Culture Spoon itself — operating as just a stall within the Koufu food court at Tampines Mart, Thai Noodle House by Culture Spoon no longer carries the wide variety of what Wok with Man used to offer at Culture Spoon. Instead, Thai Noodle House seems to be focused on serving up food items that can be prepare a la minute; the emphasis being their noodle-based items. The menu features Thai noodle dishes such as Boat Noodles, Tom Yum Mama Noodles with Seafood, and their Signature Thai Wonton Mee with Pork Neck; that being said, patrons who prefer rice dishes may also go for Deep Fried Tom Yum Chicken with Rice, Thai Pork Soup with Rice or the all-familiar Thai Basil Pork with Rice. There are also a few side dishes that one can go for here; a few dishes offered in the “Sides” section include Thai Fish Cake, Fried Wonton and the Deep Fried Tom Yum Chicken.

It wasn’t easy to decide if we would want to go for the Signature Thai Wonton Mee with Pork Neck or the Thai Basil Pork Noodle, though we did find ourselves going for the latter after noticing that the illustration on the menu board does suggest the item to come with soup wontons that are also featured in their Signature Thai Wonton Mee to be served on the side. The Thai Basil Pork Noodle comes with a default choice of noodles, and comes with Thai-style stir-fried basil pork accompanying the noodles; one can also find chunks of crispy pork lard in the noodles and a sunny side up as well. Giving the noodles a bit of a toss before consuming the dish, the noodles does get laced in a bit of that sauce below and all that minced meat, long beans and the basil it comes with. Taking a bite into all of the elements in one spoonful, it is needless to say that the Thai Basil Pork Noodle was one dish that we enjoyed. The noodle itself does seem to be like a form of Mee Pok that is not quite as broad as what we are used to in our local-style minced meat noodles; the noodles are definitely springy — soaks up the savouriness and garlicky notes of the sauce that it comes with whilst also coming with an evident hint of basil that perfumes throughout the entire bowl. The minced pork itself was especially flavoursome; liked how it wasn’t too salty and carried the aroma of the basil really well; the long beans and crispy pork lard adding a crunch factor to the dish at the same time. Meanwhile, the sunny side-up was a crowd pleaser with its molten egg yolk that oozes eagerly with a poke from the chopstick; the soup wantons were well-packed with prawns and meat giving a good bite within the silky smooth wonton wrapper. The soup that came with the soup wonton is likely to be the same one they is served with their Boat Noodles; absolutely comforting with its herbal notes. It is a pity that we can no longer enjoy Wok with Man’s stellar Crabmeat Fried Rice since it is not offered at Thai Noodle House by Culture Spoon; that being said, their delicious Thai food still lives on here at pretty decent prices (all noodle dishes are priced below $9) — something well showcased by the Thai Basil Pork Noodle that we had tried!