Tasty Thai

Given that their standard version of Mango Sticky Rice was S$7.00, I surely didn’t mind paying S$9.00 to get the “upgraded” version with a scoop of coconut gelato as an add-on.

Despite the added creaminess from the generous amounts of coconut cream and gelato, I felt that the glutinous rice might be compressed too tightly, to the point it had caked a little. It was a little awkward for me to have difficulties separating the rice from the decorative leaf at the bottom. On the whole, this dessert was not as exceptional as I would have hoped it to be, but it was hard not to love a Mango Sticky Rice when I would see one.

Initially, I wanted to have their Crab Meat Fried Rice, but I realised that their Crab Meat Omelette with Rice (S$10.00) was only available on weekdays, so I thought I might as well give it a try.

And I was indeed satisfied with my change of mind. I was amazed by the looks of the dish, which reminded me of a lava Omurice. The omelette was neatly blanketing a portion of plain rice, and it seemed that the chef poured some beaten eggs over the omelette to give it the molten, runny look. Chunks of crab meat was then placed on top of the mains.

Even though plain rice was used, the taste of the dish was still uplifted by the eggs and the crab meat. Given its price, I would most likely choose this over the Japanese Omurice for something less heavily seasoned.

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The Grilled Pork with Homemade Sauce (S$12.00) was one of their popular dishes. Just from the looks of the dish when it was served, the pork seemed sufficiently tender and juicy. They were also well-marinated and tasted good on its own, but the homemade sauce could beautifully top up some spice and acidity to the meat.

To be honest, I thought that the portion size, given its cost, was a little on the large side. Assuming a normal Thai-style sharing plates concept, methinks this would still be sufficient for 4 or 5 diners.

A common table snack that was deep fried to perfect crispiness, their Pork Skin (S$6.00) was not difficult to break. This also meant that it would be safe for those who could not take foods that were too hard.

And if this was something you’d like to nibble, Khao Hom also had these in takeaway packs at their cashier counter.

If there was still some space in your tummy to pack a dessert, I would say that their Mango Sticky Rice (S$7.90) would be worth the calories. Perhaps it was the mango season, and so the mango was very sweet. The steamed glutinous rice was served at a very acceptable portion, which was just enough to go with the sliced mangoes, and some crispy rice was sprinkled over, just to add some subtle fragrance and crunchiness to this classic dessert.

The S$2.10 version of their Boat Noodles might seem to be just a mouthful of noodles, but we all know that a typical Thai dinner would comprise many dishes of meats and vegetables. The flavours were definitely rather authentic, and my fellow diners could not stop praising the lard that was part of the dish.

If rice noodles were not your thing, other options included Bee Hoon, Kway Teow, Mee Kia, Tang Hoon and instant noodles to suit your preferences.

Mookata had rooted itself in the heartlands, particularly in coffee shops where spacious outdoor seating is available. With an easy portable stove and cast iron plate setup, what would make one Mookata better than the others would be based on either competitive pricing or tasty flavours.

Over at Bedok Central, Jiak Mookata served up their a la carte plates of dishes from S$1.90 onwards. The flavours were on point one could get a really hearty meal at under S$30.00. Personally, I liked their Prawn Paste and their Garlic Sliced Pork, especially since the former had large chunks of prawns mixed in.

Though the dine-in restrictions had also put a toll on these coffee shop stalls, they also could provide a delivery service with all equipment included. Diners could still enjoy Mookata at home, and pack them up for the restaurant’s collection after the meal, at no additional costs. With the rainy season coming soon, this could be a good option to have a good time with friends and family over some tasty collagen soup and grilled marinated meats.

We all knew how textured and tasteless Thai durians can be, but with a touch of local and regional produces, the MSW Durian Sticky Rice (S$13.00) was a lot tastier, thanks to the richness and creaminess of the durian puree.

The sticky rice was probably cooked with natural butterfly pea flower dye to give the yellow flesh a contrast in colour, but the drizzle of coconut milk and the sesame seeds also gave the texture and taste a little uplift. As always, one would always ask why the cup was so small when the dessert was such a hit.

Better known as “Khao Phad Talay” in the native language, the Superior Seafood Fried Rice (S$18.00) was quite a tasty dish as it contained crab meat, prawns and conpoy, before garnished with some pork floss and coated with lots of crispy rice. Adding the latter created texture and bursting fragrance when chewed.

Portion-wise, this dish can be finished by one person if there were no other dishes to share on the dining table, but since I could apply Burpple Beyond offers here, it would be nice to also get a second Rice / Noodles dish just to try different foods within the same meal.

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A delightful bowl of rice noodles that came with beef slices, beef balls and a very tasty clear beef broth. I was almost fooled to believe that the Signature Australian Beef Boat Noodle (S$7.90) was actually Pho, but I thought maybe there was a bit more greens in the latter. And then I realised that the resemblance was only made possible because of a “No Chilli” option that I had selected from the ordering kiosk.

Beverages were also available at a fifty-cent discount when purchased together with the main.

Perhaps appealing more to the lunch crowd in the vicinity, the dinner service on a weekday seemed to be quieter than I would expect. But I knew of Jai Thai as a restaurant serving authentic Thai food at affordable prices, so no surprise to how I would walk down Purvis Street to have this.

And so their Tom Yum Soup (S$8.00 for Small portion) had sufficient sour and spicy flavours to go with the relatively decent portion of seafood, including prawn, dory and squid, coupled with an assortment of mushrooms. Honestly, just one of this with a bowl of brown rice would be a satisfying dinner for me, only that I would subconsciously compare this with that from their Clover Avenue outlet...

Better known as Seafood Otah in Coconut (S$18.90), I could not resist ordering this dish for the richness in coconut flavours. However, unlike what we were more familiar with, the Otah here would be more watery, but still spiced up and fabulous nonetheless.

Within the bowl of molten goodness, you would have two prawns, some squid and two slices of fish swimming. While some might not be too certain if this was worth the money, I would say that occasional indulgence was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, the food was good, as depicted from the steady stream of customers on a midweek dinner service.