Jai Thai @ East Coast Road

I love the land of smiles for the food and shopping (in that order). At the peak of my craze, I was flying so furiously, clocking in 7 visits in a timespan of 2 years. I love my thai food hot and spicy...so spicy I'd reach for coconut juice to calm the fiery tongue. Street food, restaurant food...I'd have risked it all...for a gastronomical treat. Speaking of which, I miss sitting in a roach infested chinese seafood restaurant at Chinatown in Bangkok tucking into barbequed big head prawns, oyster egg...hygiene was probably the last of all concerns.

Jai Thai

Decided to drop by Jai Thai for a long deserved thai dinner. Their culinary history goes back in time, the owner's dad supposedly had a Thai restaurant in Thailand for almost 30 years before they migrated here and it's been operating since 1999, hoping to spread some of their thai love here.

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Their dishes go according to small, medium and large. Small feeds 3 nicely, medium 5 and so on.

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Lemongrass Drink ($2.50)

Refreshing drink with lemongrass hints, you either love or hate it.

red ruby


Red Ruby ($3)

Not quite a fan of red ruby, even in the land of smiles. This was too coconutty and still not a fan of jellied chestnuts.

thai platter
Mixed Platter ($12)
prawn cake, fish cake, deep fried bean curd, thai spring roll

Thai spring rolls are made of tang hoon, carrots and bean sprouts. Miss having turnip for the added crunch.

The rest were average at best.

mango salad

Mango Salad ($10)

This was a less tangy and spicy version that came across as mild. Was disappointed at the lacklustre display. I was honestly all ready for the tastebuds to be piqued and challenged.

green curry

Green Curry Chicken ($7)

A tad heavy on the cream and oil, I found the texture of the chicken queer. As if it were blended with tofu. Not quite the succulent or juicy chicken you'd fine in Hainanese chicken rice.

tom yum soup

Clear Seafood Tom Yum Soup ($7)

At last, something close though still miles apart from the most iconic thai dish ever. Lacked the punch once again though the ingredients were chockfuls and fresh. Think doryfish chunks, prawns and squid.

sweet sour fish

Deep Fried Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce ($12)

This caused confusion, more like a cantonese dish without the pasty batter. These were lightly battered fried dory fish doused in tangy sauce. Liked it enough for seconds.

fried chicken basil
Fried Chicken with Basil Leaf ($7)

By now, I was not expecting anymore authentic thai food to come my way. Appetising blend of basil and fried chicken but the tofu texture of the chicken bothered me, still.

thai kang kong



Fried Kang Kong ($8)

Miles apart from our Singaporean favourite, stir fried kang kong in chilli padi...this was just stir fried kang kong in fish sauce.

Pineapple Rice ($6)

Like the rest say, the pork floss scattered was the most exciting part of the dish. Clumpy rice that was way too soft for pineapple rice, this lacked the pineapple flavouring.

pad thai

Pad Thai ($8)

Twirls of soft kuay teow that ended up sticking together towards the end. Some prawns were undercooked, if not stale given their soft textures. Not the best version attempted, just alright.

coconut jelly

Coconut Jelly ($1)

Shaped like a bunny, tasted just like agar agar with coconut flesh embedded within.

tako squares
Tako ($1)

I managed to put a name to this dessert that I've been eating all along.

tako

Chestnut-corn jelly with a layer of coconut cream.

sticky mango rice

Mango Glutinous Rice ($4.50)

At long last, the sweet finish that matched expectations. Warm, sticky and sweet glutinous rice when paired with slightly sour mango...they perfected this. The way the flavours were such opposites yet were so complimentary. Yum! Possibly the only item that had my fork dancing.

Dishes have been tweaked to suit the local palette. Northern thai cuisine is what they seem to specialise in, where the flavours are watered down. I miss having a runny nose after the stinging spices or tears in my eyes after a spicy meal...authentic thai this is not. Warm and prompt service is what they offer, decent food at more than decent prices. If it's any discomfort, I found stray hairs embedded in my food.

Regular crowds streaming in are a clear indication of its popularity and affordability.

Jai Thai Restaurant
205 East Coast Rd

Comments

  1. I can't believe there was hair in your food?!

    I hope it was promptly replaced? But still, you were crazy to dine knowing it's roach infested!

    for the love of food (sometimes)!!

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  2. LOL!!! Nah...was too full to even finish the dish.

    Heh, sometimes in countries like bkk, it's about eating by the roadside with a dozen other creepy crawlies or a roach infested one. The thing abt f&b is..ignorance is bliss. Whatever we don't see, we assume it's the way we expect of it. (particularly hygiene)

    definitely the love of food...all the time. ^^

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  3. have you tried diandin leluk at golden mile complex? how does it compare?

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  4. heyhey...nope I havent. Is it good?

    ReplyDelete

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