Jane Thai: Popular Affordable Thai Restaurant At Orchard Towers Moves Into The Heart Of Katong

Jane Thai - Storefront

If you’re a lover of Thai cuisine, you would have surely heard of Jane Thai back when they were situated at Orchard Towers. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they have moved to East Coast Road since 23 August 2016, and are continuing to bring affordable and homely Thai dishes to those living in the east.

Jane Thai - Interior

Sporting a pleasant and warm interior, the restaurant is a great dining venue for family and friends alike. Do take note that there are limited seats on the first floor and some on the second floor, so make a reservation before heading down.

Jane Thai - Beer

Feel free to hang around the bar after your meal for a nice iced-cold beer. There are even high tech dart machines on the second floor, where you can have rounds of friendly competition while chilling out with a few of your friends.

After exploring the new place, we were famished and ready to tuck into the delicious spread of classic Thai dishes.

Jane Thai - Thai Milk Tea and Lemongrass Tea

Jane Thai offers a range of classic Thai beverages including the Thai Milk Tea ($3.50). Upon taking our first sip, the Thai Milk Tea was exactly how we like it; not overly sweet and extremely fragrant.

If you’re looking for something more refreshing, opt for the Thai Lemongrass Drink ($3.50) that has notes of refreshing, citrus-y flavour.

Jane Thai - Glass Noodle Salad with Seafood

To get our taste buds warmed up, we started our meal with the Glass Noodle Salad with Seafood/Yum Woon Sen ($8.50). The firm and stringy glass noodles paired well with the chilli and fish sauce dressing for a ultimate savoury-spicy combo. It came with a generous amount of seafood, including crab stick, prawns and squid. Truly an explosion of flavours in the mouth that started the meal on a good note.

Jane Thai - Thai Prawn Cakes and Thai Fish Cakes

Another Thai classic, the Thai Fish Cakes (Thod Man Plaa) & Thai Prawn Cakes (Thod Man Goong) – $8 for four pieces, were fried to a crisp and paired beautifully with a sweet and tangy chilli sauce. The breading of the fish cake was not too thick, retaining the flavours of the fish, while the prawn cake had a pleasant spiciness to it and piquant notes of citrus from the kaffir lime.

Jane Thai - Green Curry with Chicken

No meal at a Thai restaurant is complete without Green Curry with Chicken (Gaeng Keow Wan) – $10. A curry made from green curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce, we could immediately smell the strong aromas when the dish arrived at our table.

We definitely love the subtle sweetness in Thai green curries and this was no exception, furthermore the chicken and Thai eggplant were not overcooked, adding some textures to each bite.

Jane Thai - Steamed Seabass in Lime Sauce

Tom Yum broth meets steamed sea bass, this is truly the best way to enjoy a well-steamed sea bass. The Steamed Sea Bass in Lime Sauce – $26 – $30 (Weight of fish around 600 – 700g) is a well played combination of the sour-spicy flavours to complement the briny flavour of the fish.

Cutting into the fish, we could immediately tell that the sea bass is fresh as its meat still holds firmly together. Biting into it, we could savour the smooth flesh that is enhanced by the tom yum broth.

Our only grip with this dish is that it could be served in a wider platter as there was barely enough space to contain all the broth, which made cutting the fish a very challenging task.

Jane Thai - Phad Thai Rice Noodle with Prawns

The Fried Thai Rice Noodle with Prawns (Phad Thai Goong) – $8.50 is as authentic as what you would find in Thailand. Prawns, crab meat, diced tofu are tossed together with the rice noodles before the right amount of seasoning of dark sauce, fish sauce and other spices are added to it.

Best part of all, the noodles don’t feel too greasy in the mouth. Do ask the staff for the traditional condiments of sugar, crushed peanuts and chilli flakes to amp up the flavours in this dish.

Jane Thai - Clear Tom Yum Soup with Seafood

A clear favourite dish amongst Singaporeans, the Clear Tom Yum Soup with Seafood (Tom Yam Nam Sai Talay) – $10 certainly did not disappoint. A well-balanced Tom Yum broth came with a generous portion of seafood including prawns, mussels, squid and fish meat. The heat from this dish was not overpowering but had a nice sour flavour to highlight the freshness of the ingredients used in the soup.

Jane Thai - Omelette with Minced Prawns

Having tried many omelette, this has got to be one of the better ones out there. The Omelette with Minced Prawns (Kai Jiao Goong Sap) – $8 has a perfect amount of crispiness and fluffiness. The minced prawn omelette is well seasoned and not too salty. So make sure you order a bowl of rice to go along with it.

Jane Thai - Bean Paste Kang Kong

According to the staff at Jane Thai, Bean Paste Kang Kong ($7) is a popular way of preparing this dish in Thailand. The fermented bean paste lends the dish a deeper flavour that is further enhanced by the chilli and garlic used. It’s definitely a nice change from the usual sambal kang kong, and I would recommend you to try this especially if you don’t like your food too spicy.

Jane Thai - Grilled Pork Collar

A rare find in Thai restaurants here, the Grilled Pork Collar ($10) at Jane Thai differs slightly from those you would find in Thailand. We loved how the chefs have adapted it to suit the palate of the local customers in Singapore.

Marinated in a soy chilli mix, the pork is grilled over a charcoal fire to achieve that nice charred crust, with smoky aromas that permeated through this dish. The side of chilii sauce that is made in-house is no pushover and provides a nice heat to complement the pork collar.

Jane Thai - Olive Chicken Fried Rice

Another staple on the menu that we really enjoyed, the Olive Chicken Fried Rice ($8.50) is what we would totally order if to satisfy our carbohydrate cravings. There is something unique about the aroma of olive fried rice that makes us love it so much. You simply can’t go wrong ordering this dish that is good for sharing between two hungry people, at least.

Jane Thai - Mango Sticky Rice

Every meal at a Thai restaurant should end with a dessert of Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niew Mamuang) – $6. Slices of Thai Honey Mangoes sit on top a bed of glutinous rice and is drizzled with a coconut cream sauce. The sweet flavours of the mango manages to balance out the heaviness of the glutinous rice and coconut cream. We definitely preferred the sweet mangoes on this dish over the glutinous rice which we found to be slightly too sticky.

If Mango Sticky Rice is not your thing, do look out for the new dessert that features several ice-cream flavours (Thai Ice Milk Tea, Lychee Lime, Coconut and Mango Lassi), served in a half-shelled coconut husk along with various toppings. The flavours are intense and provides a refreshing end to a comforting meal.

Jane Thai - Bar Counter

It’s surprising to find high quality ingredients used for such affordable and delicious Thai cuisine in Singapore. Jane Thai is definitely a place you should visit for affordable authentic home-style dishes that are guaranteed to make you reminisce your foodie adventures in Thailand.

Expected damage: $8.50 – $15 per pax

Jane Thai: 41 East Coast Road, Singapore 428761 | Tel: 6209 0448 | Facebook

Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, Sun 11:30am-10:30pm ; Fri & Sat 11:30am-LATE ; Closed on Tue

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