Thailand Street Food: Hand-made Prawn Cake + Authentic & Affordable Thai Dishes In Yishun

If there’s something Singaporeans love more than good food, it’s affordable good food. Add in the ever-popular choice of Thai cuisine, and you’ve got a winning combination.

North-siders, now’s your time to shine. Located at Junction Nine in Yishun, Thailand Street Food is an affordable Thai restaurant serving up authentic Thai cuisine. They also have a few signature dishes that’ll have you coming back for more.

As someone who has lived in the West all my life, I must admit that Junction Nine wasn’t the most accessible location. However, Thailand Street Food is now the perfect excuse to make this your next heartland hangout spot if you stay around the area.

With the brightly-coloured signage and simple but homely furniture, it’s easy to feel right at home in this cosy eatery. I also liked the prints of Thailand street scenery and food that decorated the walls.

Diving straight into the food, we tried the Thai Handmade Prawn Cake (S$10/four pieces). These prawn cakes were made and shaped by hand, and fried to a golden crisp.

I simply loved how crispy the prawn cakes were on the outside, while the insides remained juicy and had a firm bite. I could actually taste bits of prawn! This dish came with sweet chilli sauce, which went really well with the savoury prawn cakes.

Dip a piece into the sticky sauce before taking a bite, though I’d recommend going easy on the sauce because it can get too sweet.

Another light bite to try is the Pandan Chicken (S$7/four pieces). These savoury morsels are wrapped in pandan leaves by hand, and fried to get slightly crispy skin.

This is a pretty messy dish to eat, because you’ll need to unwrap the pandan leaves with your hands. But it’s all worth it, because the chicken chunks were tender and smooth, with a hint of lemongrass fragrance.

If you’re here for a full meal, they have a few main dishes you can choose from. The Tom Yam Fried Rice (S$6/small, S$9/large) is a good option for those who want a little spice in their meal. There’s a choice of chicken, pork or seafood, and you can also add on Sunny Side Up Egg (S$1) or even more White Rice (S$1) if you’re really hungry.

The fried rice had a strong wok hei flavour, and the smokiness lingered on my palate. It wasn’t really spicy enough for me, with more sour notes than spice.

The best part of the dish was the big and juicy prawns, which were bursting with sweet and briny flavours.

Thailand Street Food also sells Pineapple Fried Rice (S$6/small, S$9/large) for those who want a familiar dish. This was a pretty solid plate of pineapple fried rice, permeated with a subtle sweetness from the pineapple and raisins interspersed in the rice. It also came with prawns, so seafood lovers, you’re all set.

If you prefer noodles, the Pad Thai (S$6/small, S$9/large) is a well-balanced dish that you should try. I chose the seafood option, though you can also get it with chicken or pork.

With generous portions of huge juicy prawns and fresh bouncy squid, this dish certainly doesn’t skimp on flavour.

It even had sakura ebi for that added crunch!

I also liked how they added lots of eggs into the dish, because it balanced out the sweet and savoury rice noodles. Topped with ground peanut and chilli powder, this dish packed just the right amount of heat.

One of my favourite dishes at Thailand Street Food was the Fried Egg Salad (S$8), though it’s subject to availability. This dish takes a while to prepare, mainly because of the cooking method. The eggs are fried at a lower temperature so that they retain a fluffy and light texture.

I have to say, the wait was definitely worth it. Biting through the crispy outer layer and into a fluffy mouthful of egg was an absolute delight. The sweet and spicy sauce drizzled over this dish added some oomph, but be careful not to bite into any chilli seeds!

You can’t go to a Thai restaurant and not have any curry, so we tried the Thai Green Curry (S$6/small, S$9/large). It usually comes with chicken, though you can also opt for pork depending on your preference.

Rich and creamy with a strong coconut fragrance, this green curry was really addictive. Chicken thigh is used so each chunk was smooth and broke apart easily as I bit into it. Even though I felt that it could be spicier, I still really enjoyed this dish.

If you want a soup that’s lighter on the palate, the Tom Yam Clear Soup (S$6/small, S$9/large) would be a good choice. We had it with seafood, but you can also choose to have prawns, chicken or pork instead.

I found it quite mild for a tom yum soup, and it actually had more salty and sour notes than spiciness. If you can’t really take the heat, then this would be a good version of tom yum soup for you.

The soup came with a generous amount of seafood, ranging from fresh prawns to chewy squid rings, to soft and flaky fish slices. It’s the perfect meal on a rainy day.

If you are around the vicinity, head over to Thailand Street Food for some authentic and affordable Thai dishes. Don’t forget to try the Fried Egg Salad and Pandan Chicken, I assure you that they’ll have you coming back for more!

We had a chat with the owner and found out that the dishes were tweaked according to our local palate, so if you would like the dishes to have a fiery kick, don’t be afraid to let them know.

Expected Damage: S$6 – S$12 per pax

*This post is brought to you in partnership with Thailand Street Food.