my memories of food are almost always tied to people. it’s the one thing that magically melts away the toll of a bad day and everyone’s differences as we get together to eat. be it steak or japanese or thai, i light up at good food. and so does my family.
it comes as no surprise then that my posts on singapore are stalls recommended by my mum or dad. sure, i scour food blogs too, just like any other foodie (not to mention a deprived international student developing cravings for hawker food at two in the morning), but very few things come close to having a meal with the people i love.
and so this brings me to thai food. the schematics of thai food are simple: a balance of sweet, sour, salty, and every other taste our tastebuds are able to pick up. i’m sure there’s a more professional way of putting it but that’s the way i understand it and i hope you do too! most would agree that authentic thai food is becoming harder to find, even in thailand, where dishes in well-known restaurants are mostly modified to suit tourists. but i wanted something real, something heart-warming, something good. so on fathers’ day this year my dad chose somboon thai at lavender food square, where i was most surprised to find good thai food at an amazingly low price.
dad discovered somboon thai a while ago and raved to me continuously about their signature dishes: rice vermicelli with crab served in an earthen claypot, and thai-style steamed fish. the owner promptly informed us that the crabs for the day were not as fresh, so he recommended the fish instead.
fifteen minutes later, we were treated to a fairly large steamed fish. besides being pretty to look at, i loved the different layers of flavours: first slightly tangy, then comes the comforting warmth of ginger, thereafter the fire of chillies make their appearance. the flesh was tender too; looks like its time spent in the steamer was just right. (:
for carbs, dad decided on olive fried rice. it was served lukewarm, while i prefer my fried rice to be steaming hot. it was also pretty flat, with fish sauce and eggs as the central flavours. but what i liked about it was the charred bits of rice they mixed in. you know when you order claypot rice and you’d conscientiously scoop the burnt bits right at the bottom? for SGD4, you get that without straining your arm muscles. (: and that’s a definite plus for me.
sometimes i wish i could be in two places at once. not just to eat more, but so i can spend more time with my family. for now, technology (and perhaps this blog) will have to do.
and if you have a hankering for thai food, head down to:
somboon thai food
#01-02 lavender food square
380 jalan besar, singapore
p.s. my dad says it’s best to go after 12.30pm. apparently, a fresh batch of fish comes in at 12 and it takes about half an hour to clean and de-scale the fish. so by the time you rock up at 12.30, you get the freshest fish! enjoy! (:
Diane Leow 