Enjoy Authentic Thai Food In A Modern Art Gallery Setting
If you so happen to be familiar with Paradise Group, you would know that its niche is in Chinese cuisine – the restaurant group’s brands include Seafood Paradise, Paradise Dynasty and Taste Paradise, to name just a few. With the aim of diversification and hopes of cornering the Asian cuisine market, however, the Paradise Group has set out to offer authentic and quality Thai dishes through its newest addition to the corporation – ParaThai.
Seeing as to how popular Bangkok is as a weekend travel destination for most Singaporeans, I’m pretty sure that there is sufficient demand for excellent Thai food to sustain the ever-growing number of Thai restaurants in Singapore.
Stepping into ParaThai was akin to stepping into a modern art gallery; the restaurant featured thought-provoking art pieces from young budding artists against the background of dark concrete and timbre.
The ambience of ParaThai was modern, sleek and it felt pleasingly clean and clutter-free. Aspiring to provide diners with the complete Thai experience, the staff were highly attentive to every little request we had – matching up to the renowned Thai hospitality standards found in the heart of Thailand itself.
Do not be scared by the rather greenish appearance of ParaThai’s Pandan Leaf Rice ($1.20), there is absolutely no addition of any amount of food colouring to the fragrant rice. The Pandan Leaf Rice is entirely flavoured and coloured by pandan leaves.
When it was served to our table, we could smell the aromatic scent the rice gave off; it somehow reminded me of the nice-smelling backseats of old uncles’ taxis. You know how old uncles use pandan leaves as air fresheners? Yup, smelled exactly like that.
While the rice smelled heavily of pandan leaves, the taste itself did not. So for all those who hate the pandan leaf taste, no worries. There was a subtle sweetness to the rice when chewed, it was very tasty and appetising.
ParaThai’s Homemade Minced Pork in Rice Noodle Wrap ($6.90 for 4 pieces) was my absolute favourite dish out of all the others for the night. The dish contained all sorts of textures for the mouth’s enjoyment: crunchy nuts were mixed in with the juicy bits of homemade minced pork and crisp lettuce was contrasted with the smooth rice noodle wrap – heavenly.
I would suggest putting the entire piece into your mouth for a more wholesome experience. Trust me, you will be thoroughly surprised by just how much glorious juice the dish packs within its wrap.
When in a Thai restaurant, you have just got to order their Thai Iced Tea ($4.20). When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? Anyway, ParaThai’s presentation of the drink was on-point. Just look at the pretty gradient effect the three components have created. Due to the addition of black sugar, the Thai Iced Tea you get in ParaThai is slightly different from what you would normally get off the streets of Thailand.
The restaurant’s rendition is significantly less sweet than the Thai Iced Tea I would normally order from Bangkok’s street stalls. I also liked that the sweetness increases in intensity slowly as you savour the drink, instead of immediately arresting your tastebuds the moment the drink touches your tongue like how normal sugar will.
The first dish I think about when visualising Thai cuisine would be the classic Tom Yum Goong (Tom Yum Soup with Sea Prawns, $7.90 per bowl / $19.90 per firepot). Spicy, sweet and sour all at the same time, this soup had many of us scrambling for more of it despite the beads of sweat which had formed around the temples of our foreheads.
It was strangely addictive when paired with the Pandan Leaf Rice – many of us had not noticed that we were cleaning our plates of rice away until we reached the very last grains of rice.
So hey, if you are currently on a no-carbs diet, good luck to you when your table mates order a pot of this soupy goodness. ParaThai is also generous with its portion: there were at least 6 fresh and sweet sea prawns which graced the soup with their presence.
ParaThai’s Traditional Thai Green Curry Chicken ($12.90) wowed me not with its curry, but with the tender, seemingly melt-in-your-mouth chicken cubes. I don’t think I’ve ever had such well-cooked chicken in a curry before – in my memory, I only remember tough and sinewy meat slices being put together with my curries. So while the curry was forgettable, I think this dish is still worth ordering for its amazing chicken slices.
With a special homemade broth which includes the ingredients of fresh lime juice, garlic, chilli and spring onions, the Pla Ka Phong Naung Ma Nao (Steamed Sea Bass with Lime and Chilli, $29.90) was deliciously succulent and extremely fresh.
This is a simple dish but the broth really brought out the freshness of the fish. To make the entire dining experience more enjoyable for diners, the chefs had also deboned the fish – no worries about having to spit out fish bones while trying to swallow the meat!
With a price point of $29.90, I also thought that this dish is rather value-for-money.
The story behind the name for ParaThai’s Suer Rong Hai (“Crying Tiger” BBQ Beef Steak served with Homemade Sauce, $16.90) is rather entertaining. It is rumoured that there once was a tiger who ate this meat and found it so delicious that it cried tears of happiness.
While I didn’t cry, I found that the meat was delicious – the rather crispy crust of the dish contrasted well with the tender interior. The “Crying Tiger” is served alongside homemade Achar (Nonya Spicy Mixed Vegetables), which was refreshing on the palate.
The Homemade Pandan Leaf Chicken ($8.90 for 4 pieces) was another winner. These were all lovingly hand-wrapped by the chefs. If you want to distinguish between the hand-made Pandan Leaf Chicken and the machine-wrapped chicken, it is rather easy: the pandan leaves have less hold on the chicken for hand-made ones, so it is easier for one to peel them away to reveal the tantalising slabs of meat contained within.
The chicken itself was bursting with juices and had an impressive ratio of fats to actual meat distribution. Even after stuffing at least two of these in my mouth, I still didn’t find them to be worryingly jelat (heavy) or greasy.
As a reminder of its roots, Paradise Group has included a rather Chinese styled dish in its menu – the Stir-fried Mini Asparagus with Egg Beancurd and Mushroom ($12.90) combined many different sorts of textures to achieve this flawless dish. I couldn’t find anything to dislike about this: the asparagus were still crunchy and when paired with the smooth and velvety egg beancurd which literally slid down my throat? Massive yums.
By this point, all of us at the table were stuffed to the point where we dreaded having to put another morsel of food into our mouths. But when dessert was mentioned, all that dread vanished – there will always be room for desserts. After all, it’s the perfect excuse to end the meal on a sweet note, isn’t it?
ParaThai’s Red Ruby served with Jackfruit and Coconut Milk ($5.90) was refreshingly light. Flowery hints peeked through slurps of coconut milk, and we learned later that it was the jackfruit which lent this note to the dish. I’ve never had Red Ruby paired with jackfruit before so I thought that the dish was rather interesting. Red Ruby lovers should definitely give this a go.
Ah, but of course, how could we ever miss on on the Mango Sticky Rice served with Coconut Milk ($6.90)? This dish really reminded me of my Bangkok days. The mango was sweet like honey and even the sticky rice was good to eat on its own. Mmm, absolutely delicious.
Overall, I am highly impressed by the quality of Thai food which ParaThai has managed to serve up. Majority of their chefs hail directly from Thailand so I would think that if you were really looking for an authentic Thai experience right here in Singapore, there would be no place to go to other than ParaThai. My personal recommendations would be their Tom Yum Goong, Steamed Sea Bass and their Red Ruby.
Expected Damage: $20 – $30 per pax
