The Real Deal
When it comes to Thai food, I’m a little bit of a snob. I lived in Thailand for two years, so I think I know a thing or two about the cuisine. Over the years, having tried Thai food in Singapore many times, I have to say that when I first came back from Thailand about twenty years ago, the Thai food scene here was pretty dismal. I became a little resistant to visiting Thai restaurants because every time I ate, I kept lamenting that it just wasn’t really authentic.
Things have changed a lot in the last decade though. Thai food in Singapore has gotten much, much better. But there are still some dishes that are nowhere near as good as those you find in Thailand. Braised pork trotter is one of them. Not that I would know, having given up trying years ago. The other is Khao Niao Gai Thort ie fried chicken with sticky rice, which remains another weak spot in Singapore’s Thai food scene.
So when my friend told me that Suk’s Thai Kitchen was the best Thai food he’d eaten in Singapore, I was skeptical.
But, that all changed the moment the first dish hit the table.
Fried Kai Lan with Moo Krob
When I was living in Thailand, I used to order kana moo krob for lunch almost every week. It only cost about twenty baht back then. It’s a really simple dish of stir-fried Chinese broccoli with crispy pork belly, a little oyster sauce and lots of garlic. When it’s done right, it is one of the most satisfying things you can eat with rice.
The moment this plate arrived, I knew we were going to have a good lunch. One look at the moo krob and I could tell it was the real thing. The rind was bubbly and the pork belly was golden brown. The kai lan was cooked just right, still bright green and lively. The seasoning was clearly done with Thai oyster sauce, which has a slightly different flavour compared to the Chinese version. Garlicky, well-balanced, and completely addictive. This dish brought me right back to my days in Bangkok! 4.5/5
Braised Pork Trotter
Kha moo is one of Thailand’s great street food dishes. What most people don’t realise is that it’s actually a Teochew Chinese import. When war and famine swept through southern China in the early 18th century, Teochew immigrants arrived in Siam and brought with them their tradition of braising pork trotters in soy-based broths with herbs and spices.
Over generations, the Thais sweetened it up with palm sugar, deepened it with coriander root and galangal, and made it entirely their own. Today you can find it in every food court and night market across the country.
The best kha moo I ever had was in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Pak Chong, a little town about two hours from Bangkok. I had an American missionary friend living there, and whenever I visited him, a meal at that little place was non-negotiable.
Over the years, I have yet to find a version in Singapore that could bring me back to that little shop in Pak Chong. Which is why I was so pleasantly surprised when this arrived. The skin was bronzed and well lacquered, with that gorgeous gelatinous fat sitting just under the skin.
I knew I was going to love it the moment I picked it up with my chopsticks. To be sure, it still wasn’t quite at the level of Pak Chong. But it’s close enough. Closer than a trip to Pak Chong, at least. If I’m craving pork trotters, this is now my go-to, and I am including even our local ones! 4.5/5
If you’re after a Braised Pork Trotter recipe to cook at home, you can try mine.
Steamed Seabass with Spicy Lime Sauce
Steamed seabass with green chilli sauce is a dish you see on almost every Thai restaurant menu in Singapore. I have to admit that this style of cooking seabass isn’t really my personal favourite. I usually prefer a good Hong Kong steam. But this was a very well executed dish and the fish was fresh.
A lot of Thai restaurants use cheaper pond-farmed seabass that carries that telltale muddy aftertaste. This fish was clean and sweet, with no muddiness at all. The green chilli sauce was nicely balanced, with good acidity and a pleasant heat. It’s not a dish that blew me away, but if this is your kind of dish, the version here can certainly be recommended. 4.25/5
Suk’s Thai Royal Tom Yum Mama
The key dish for my friend was the Tom Yum Mama. This is Suk’s premium version, which comes in a generous pot loaded with large prawns, fish, squid, crispy pork and more. They do have a cheaper version with regular ingredients if you are not looking to splurge.
I was told that their Tom Yum paste is made from scratch, using a recipe passed down from the restaurant’s founder, a Thai lady named Suk, whose son now runs the place. It’s her family recipes, over sixty of them from Chiang Rai, that underpin this entire menu.
You can taste the difference. The soup was rich and bold, with enough coconut milk to give it body and creaminess. A little on the spicy side for me, but very well-balanced and genuinely flavourful. One of the better tom yum soups I’ve had in Singapore. 4.25.5
Thai Prawn Cakes
After those four dishes, I decided we should order a few more to get a more general assessment of the menu. First up, the prawn cakes, a dish I would usually order as a starter whenever I eat at a Thai restaurant.
I was pleasantly surprised. These were the best prawn cakes I’ve eaten in a long, long time. They arrived piping hot, golden and generous. When I bit into one, the juices literally spurted out. I genuinely cannot remember the last time I had a prawn cake this thick and juicy!
The staff told us they make them entirely in-house using a combination of fresh and frozen prawns. This is another must-order. 4.5/5
Green Papaya Salad
I also ordered the Som Tam. This is yet another dish I can never seem to find a good version of locally. Unfortunately, that hasn’t changed.
I always look at the peanuts first. The best som tam always has smallish peanuts that are charred on one side, a sign that they actually fry their own. The ones here looked like they came straight from a packet, and they tasted like it too. On top of that, there were no dried shrimp in the dressing, so the sauce came across as one-dimensional.
And the green papaya itself wasn’t properly tenderised. Still too crunchy, which tells me it wasn’t pounded enough in the mortar. Real som tam needs that bruising from the pestle to break down the fibres and let the dressing soak in.
This one missed the mark. Which is a pity, because everything else they do here is so good. 3/5
Conclusion
Suk’s Thai Kitchen has been around since 2020, still family-owned, still cooking from Suk’s original Chiang Rai recipes. The team on the floor is a friendly, happy bunch. You can feel the good energy the moment you walk in. And as they say, good energy translates to good food.
Aside from the som tam, everything else we ate was really very good. The kha moo, the kana moo krob and the prawn cakes are the best versions of these dishes I have tasted locally. One of the best Thai restaurants I’ve tried in recent years. Highly recommended.
