Aroy Dee @ Sunshine Plaza

 Ah Loy Thai has always been a favourite haunt to satisfy those occasional Thai food cravings, but I heard Sunshine Plaza has a few Thai restaurants that serve some pretty mean Thai food as well, so off I went one evening after work. 

It was a humid evening, so we were looking for some air-conditioned comfort. Not keen to sit by the roadside to be fed by the exhaust fumes and have our food garnished with dust, we headed inside the eatery - perhaps even stuffier. We wondered if the air-con was spoiled, or were they saving electricity?

 

A truly well-used menu 

How could you not order Phad Thai in a Thai restaurant?  To test out the standard, a Phad Thai ($5) is a must.

It was slightly watery, unlike the usual dry one that we eat. It wasn't particularly fragrant, and in fact on the bland side. We were disappointed.

Tom Yam Soup is a safe choice. There were loads of ingredients in it, spices, mushrooms, fish slices, prawns... 

Claypot Vermicelli with Prawns - We liked this, but 2 of us sharing these 3 dishes was simply too much for us. They were generous with the prawns for all the dishes, so each of us had around 10 prawns each until we really couldn't stomach any further prawns. This dish is too much for 2 persons if you order other dishes as well.

All in all, we weren't too impressed with Aroy Dee. There were 1 or 2 more Thai eateries just next door, so we'll probably try those the next time round. Till then, I'm still faithful to Ah Loy Thai.

How much spent per pax: $10-$12 per pax
Would I come back again? I don't think so.



91 Bencoolen Street
#01-12 Sunshine Plaza Singapore
Tel: +65 6336 8852
 

Porn's Sexy Thai Food

I was headed to Bugis last weekend and was really perturbed as to what to have for lunch. Suddenly I couldn't recall any appealing restaurant to try out or go back to. Researched on a particular Spanish-Thai fusion restaurant along Purvis Street but to our dismay, we couldn't seem to locate it. Continued walking and decided upon this.

This restaurant is opened by the popular Channel 8 host Pornsak, for those who are not aware, which explains the "sexy" restaurant name. "Porn" means blessings in Thai so do not be mistaken! Serves the usual Thai food such as Tom Yam Goong and Pineapple Fried Rice. 

Went there on a Saturday afternoon and it wasn't crowded at all, though it started to fill up while we were there. Menu is no-frills kind though I like the elephant icon! Cute. After perusing the menu, I felt that prices were slightly on the high side as compared to my favourite Thai restaurant Ah Loy Thai at Shaw Towers. Truth be told, I came to try this eatery because it's opened by one of my favourite Channel 8 host! And voila, he was sitting right at the cashier when we went in hehehee. But of course, whether I would go back would depend on the food, and not the celebrity who opened it. Prices are comparable to Thai Express though.

A cutely drawn map of Thailand (I presume).

One of the chef's recommendations is this - prawn cakes, which the waitress claimed that "customers come back for it". She also mentioned that Tom Yam Goong was one of the most popular dishes as well, though I thought to myself, naturally Tom Yam Goong would be one of the most popular, since everyone who goes and eat Thai food would surely order Tom Yum Soup no matter what? Methodological bias, but never mind.

 

Prawn cakes (3 for $8.50) - Fried to golden goodness, tasty and crispy with prawns inside. Yummy and worth a try.

Of course, the must-have Tom Yam Goong (10.90) that every trip to a Thai eatery must include. This one is with prawns (around 4 prawns, if you're curious). You can have the option of seafood or chicken as well, and to come in a bowl or hotpot. This one serves 2-3 people.

This one is rather unique - Stuffed Chicken Wings (3 for $8.50) I seriously have no idea how they do it. It's basically chicken wings with minced meat (with mushrooms and vermicelli) stuffed inside, yet the wing part is still nicely intact, albeit looking a bit bloated.

 

This one was really unremarkable. Please do not order this should you go there. Seafood Fried Rice ($9.90). It tasted as bland as it looked. I could've done a better job at whipping up a plate of fried rice, I think. A better bet would be the Pineapple Fried Rice, which comes in a pineapple as I spied on other tables, with pork/chicken floss on top and seemed rather popular. Of course, it could be a case of Thai food = must have PFR as well.

Thai Roselle and Lime ($3.90) - Nice and refreshing, not too sweet as well.

 

Since we were seated right next to the cashier, I tried to catch a glimpse of the owner himself. He was busy talking shop with his business partner, who was there that day too. 

How much was spent: $23 per pax

Would I go back? Maybe for another time, to try other dishes.

Address: 28, Liang Seah Street Singapore 189049

Tel: 63375535

Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 3pm, 6pm-10pm, Sun: 6pm - 10pm