Rochor Thai @ Novena Regency

This time round, managed to try their weekday lunch sets. Click on this link to view previous visit during dinner time. Their lunch sets during weekdays are priced between $10.80 to $12.80 and a drink of either Thai Iced Tea, Iced Lemongrass Tea or soft drink is included. Noted that the serving size of the drink and dessert is of a smaller portion for the lunch set.

Ordered the Braised Trotters Rice (khao kha moo) and Thai Iced Tea.

Thai Iced Tea (half size for lunch sets)

Braised Trotters Rice (ข้าวขาหมู) @$11.80

The khao kha moo was served with green vege and half an egg. The egg has soft yolk similar to ramen eggs just that the egg wasn't flavoured. The trotters were tender but wished that it had more collageney parts. Abit of salted vege was detected but just a few tiny slices only. The sauce flavour was strong and rice serving was generous.

Also tried the mango sticky rice and I think the set portion @$3 would be half the size of the normal ones. Normal portion is meant for 1 pax.

mango sticky rice ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง (normal portion) @$8

Service was friendly and reservation is recommended.

[Media Invite] ChokChai Mookata 泰式火锅铁板烧 @ Blk 340 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1

Mookata in the heartlands. Want to have mookata in your neighbourhood coffeeshop? Now you can. ChokChai Mookata is currently nestled deep in the Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 neighbourhood. About 15 minutes walk from Ang Mo Kio MRT. We headed towards AMK Hub, and then crossed the road towards the HDB blocks. Cut through the blocks and you will pass by one or two coffeeshops before arriving at the destination.

menu

The place is a brightly lit coffeeshop. On our night of visit, we spied that there were about two other tables that were enjoying mookata as well. Otherwise, one could opt to have prata as the other stalls seemed to be closed.

If you are a family of four adults and two children, the $45 set menu should be sufficient. If more food is needed, there are ala-carte options as well. The meat options starts from $3/$6 per portion, while vegetable portions are priced at $1.50 each. If you don't feel like having the fixed items in the set, then you can go on full ala-carte options with a minimum order of $15.

ready

ChokChai Mookata $45 Set Menu

Our group of 6 adults (5 ladies and one guy) had the $45 set menu comfortably, with some additional items such as liver, Thai instant noodle and cheese tofu.

Thai instant noodles @$1

cheese tofu @$2.50

The set includes Thai black pepper chicken, Thai garlic lean meat, pork belly, prawn, sotong, scallop, pork balls, fish balls, crabsticks, hotdogs, xiao bai cai, cabbage, golden mushroom, sweet corn, carrot, tang hoon and egg.

meaty affair

ChokChai Mookata takes pride in their mookata broth and chili dips. According to Mr Len Wang, owner of ChokChai Mookata, the broth is boiled from pork bones, pandan leaves and other ingredients, while the chilies were imported from Thailand.

golden pork broth

ChokChai Mookata green and red chili dips

Both the red and green chili dips were rather spicy with the red being the spiciest of the two. I'd dare say that the red was of two notches in spice level above the green. The green chili is named as seafood chili and is more tangy savoury salty while the red is slightly sweet and more spicy. Joy, one of the native Thai service staff, recommends to dip the sauce separately to get its full taste, but I think the mixed version was rather nice too.

First step in mookata dining (after turning up the fire, of course), is to oil the hotplate. Pieces of lard were utilized for this purpose. Reminded me of  ジンギスカン.

oil the hotplate naturally

Then, just pile the meats onto the hot grill and the rest of the hardy vegetables and meatballs into the soup.

let it sizzle, let it boil

While waiting for the food to cook, one could order up a plate of prawn som tam as appetiser. Be warned that this plate could be rather spicy for some. Lovely salad and we were ready for the grilled stuffs.

ส้มตำ (som tam goong) @$5

almost done

Communal dining, cooking your own food, cooking for your family/buddies, were all part of the experience. We became somewhat loud, boisterous and basically, had fun.

let's eat

Marinated meats were tasty and I particularly liked the garlic pork. Slightly sweet but tasted so good with the chili dips. The pork liver was fresh and cooked easily. The cabbage was really sweet and after having our fill of the expertly sliced thin liver cooked in the broth, the broth became almost like the bak chor mee soup. So robust and tasty!

more soup please

Used to think that mookata was difficult to manage. The meats would usually slip into the broth due to the dome shaped grill. Glad to report that we didn't have that problem at ChokChai Mookata. However, wished that the circular section could have more depth and slightly wider to cook our vegetables and noodles.

Am of the opinion that mookata could be quite popular with families dining out on weekends. My neighbourhood foodcourt used to have one and it gained popularity after some time. The smell and sound of meat sizzling was the main draw.

Thank you Len and ChokChai Mookata for hosting the dinner, and Hence (@chubbybotakkoala) for the invite. To my makan kakis; Kris (@msginginly), Jennifer (@jellylovesfats), Melissa (@cptslowyeo) and Tiara (@tiara_star), you guys are fun to be with! Thank you and let's meet again!

ChokChai Mookata

Location: Blk 340 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, Singapore 560340
Contact: 9778 3942 or email: chokchaimookata@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chokchaimookata/
Instagram: @chokchai_mookata
Business Hours:
Mon-Sun: 17:00 - 23:00

Rochor Thai @ Novena Regency

Friday evening meet-up with gal pal, and we went for Thai Food. Novena Regency is about 12 minutes walk from the office, so it was pretty convenient. Not a stranger to that area, having frequented Hong Kong Street and Nickeldime Drafthouse.

Made a reservation via Chope the day before, as we weren't sure of the crowd.

logo

The restaurant was fairly relaxed before 730pm on a Friday evening. The place isn't that big so, might be a good idea to secure a table prior to visiting. The alfresco dining area would be quite humid in our weather, so we opted for the cool indoor air-conditioning and was seated at the counter.

indoor dining

counter top

A good thing about being seated at the counter area? Vantage point where I could watch the chefs. Quite heartened to know that most of the staff there, are Thai natives. It added authenticity to the food that we were about to partake.

young chefs in action

Since there were just the two of us, we ordered three dishes to have with rice. The recommended dish was the cabbage with fish sauce, cashew nut chicken and grilled iberico pork collar. Went with two of the recommended and got ourself tom yum goong as well. Our Thai food experience wouldn't be complete without tom yum soup!

good plates, good food?

The food arrived quite quickly as there weren't many other diners at that time. The ceramic bowl for the tom yum soup was pretty looking. The soup portion was just nice for two pax.

tom yum goong and grilled iberico pork collar

The MSG-free tom yum soup was tasty. One sip and you could already taste the spices, the taste-buds awakening sourish taste plus seafood goodness. Good to the very last sip, but be careful as the bottom of the bowl seemed to have all the spices congregated. Having that glass of iced-water nearby would be helpful. Oh, and the manager revealed that this version of soup that we were having, was already the toned-down version. Oh my, can't imagine how fiery it would be, if we were to have the original!

Tom Yum Goong ทอมยำกุ้ง @$14++

 The best dish of the night was certainly, the tender yet enjoyably bouncy chewy Grilled Iberico Pork Collar. So tasty on its own but superb with the magic sauce. This plate of meat, goes very well with a pint of Kronenbourg Blanc draft.

Grilled Iberico Pork Collar (KorMoo Yang คอหมูย่ำง) @$19++

Cabbage with Fish Sauce (KalumPad Nampla กะหล่าผัดน้าปลา) @$12++

On the other hand, the cabbage with fish sauce, which its menu touted as the 'Best in Singapore', was just ok for us. I think my father does a very good rendition of stir fried cabbage though minus the fish sauce. Nevertheless, glad we had a healthy dose of vegetables.

We spent $30 per pax for the above meal. On the average, do expect to spend about $40++ per pax for dinner, plus a drink (half pint) or a shared dessert.

Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe @ Blk 115 Aljunied Avenue 2

This place could be a bit tricky to find, especially if you aren't familiar with that neighbourhood. From Aljunied Crescent, turn into Aljunied Avenue 2 and walk towards the hawker centre. Blk 115 is behind the hawker centre and somewhere round the corner of Blk 114. Or, ask the residents or nearby shopkeeper and tell them you'd like to go to the Thai restaurant.

shop front

Opened by our local businessman, Ron Poh, whom loves Thai cuisine. Spicy Thai Thai Cafe prides itself in serving northeastern Thai cuisine in a casual setting. The condiments and chilies in the restaurant are imported from Thailand, and he has chefs from Thailand and Malaysia working the kitchen. While some of the condiments, ingredients, and serving style remained authentic, Spicy Thai Thai Cafe menu also included a few original or fusion items that owner, Ron had came up with together with his chefs. Well, as long as it taste good, the more the merrier as that means more options for us, diners!

Was invited for a tasting and we got a chance to try northeastern Thai cuisine which are stronger in flavour.

"when in Thai restaurant, drink Thai iced tea" - purpletaste

The Thai iced (milk) tea here was decent and not overly sweetened. Just the drink to quench the thirst. The dishes came our fairly quickly after ordering. A myriad of dishes with meat ratio overpowered the vegetables by ... plenty? Haha!

dinner is served

One of the usual orders for side dishes when in Thai restaurant would be either the fish cake or the prawn cake. We tried the prawn cake. Flattened mound of prawn paste, coated and deep fried to a nice light brown colour. The texture was bouncy. Enjoyable with the chili dip. In the menu, one can find "Larb Moo Tok" aka pork meatballs. Nice dish to go with beer.

Prawn Cake @$2 per piece (min. order of 2 pieces)

Prawn Cake - cross section view

For families, usually I'd see them ordering omelettes. We had the restaurant recommended Dill Pattie (Cha Om) Omelette. Thai dills are wrapped inside the omelette and pan-fried. The cha om did not have a strong  herby taste and thus, can be easily eaten along with the egg. Interesting but the egg was a tad oily though.

Dill Pattie (Cha Om) Omelette @$12

From the grills and barbeque pit, we had the BBQ chicken wings and BBQ pork neck. The advise is to quickly eat these once it is served. Had mine after quite a long while, and unfortunately, the meat tasted a tad tough.

BBQ Chicken Wings @$9 for 6 pieces

BBQ Pork Neck @$10

Loved their deep fried items. The Deep Fried Pork Belly with Garlic and the Deep Fried Kang Kong with Special Thai sauce were both excellent! Pork belly was well marinated and flavourful, and with good texture. The kang kong remained crispy for quite a long while and it paired so well with the special sauce. Will gladly eat this vegetable. Memorable.

Deep Fried Pork Belly with Garlic @$12

Deep Fried Kang Kong with Special Thai Sauce (sauce not in photo) @$10

Spicy Thai Thai has a special otah that is called Hommok. Presented in a coconut and has a rich coconut cream and curry taste. Good to be eaten with rice.

Hommok Thai Style Otah @$16

For seafood options, we had the Thai Basil Black Pepper Crab and the Walking Catfish with Spicy Lemon Soup. The Basil Pepper Crab had watery sauce but boy, it was spicy! The flesh of the crab was so good. Sweet flesh that was firm and stringy.

Thai Basil Black Pepper Crab @ seasonal price

Thai Walking Catfish with Spicy Lemon Soup @$28

The Walking Catfish sounds weird and scary but this dish ought to be on the table of every diner. A good sized catfish that was served warm over the charcoal fire. If you worry that catfish may have that muddy taste? Fret not. The version served here was devoid of any mud taste. The charcoal fire actually continues cooking the fish and even so, the flesh remained tender. The soup was so good. Tangy, spicy and very appetising. Be careful of the tiny fiery chilies though.

For supper, perhaps the La-La Bee Hoon may tickle your fancy. Stir well and try to get those bee hoon to soak up the sauce. Savoury, sweet with a tinge of spicy kick.

La La (Clams) Bee Hoon @$18

For desserts, get the Tapioca in coconut milk. Super good.

Tapioca in coconut milk (warm) @$3.50

The Sticky Rice with Mango was let down by the too compact/dense glutinous rice.

Sticky Glutinous Rice with Mango @$6

The Red Ruby and Lemongrass Jelly with Aloe Vera and Calamansi had very much lighter sweetness and taste than accustomed to.

Special thanks to Christina and Ron for hosting the dinner and for sharing more about northeastern Thai cuisine with us. Thank you Shauniee for the invite.

Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe

Location: Blk 115, Aljunied Avenue 2, #01-35, Singapore 380115
Contact : +65 6747 8558
Business Hours:
Opens Daily from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Nara Thai @ Westgate

Nara Thai Cuisine offers Thai food in a comfortable setting. A quick glance of the menu showed many seafood options. Was in the mood for some tom yum soup, so was there one evening for late dinner.

The restaurant has dark furnishings and dim lightings. As usual, ordered Thai Iced Tea, seafood tom yum soup and a meat dish, of stir fried duck.

Thai Iced Tea

Tom yum soup arrived fairly quickly. For carbs, they only had the blue jasmine rice available, otherwise need to order fried rice. There's no difference in taste between blue coloured rice or white rice, though my bro fedback that his was a tad too moist.

tom yum kung (@$19.90++) and blue jasmine rice (@$2++)

closer view of the tom yum soup

The tom yum soup was tangy, leaning more towards the sweetish sourish tone. The spice component was too mild. It gets very sourish towards the end of the pot. Sure to awaken any taste buds!

Unfortunately, the stir fried roasted duck took forever to arrive and it actually took us by surprise. For $18.90++, there were only that few pieces of duck meat and the rest were actually duck skin. Albeit very oily but tasty skins. Spicy too. Best eaten with rice.

stir fried roasted duck with crispy basil @$18.90++

Bali Thai @ Velocity Novena Square

Last visited a year ago in April 2014. Here's the link to previous visit. This time round to try the set lunch.

it's been a year

table setting

There was just about four choices for set lunch. Priced at $11.80++ for one noodle or rice dish and a drink.

seafood phad thai with dracula? hmm...!

Had a pot of tom yum seafood soup to share amongst 3 pax.

seafood tom yum soup @$14++ (good for 3 pax)

The tom yum soup was good. Not the most authentic, but nice. Sourish with a bite, spicy with a slight kick. Plenty of soup left for one more bowl to whet the appetite.

mussel, squid, prawn and mushroom

The basil leaves minced chicken came out pretty fast. The phad thai only arrived about 10 to 15 minutes later.

basil leaves minced chicen

The minced chicken had a good interesting bouncy bite, with sweetish savoury sauce and plenty of chopped crunchy french beans. Goes well with the rice. Felt really stuffed after eating this. Pretty filling.

The drink that was suppoed to come with this set was the Thai Iced Tea. Unfortunately, they ran out of it, so had it replaced with salty plum which was basically soda water with a mixture of salty plum to be stirred into the soda. Interesting drink, but hadn't figure out why the rim of the glass has salt when one was drinking from the straw...

salty plum