Golden Mile Complex may be past its prime but it is still the go to place for authentic, good value Thai cuisine in Singapore. Beerthai House, one of the restaurants from Golden Mile Complex's heyday is still going strong today, thanks to its delicious, affordable dishes.
Golden Mile Complex built in 1973 was gazetted a conservation building by Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authourity (URA) in 2021.
Golden Mile Complex dubbed "Little Thailand" have a large collection of Thai restaurants catering to the Thai population in Singapore. Its heyday was between the 1980s to 2000 when the number of Thais in Singapore was at its height. Every weekend, the restaurants, bars, supermarket, retail and personal service shops were doing roaring business. Many Singaporeans joined in the fun too.
Golden Mile Complex quietened down as the Thai population in Singapore dwindled post-2000. But, Beerthai continues to thrive as it has built up a strong following of Thai and Singaporean fans. Nevermind that their Facebook Page is in Thai language and has not been updated since 2014 ๐
There are two Beerthai restaurants, Beerthai House 1 and slightly more upmarket Beerthai House 2 (with wine pairing), both at level 1 in Golden Mile Complex (Beerthai House 2 used to be in the adjacent Golden Mile Tower). Beerthai House 2 is along the centre aisle while Beerthai House 1 is tucked away in an inside row.
We were at Beerthai House 1 for lunch. Beerthai House was founded by chef Somsak Chomprach over 20 years ago. Daughter May is the restaurant manager.
Chef Somsak was appointed the Thai chef for Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's visit to Singapore in 2009. (Image courtesy of National Archive of Singapore.)
Beerthai House have an extensive menu of Thai dishes and they are reasonably priced. I am putting up only two (out of six) pages here, so that you have a feel of the dishes.
Prawn Omelette (price $10).
The thick omelette was moist and fluffy inside (with a little frizzly crisp fringe). Egginess was pronounced while meaty prawns provided crustacean sweetness to the dish. Scallion and chili embedded in the egg added more flavours. Savoury fish sauce balanced the flavours.
Thai Fish Cakes (price $10 for four pieces).
The tender chewy fish cake was packed with savoury flavours and spicy taste from grounded fish, curry, kaffir lime leaves, long beans, fish sauce, etc.
Lots of flavours in this Stir Fried Tanghoon with seafood, vegetables, eggs and spices. I like it that the mung bean noodles or glass noodles were soft crunchy and enveloped with savoury flavours and a touch of spiciness.
Spicy Pork Bone Soup.
The soup was strongly savoury salty with sourish spiciness thanks to loads of green chili, etc. The meat in the crevices of the pork spine bones were a bit sparse but tenderly chewy. The dish was very appetising with simple boiled rice.
This spicy spine bone dish reminded me of the Korean gamjatang dish which is also made with spine bones but with a different spicy soup.
The Green Curry Fried Rice was packed full of strong flavours and aromas from the green curry, basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves. These were balanced with savoury fish sauce and moderated with sweetness from boiled white rice.
Instead of the usual boiled white rice, we had glutinous (sticky) rice instead. Drier, more chewy, and sweeter than the usual boiled white rice, it complements the strong flavours of the side dishes well.
We only had a very small sampling of Beerthai House's many Thai dishes. Just on this small sample, I fell in love with Beerthai House's food already. I like the simple, no frills but clean environment. Efficient, sincere service. The food was delicious - the flavours and aromas were robust but well balanced. Quality of ingredients were good. I am sure to be back with more buddies to try many more of Beerthai House's dishes and Thai desserts.
Written by Tony Boey on 24 Oct 2021
Lew Shanmin said on Johor Kaki Facebook:
ReplyDelete"Their pork knuckles are awesome! And the Thai milktea too! ๐"
Kent Neo said on Johor Kaki Facebook:
ReplyDelete"Their boat noodle is the best in sg"