Royal Thai Cuisine

Royal Thai Restaurant

The beauty of Thai food for me is that the sweet, spicy, sour and salty flavors are comforting because of their familiarity. In New York, we have many good Thai restaurants that serves up authentic dishes and have all the right flavors. In Singapore, clearly there is no shortage of fantastic Thai restaurants also. I guess when it comes to Thai food, there’s no need for me to be gushing profusely as I generally enjoy it and can hardly find faults, especially now that I live in Asia and get to have it pretty often.

Most recently, I had dinner with a group of pals at Royal Thai Cuisine – an al fresco restaurant situated next to a golf course at the end of Fairways Drive, where Riders Cafe and the horse stables are, off Eng Neo Avenue at the Bt. Timah area.

The ambiance of Royal Thai Cuisine is very relaxing as the dining area is set up in an open-air space. Beyond the dining area, there’s also a separate wooden deck section with a sprawling view of the greens. It’s such a great space to have chow with a group of friends on a cool breezy evening, which was exactly what I did.

Papaya Salad with Dry Shrimps (S$12)

Thai Prawn Cakes (S$14/ 4-pieces)

Tom Yum Seafood (S$19)

Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Garlic (S$15)

Deep Fried Garoupa with Thai Chilli Sauce (S$49/ 800 to 900 g)

Green Curry Chicken (S$17)

Grilled Chicken served with Thai Chilli Sauce (S$20)

Phad Thai Noodles with Prawns (S$20)

Baked Honey Pork Ribs (S$24)

Stir Fried Minced Chicken with Hot Basil Leaves (S$20)

Mango Sticky Rice served with Coconut Milk (S$10)

Thai Red Ruby (S$8)

Sweet Tapioca Served with Coconut Milk (S$7)

Royal Thai Cuisine officially opened for business about two months ago and is owned/managed by a husband and wife team, together with a friend of 20 years. Their insistence to serve Thai food as authentic as possible led to the hiring of the former chef of the defunct Thai Thai restaurant at Mandarin Hotel, Singapore – Mr. Chaiyarat Khomrit. With over 20 years of experience in both hotels and chain restaurants, both in and outside Singapore, Mr. Khomrit has also previously cooked for the Thai royal family, prime ministers and ambassadors.

Personally, out of the range of dishes that I tried that night, I found the Papaya Salad with Dry Shrimps to be delicious as it’s not too overly salted or spiced. The Green Curry with Chicken and Pad Thai Noodles with Prawns were done really well, and I enjoyed the smoky aroma that accompanied Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Garlic tremendously. The Baked Honey Pork Ribs sorta fell short in terms of flavors and perhaps they weren’t marinated long enough; however the meat was tender. The Stir Fried Minced Chicken with Holy Basil was, needless to say, a comfort food for me so it’s a safe choice to order, along with the Deep Fried Garoupa with Thai Chilli Sauce – do eat the latter before it turns soggy for the best experience. I was a little let down by the desserts, as the mango was a wee sour for me and the Thai Red Ruby wasn’t sweet enough for me. Thankfully, the Sweet Tapioca did not disappoint and was a happy palate cleanser at the end of or meal.

The relaxed outdoors ambiance of the restaurant made this an enjoyable dinner away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Getting there may be tricky for some, it’s all the way at the end of the tiny road and while at first it may look as if you’re stranded and heading towards a dead end, just follow the road – don’t make any turns and it will lead you to a large parking lot where you’ll see Royal Thai Cuisine on the left hand side of the golf course/driving range.