Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Soi 60 Puts A Modern Spin On Traditional Thai Food
Situated right beside the scenic Singapore River, Soi 60 is a fusion Thai restaurant and bar which aims to offer their own unique interpretations of traditional Thai food. If you’ve always been interested in Thai cuisine but have unfortunately found conventional Thai food to have always been a little too overwhelming – too spicy, sour or herbish, for you, then Soi 60 would be the ideal place to head to.
Open almost exclusively in the evening onward only, the interior of Soi 60 has been optimized for the night time with funky purple lights for illumination and a largely urban setting. While that may sound all swanky and slightly intimidating, the rectangular wooden desks with round chairs made the restaurant a little more down-to-earth – making it easy for customers to feel comfortable and right at home when seated.
I adored the fact that the Salmon Tartare ($14) was served with prawn crackers: the crispness of the crackers lent a nice contrast to the mushiness of the fresh salmon. Seasoned with lime, herbs, chili and then served on top of cucumber slices, the salmon chunks were juicy and a thorough delight to eat, even on their own. I am a salmon sashimi fanatic so this is definitely a dish that I would specially return to Soi 60 for.
The Crispy Duck Pancake ($12) looked promising but honestly left us both a little confused and disappointed; it contained absolutely nothing which was crispy. While the combination of lychee, Thai herbs and black vinegar reduction was interesting and complemented each other well, the sogginess of the outer skin ruined the experience for me. Perhaps the dish would have better impressed with a crunchier layer?
Soi 60’s Crab Betel Leaves ($14 for 4 pieces) were surprisingly good. Why surprising? When I first looked at the betel leaves which the crab meat were placed on, I thought the leaves were going to be exceedingly bitter on the tongue. However, it was tender with a slight chew to it, only releasing acceptable levels of bitterness. This bitterness harmonized with the sweetness of the crab meat, producing an orgasmic experience in the mouth.
I also liked that each portion was well rationed, just small enough to be comfortably placed in the mouth but large enough for a wholesome flavor.
This. Oh my God, if I only could pick one dish from Soi 60 to eat for the rest of my life, I would choose the Iberico Pork ($26). Coated with Thai spices and then slow cooked to absolute, terrifying tenderness, we actually mistook the pork for beef which was done to medium rare.
The spiciness from its Thai herbed crust kicks in a few minutes later, after you have relished in the wonders of the meat. This only served to motivate us to reach for more of the delicious meat in between gulps of water. Absolutely mind-blowing.
The Prawn Pad Thai ($22) was flavorful and satisfying – prawns were fresh and sweet too, but I don’t think that it is very value for money, with it priced at a staggering $22. I think I would give this a miss the next time I return to Soi 60.
It was quite late into the night when we were served our desserts. The restaurant had livened up, with a constant stream of customers frequenting the store. I was taken aback by how good Soi 60’s deserts were; somehow I just did not expect quality deserts to be served. We were stuffed at this point but girls being girls, we still had to have our desserts. Soi 60 was kind enough to miniaturize their dessert offerings for us.
The Banana Cheesecake served with passionfruit sorbet ($10) was my favourite. The usual jelat-ness of eating a cheesecake was taken away by the refreshing lightness of the passionfruit sorbet. As a lover of sour things in general, I enjoyed the sorbet very much. I would willingly part away with $10 for these two. Mmm.
In a nutshell, I thoroughly enjoyed Soi 60’s contemporary take on traditional Thai cuisine – each dish which was served to us appealed to me a little differently. Due to its ideal location just beside the Singapore River, the restaurant had a very chill ambiance – a perfect counterbalance to a heart-racing night of first dates and a model location for a catch-up session between friends.
My only gripe would be the price points of their food: $22 for a plate of Pad Thai is honestly a bit much for the ordinary person.
Nevertheless, if you find yourself in the mood to treat yourself, Soi 60 is the natural choice for a quick Thai craving fix.
Expected Damage: $20 – 40 per pax
