[food] Nakhon Kitchen

I have been hearing rave reviews about Nakhon's notorious long queues but absolutely-to-die-for authentic Thai food. Having nothing else to do, me (and the rest of my family) went to Nakhon's Hougang Branch for an early dinner. I was there at 5.20pm, but had no idea it only opens at 5.30pm. Already, there was a queue.

They opened at 5.30pm sharp, distributed menus and I placed my order for 4.

My iced lemongrass drink. (A must-have for me whenever I hit a Thai cuisine restaurant. That or iced Thai Coffee.)

First came the Clear Tom Yam Seafood Soup. First sip of this and I sputtered. Me, M, sputtered. To put this in perspective, I can eat chili padi without batting an eyelid and I slather wasabi on my sashimi. So yeah, this is spicy. But OH-SO-GOOD! Although it is a clear soup, the both sour and spicy taste beats any Tom Yam soup I have ever drank hands down. A MUST TRY!

Pandan Leaf Chicken. The other versions I have eaten were not spicy. But this is HOT! You can even see chili seeds in the meat. It is a tad oily for my taste but my parents loved it, so give it a try!

Thai-style fried minced pork. As you can see in this picture, it has chili padi, so it was hot, but the sauce was also yum. The long beans mixed in it gave it an interesting crunch. Very nice!

Thai-style fried Kang Kong. Local style tends to fry stir-fry this vegetable with Sambal (or Chili paste). This version fries it with both chili and garlic, which is a nice change. Very very yummy!

Thai-style fish cake. I hate hate HATE fish cakes and fish balls so I won't comment on this. But parents adored it, so, give it a try.

The dip the fish cakes came with. Chili sauce with cucumber bits and ground peanuts. NICE!

And to polish it all off, Red Ruby for dessert!
Water Chestnut cubes covered in tapioca flour with red food coloring, topped off with shaved ice and coconut milk, garnished with slices of jackfruit. The shaved ice was a little coarse for me, but the coconut milk was nice!

And so, in conclusion, you have never tasted Thai food unless you have been to this little shop. (excluding going to Thailand of course!)

Nakhon Kitchen - 212 Hougang St 21 #01-341

136 Bedok North Ave 3 #01-166

Someone has told me that the Bedok branch is cooked by the original chef himself so it's even more authentic-tasting. But locals might not like it due to it being too spicy and/or sour for their local tastebuds. You have been warned.

K, you MUST go and try it sometime!

W, avoid this shop at all costs. Unless you are feeling particularly masochistic :D

Have fun peeps!