Suanthai Restaurant, Killiney

Suanthai Restaurant was awarded Singapore's Top Restaurant in 2008 and 2009. I hadn't heard of this place before - so when my friend Pooh Bear Girl discovered that Suanthai offered an a la carte buffet (as described here), we decided to give it a go.  We visited Suanthai for dinner on a Friday night - although the tables on the inside were unoccupied, we ended up having to sit outside al fresco style since all the tables had been reserved. Definitely not a plus when temperatures are sweltering and you are seated right next to the busy, smoky road.

We (Pooh Bear Girl, Choir Boy and I) paid $19.90 per pax and added $1.99 for free flow of Ice Lemon Tea. For the price, you get a full selection of the 28 items on the standard menu (although some items may only be ordered once). 

Green Mango Salad - I found this offering to be somewhat mediocre. Texture wise this was a very crunchy salad, with tangs of sweetness hidden underneath the otherwise bland, cucumber-like greens (not a fan of cucumber here). This dish was a favourite of Pooh Bear Girl's however.

Deep Fried Egg Beancurd with Special Sauce - If you like the traditional Egg Tofu you get with combination mixed rice, you should love this dish! Think of it like Super Egg Tofu! The beancurd is deep fried to perfection, with a crunchy exterior and tofu that melts in your mouth. Yes, I made it sound like an M&M commercial. The sweet thai chilli with herbs complemented the beancurd to perfection, adding an extra kick to the taste.

Thai Papaya Salad - Really good salad :) Pictured on the top right of the introductory picture, this salad was crunchy and satisfying. The blending of fish sauce, sweet chilli and cashew nuts went very well with the papaya. It ended up acting as a palate cleanser between dishes because of its refreshing nature! I found the long beans to be slightly out of place but then again, that was easily solved.

Thai Spring Roll & Thai Fish Cake - Did Not Like; give these so called 'staples' a miss, in my opinion. The Thai Fishcake was overcooked and rubbery - I gave up on eating it after two bites.

Tom Yum Soup - One of the nicest Tom Yum Soups I've had in a while! This soup was authentic, if rather simple. We ordered the chicken Tom Yum soup - my only regret is that we didn't have sufficient storage space to order the prawn version of this as well. The chicken was nice and tender and the ingredients were well cooked. The soup was the perfect balance of sour & spice... I'm glad to say I didn't cry after finishing a bowl!

Green Chicken Curry - (bottom left of introductory picture) Nothing special, just your standard green curry. The green curry at Suanthai is sweeter and thicker than most places; definitely more coconut milk in this version. 

Boneless Stuffed Chicken Wing - These juicy chicken wings were practically bursting with flavour. The savory seasoning and stuffing could give KFC's 11 secret herbs and spices a run for their money. A Thai delicacy, I'd say this is a must try.

Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaf - Hmm. I have mixed feelings about this one. The pandan leaves lent a very nice flavor to the chicken. However, the chicken was too dry - It would have been much better if the chicken was steamed rather than fried. Plus, this dish was literally bite size.... think of a KFC popcorn chicken. Or two popcorn chicken(s?) fused together (I don't know what is with these KFC analogies). 

Thai Style Chicken Satay - Definitely a must try as well. The chicken pieces are larger than the Singaporean style satay. Well seasoned with peanut sauce and sweet chilli, the thai style chicken satay reminds me of a kebab stick sans vegetables. 

Dessert - We tried all 3 desserts (Thai Red Ruby, Steamed Tapioca & Mixed Fruits). The steamed tapioca was a hit, the Thai Red Ruby a miss and the Mixed Fruits was definitely a welcome refresher after a heavy meal like this one.

Recommended For: Romantic Dates (get an inside table!), Intimate Groups, Boys/ Girls Night out

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Suanthai Restaurant
101 Killiney Road
S(239544)
Tel: 6235 4126

Opening Hours
Mon - Fri: 11.30 AM - 2.30 PM, 6 PM - 10 PM
Weekends: 12 PM - 2.30 PM, 6 PM - 10 PM

White Dog Cafe, Vivocity

My friend Guitarboy and I chanced upon this quaint sounding cafe while looking for a lunch place at Vivocity. The White Dog Cafe boasts spectacular views over the waterfront. We were lucky enough to secure seats that directly face Sentosa (at the expense of being distracted by staff walking in and out of the door to the balcony). I ordered the Classic Beef Burger with an Iced Chocolate; Guitarboy decided on the Aglio Olio with bacon and extra mushrooms.

The Classic Beef Burger (a White Dog Signature Dish) was a 'The Works' style burger. I couldn't fit it into my mouth! Definitely a burger that requires cutting up. Or if you're the barbarian type, both your little pinkies need to be extended a full 90 degrees in order to successfully perform the Burger Hold.   

The beef patty was the BEST PART of the burger. Succulent, handmade, tender - all the things a proper beef patty should be. The bun was definitely fresh as well. Unfortunately, the vegetables in the beef burger didn't seem to be fresh. This problem was easily solved though! Also - I'm a fan of oozy eggs. Poached, Sunny side up, Oozy scrambled eggs - <3. This egg didn't ooze. At All. :(

Fries: Normal chunky cut potato goodness. However, they were slightly cool when the dish arrived. Dislike! The fries also lacked seasoning of any sort (although some might take this as a plus since they can salt & pepper the fries as they wish). 

Salad was served with a dollop of Thousand Island - nothing special although the vegetables were definitely fresher than the veggies in the burger. 

The Iced Chocolate was frothy... and sweet. REAL sweet. And it's not a rich sort of sweet that you get at Max Brenner's. My blood sugar definitely hiked even higher than normal because of this ... not worth it! 

All in all, I would think that there are many other establishments to visit and eat at if you're at Vivocity. As it is, I doubt I will be paying White Dog Cafe a second visit. 

Recommended for: Large Groups, Chill Out

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White Dog Cafe
1 Harbourfront Walk
#02-131/132 VivoCity
S(098585)
Tel: 6376 9970

Opening Hours
Daily: 11.30 AM - 9.45 PM

The Royals Cafe, Siglap

The Royals Cafe has occupied its spot along the cafe strip of Upper East Coast Road for a number of years now. I've had the opportunity to visit a couple of times, but since I haven't had a meal there for a while I decided to have dinner there today (and blog about their famous Nyonya Mee Siam at the same time). Mee Siam is a favorite dish of mine - I can eat it for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. Almost every place I've eaten at interprets Mee Siam in different ways. I prefer mine swimming in spicy gravy with just a touch of lemongrass and lime! How about you?

What Style of Mee Siam do you prefer?

 The Royals Cafe was quiet when I arrived at 7.30PM (it was a Monday, after all). Normally, the atmosphere is quiet noisy as it tends to be a popular spot for students in the afternoons and families on the weekends. For dinner, I ordered the Mee Siam ($4.90) and Ice Latte ($3.50). The Ice Latte arrived first (pictured below). For $3.50, it wasn't bad indeed! I suspect that I would have enjoyed it, if I hadn't gotten a dodgy straw (it had a hole along the side somewhere, which made it impossible to properly drink the beverage). Instead of bothering the wait staff, I simply inverted the straw - voila! Except I ended up getting foam on my fingers and realized (to my disgruntlement), that the wait staff hadn't provided paper napkins yet.

The Mee Siam arrived around 10 minutes later, with the cutlery and paper napkins (finally!). I unceremoniously dumped the entire plate of chilli provided into the bowl and stirred it into the soup. Unfortunately for me (!!!), no lime was provided /sadface/. The vermicelli was cooked to a nice consistency with a little springiness left to the noodles. The gravy was flavorsome and thicker than usual - I found it to be less spicy than the version offered in most kopitiams. In fact, the thickness of the gravy fell somewhere in between the normal Mee Rebus and Mee Siam gravy (in my opinion). I would have liked it to be more spicy, but other than that, I had no complaints really. Tau Pok, Hard Boiled egg and prawns also featured as part of the dish (strangely enough, the prawns didn't seem out of place). 

I wouldn't call this place a fave hangout - but hey, if you're looking for cheap eats with air con and nice dessert, you definitely have to stop by The Royals Cafe. Other than the Mee Siam, The Royals Cafe in Siglap also serves mini pies, gelato and other baked treats. I've tried a few other items on their menu (both asian and western) - and to be honest, I probably wouldn't repeat the experience. The Mee Siam was definitely good, but their other dishes were quite a let down - for some strange reason, they reminded me of Secondary School Canteen Food.

Definitely try their cakes! My brother is a fan of their Chocolate Banana & I adore the Chocolate Mint slice. A favorite amongst regular customers is the Dark Chocolate Truffle, which simply melts in the mouth, leaving behind a slightly bitter yet refreshing chocolate taste on the palate. My brother ordered their 1.5 KG Chocolate Banana Cake for his birthday and on another occasion, my friend ordered the 1.5 KG Dark Chocolate Truffle for a small celebration - each time, no leftovers remained! I daresay I will be returning for their sweet treats :)

Recommended for: Family, Large Groups, Chill Out


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The Royals Cafe
19 Upper East Coast Road
Crescendo Building
(beside Jalan Tua Kong)
Tel: 6445 6457

Opening Hours
Daily: 7.30 AM - 11 PM

Wild Honey, Mandarin Gallery

During the time I've been away from Singapore, a spate of All-Day Breakfast cafes have been springing up- such as Hatched, Strictly Pancakes and Wild Honey. While this concept is nothing new in Perth (where I live most of the time), it seems that this craze has caught the attention of many Singaporeans, in particular the yuppie and twenty-something crowd. Wild Honey is an all-breakfast cafe located on the third floor of Mandarin Gallery: be warned, they have a no-reservation policy so be prepared to wait. Some reviews I've read of this place have mentioned up to 1.5 hour waits during busy periods (I only had to wait 10 minutes, yay!). The interior of the cafe is vintage-styled and filled with sofas set around small circular tables. Dim lighting and plump cushions complete the look, lending the cafe a distinctive coziness. 

I ordered the European Breakfast ($18), which is Wild Honey's interpretation of Eggs Benedict (I did mention that I'm a fan of Eggs Benedict in my earlier post, didn't I?).  I have to admit I found the price rather steep for Breakfast ($18 for breakfast, really!? And this is coming from me, living in Perth!). I also ordered an Iced Coffee and my breakfast partner decided on the English Breakfast ($22) with OJ. 

The Eggs Benedict  was made of sautéed mushrooms and poached eggs wrapped in prosciutto (cured uncooked ham) that sat on toasted brioche, topped with hollandaise sauce. The eggs were poached to perfection and unlike Aussie poached eggs, they didn't literally explode when you cut into them (always a positive to remain a neat eater). The proscuitto added a smoky savory taste that went very well with the brioche, eggs and hollandaise sauce in my opinion (this is a first having Eggs Benedict with brioche, but I quite enjoyed it!). Although I loved the mushrooms, I felt that they didn't add much to the dish. Fresh spinach(!!) would have been a much better option, so I thought.

I also have to say that I was rather disappointed with the Iced Coffee ($7). It was mediocre and like most places in Singapore, I was literally served with a glass of black Coffee with ice and sugar syrup. Where is my iced-latte style coffee?! For $7 I would have expected something like that at the very least.

My friend ordered the English breakfast, which he swears is Legendary. Apparently he's already tried it but simply NEEDED to have it again after seeing the menu (which is on an iPad). The breakfast classic contains scrambled eggs, sausages, sautéed mushrooms, baked beans, fried bacon, tomato, a side of potatoes and toast. He didn't want to eat his tomato so I did the honors - and boy, was that tomato fresh. BEST TOMATO EVER (and I don't normally like tomatoes).

While I still think that Wild Honey is overpriced, I might return - if only to try their Tunisian or Mexican breakfast.

Recommended for: Cozy tête à têtes, Couples, Small gatherings


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Wild Honey
333A Mandarin Gallery 
#03-02 Orchard Road
Singapore 238897
Tel: 6235 3900

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 9 AM - 10.30 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 8 AM - 10.30 PM