Johor Kaki was invited to a food tasting at the recently opened (in Jun 2015) Gin Khao Thai restaurant at East Coast Park.
Gin Khao is a fairly large space, bright, simply laid out, basically furnished - just nice for casual dining with family and friends.
Gin Khao is the brainchild of Ralph, Managing Director of Jus Delish Group. Ralph is a chef with experience in Thailand and was General Manager with Minor Food Group (with interests like the ThaiExpress restaurant chain in Singapore) before launching Gin Khao.
Gin Khao (kin k̄ĥāw กินข้าว) means "eat rice" in Thai - it's a form of friendly greeting and well wish when Thais meet. So, the idea behind Gin Khao restaurant is welcoming service and atmosphere with reasonably priced Thai food that is comforting and satisfying.
Once we settled down, we started off with this Thai Iced Rose Milk Tea (SGD4.80++) to get into the mood for Thai.
Next, we launched into the quintessentially Thai, som tam.
Som Tam Pu Nim (SGD7.80++) fresh green papaya salad tossed in a tangy, sweet, savoury sauce with spicy notes. I like the crustacean savoury flavour from the dried shrimps in the salad. The long slivers of green papaya were quite chewy and required a quite bit of jaw effort but I love the flavours.
Som Tam is a great appetiser and I always had this impression (delusion? wishful thinking?) that I will not get fat if I eat this before a full meal ;-p
I love this Prawn and Green Mango Relish (SGD7.80++) eaten with crispy rice crackers. The mostly flavourless crispy rice crackers added an interesting crackle to the soft fresh prawns and crunchy green mango with a perky, tangy and spicy sauce. The spiciness level may be slightly high for chili novices and it has a lingering sting. I love it - it's actually quite addictive.
Gai Pad Gratiem (SGD12.80++), bite size chicken pieces fried with crushed pepper corn and pungent (Thai) garlic. The pepper and garlic gave the chicken which was fried to a slight crisp outside, a nice mildly spicy kick.
Stir Fried Squid with Runny Salted Egg (SGD14.80++). Tender spongy fresh squid rings in a robustly savoury sauce (quite similar to that used in salted egg yolk crab dish). This robustly flavoured dish with interesting savoury layers is a perfect complement for simple plain steamed white rice.
Moo Yang (SGD12.80++), Thai style thinly sliced three layered belly pork marinated with savoury sauce, grilled to a slight crisp outside.
Kang Ob Woon Sen (SGD16.80) is a signature dish at Gin Khao.
The cray fish were simmered in a savoury and slightly spicy sauce made with pepper corn and Thai garlic.
It was the tung hoon that left the deeper impression.
The tung hoon (glass noodles 冬粉) was tender and still had a bouncy spring. The best thing was the tung hoon soaked up the savoury slightly (garlicky) spicy sauce really well.
This dish is a Must Try.
Kaeng Khiew Wan Gai (SGD12.80++) is tender bite size chicken in a creamy "jade green" curry broth. I am a fan of green curry and I like this creamy sweet, spicy and savoury broth. Rich with coconut milk but not oily, this "friendly" curry is drinkable (to me ;-p ). Served with crispy rice crackers.
Of course, we must have tom yum with every Thai meal :-D We had Tom Yum Talay (SGD12.80++) which is tom yum seafood soup. Savoury spicy flavours, I like it that at Gin Khao the underlying broth is based on boiled chicken stock (instead of just plain hot water).
I missed the coconut ice cream at Chatuchak Market, so I ordered Gin Khao's version (SGD7.80++). Gin Khao uses gelato (instead of ice cream) garnished with crushed nuts, attap seeds and sweet corn. This is nice but I still prefer those at Chatuchak as the coconut flavour is more distinct there.
Thai Flag Coloured Rainbow Cake (SGD7.80++) made with layers of sponge cake coloured with food grade colouring. Mainly sweet with a slight tanginess plus savoury notes from the mascarpone cheese sprinkled on top.
Saw "Thai Coffee" on the menu, so I had to have it ;-D
The Thai coffee (beans grown and roasted in Thailand) was very robust like local "kopi kaw kaw", quite smooth but not as bitter. Instead of condensed or evaporated milk, coconut milk is used. If you are a kopi drinker, Thai coffee is something you may like to try.
Gin Khao is a good choice for Thai dinner with family and friends in a comfortable, casual ambience.
Gin Khao is in it's own building (just beside the carpark and Long Beach seafood restaurant). Getting here by car or taxi is easy as there is ample parking space right at the doorstep.
Restaurant name: Gin Khao
Address: 1020 East Coast Parkway #01-01 Singapore 449878
GPS: 1.302497, 103.916276
Hours: Mon to Thu: 11:30 am - 3:00 pm / 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm | Fri to Sun: 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
Tel: 6604 8996
Non Halal
Disclosure: Please note that this is an invited tasting.
Date visited: 7 Aug 2015
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments submitted with genuine identities are published