Explore
TOS RSS feed
TOS Twitter
Kha
Competitions
- Win tickets to the Singapore Chinese Orchestra
- Win tickets to Ciné Club at the Alliance Française de Singapour
- Win tickets to W!LD Rice's Animal Farm at the Drama Centre Theatre (21 Apr-8 May)
- Win tickets to The Tempest at The Esplanade
Poll
Subscribe
Subscribe to Time Out Singapore
24 copies for $40. Loads of the best Singapore news, listings and reviews for just $40!
Print
Emailpublished on Aug 02 2008 - 10:56
It’s been a few years now since hotelier Yenn Wong opened her first eatery in Singapore. Her latest venture, the Thaithemed Kha, is set in the lush, resort-like grounds of Hort Park and it’s easily her best effort, food- and looks-wise. The credit for the former rests entirely with the deft touch of consultant David Hamilton, who used to cook at Phuket’s luxe resort the Trisara, and the day-to-day supervision by executive chef Kunchit Srimuang.
 |
 |
Not that the interiors are shabby by any means. Local interior designer Wei Tan has limited the usual Thai kitsch to a dignifi ed seated Buddha at the entrance and swathed the rest of the space in warm teak, Maharam fabric and floor-to-ceiling windows that peek out to an alfresco deck framed by the park’s greenery.
But back to the food. Almost without exception, every dish (save for a lumpy, hard sticky rice and mango dessert) was executed with brio and the occasional flash of surprise. The salmon salad was magical as large chunks of lightly seared fish – the interiors the shade of pomegranate – were doused with a light citrus dressing and anointed with crispy shards of fried salmon skin and hits of kaffir, mint and coriander. The result was sweet, salty, lemony and addictive all at once.
During service, Srimuang, a cheerful and slightly plump man, made his way shyly around the tables greeting diners before disappearing back into the kitchen to conjure up more tricks. My favourites were delicate fans of crisp and fragile banana flower fritters; a mellow peppery soup with tiny sweet pork meatballs and cubes of soft tofu; and gently steamed sea bass bathing in a lightly sour tamarind broth strewn with julienned coconut heart and little knots of string beans.
If it’s not already clear, this is up-market Thai food for the modern urbanite. And so, the king prawns wrapped in fried vermicelli were paired with a honey mustard sauce, while the traditional sticky date pudding was worked over with a nutty rice pudding dripping with a tangy tamarind caramel sauce. At another dinner, the pomelo salad was tossed with roasted coconut shreds, peanuts, chicken strips and sweet, biting chilli jam. Low points were few and if there’s a complaint, it’s that for the price, some portions tend to be small. The tiny mound of coconut mousse served up in an unusual, aromatic jasmine syrup made an impact as much for its smooth flavours as its $14 price tag. But that’s fine dining in Singapore for you, I guess. Meanwhile, the service was cheerful though a little green and distracted. Our iced tea came out as an iced coffee.
Words by:
Daven WuKha details
Address
Hortpark #02-02
33 Hyderabad Road
33 Hyderabad Road
Transport
Telephone 6476 9000
Open Tue-Sun 11.30am-3pm; 6.30pm-midnight; 6.30pm-1am (bar). Sun 9.30am-3pm (brunch).
If this map or venue details are incorrect then please Contact Us
Want more?
- Tawandang Microbrewery - Thai
- Sticky Rice - Thai
- First Thai - Thai
- Bangkok Jam - Thai
- Thanying - Thai
- E-Sarn - Thai
- Yhingthai Palace - Thai
- Thai Express - Thai
- Patara - Thai
- Verve - Italian 367m
- IKEA - International 986m
- Villa Seafood Galleria - Chinese 1271m
- Sarang - Korean 1491m
- The Beer Station - Bars 367m
- Villa Bali - Bars 367m
- Handle Bar - Bars 371m
- Little Bali - Bars 433m
- About the site |
- Contact Us |
- Privacy policy |
- Media |
- Submissions |
- Jobs at Time Out |
- Advertising |
- License our content
© 2007 - 2010 Time Out Group Ltd. All rights reserved. All material on this site is © Time Out.
This is one of the better Thai restaurant.The dessert is yummicious and the ambience is great!!
Posted on Sun 10 Jan 2010 14:42:52
I have to say this is easily the best thai restaurant I have visited in Singapore and I have visited a few. I have gone back many times between May and November 2009 and every visitor I take compliments the restaurant food and service here. Its expensive no doubt but well worth the price.
Posted on Tue 01 Dec 2009 11:13:14
Quite simply - the food is mediocre and overpriced. This crew should know better - and have put equal effort into the decor and the cooking. I mean how hard is it to dish up decent Thai food????
Posted on Wed 08 Apr 2009 16:42:40
Singapore has dozens of good Thai restaurants - but this is not even close to being either good or Thai. the food was delivered cold and the the appetisers were simply disgusting - with indeterminable meats and fish. stay away from this place at all costs. if a Thai person were to taste the food at this place they would need to be revived in the nearly hospital.
Posted on Sun 05 Apr 2009 11:13:21
good food n excellent service one of the best resturant in singapore
Posted on Mon 02 Feb 2009 23:08:19