Lapin

The Telok Ayer neighbourhood has recently seen a rising of Thai eateries sprout out around the area recently — whilst we had recently visited Simply Talad by Tin Box at The Clift situated along McCallum Street, Lapin is also a new addition to the area, and takes over the former premises of Kingyo Izakaya along Telok Ayer Street. Decked in a bright pastel colour theme, Lapin vaguely reminds us of Hue — yet another Thai establishment serving up modern contemporary Thai cuisine that is located at Jalan Besar; somewhat giving the street a contrast with its bright and flashy interior. The dining area is split into several sections; the main indoor dining hall, the “porch” area that is located just before the entrance where there are two tables of 6, and two bar tables at the front of the shophouse. Being a modern Thai establishment, Lapin serves up mostly communal dishes best to be shared between two to three pax — the menu features appetisers and sides, mains such as seafood, meat, soups and curries, noodles and rice, as well as quite a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

One of the items that really caught our attention whilst skimming through the menu was the Chef Special Yellow Crab Curry. Said to be a specialty of southern Thailand that comes also with galangal and turmeric, the item is available as-is as a curry, or also with in the form of a special set where it comes with Laksa noodles and assorted vegetables to become a full-fledged main course that can be shared between two. First taste and the Chef Special Yellow Crab Curry was a hit with our taste buds — think the yellow crab curry as a slightly different rendition of the green curry for those who are not too familiar with Thai cuisine; the addition of galangal and turmeric makes for the difference in aesthetics and flavour here where it adopts a yellow appearance and carries a zingy spiciness as opposed to the slightly sweet green curry — that being said, the yellow curry is almost of the same level of richness that is as decadent as the green curry. The inclusion of basil leaves also meant that there is this lingering hint of herb-y notes going around at the back of the taste buds, while they were actually very generous with the portion of crab meat here — definitely an item best to be had with white rice on the side so that there is a vehicle to drench all that yellow crab curry with to mop up everything in that bowl eventually.

Lapin’s menu may not really carry quite a wide variety of offerings as compared to most conventional Thai eateries; the inclusion of some sides such as that of the Truffle Fries in the menu also seems to be a move that is more tuned towards the drinking crowd — not something one will usually find in a usual Thai establishment as well. Still, Lapin does offer some pretty interesting dishes on their menu such as that of the Chef Special Yellow Crab Curry and the Lotus Flower which can be said as rather unique overall. No doubt the prices at Lapin is charged at a slight premium above that of other Thai eateries, but it is pretty much justified with the quality of food that they are putting out, along with the modern approach they are going for in-line with its locality. We were also pretty satisfied by the Sundried Pork Strips and the Pineapple Fried Rice that we also went for here; a spot that we would consider revisiting for some quality Thai food with a modern take!