First Thai, Purvis Street, Singapore

I have heard good things about this place. This is the second time May, Tim and myself made our way here. The first time we came it was a Monday and we did not know it is closed on Mondays. Situated at the corner of a row of pre-war shops on Purvis Street, there are not many tables and space is of quite a premium. Even though the restaurant was not crowded, we decided to take the table at the five-foot walkway for the breeze. We proceded to order the Tom Yum Seafood Soup, Green Curry Chicken, Mixed Vegetables, Pad Thai and Pineapple Fried Rice. Quite standard 

First came the Tom Yum Soup. As the photo show, this restaurant serves the clear broth type though it comes in a hue that I have never seen before. Colour is a bit like Bak Kut Teh. The soup does pack a punch in the heat department (though still bearable by my standards). They are not too stingy with the ingredients however I felt like they had localized the flavour. There seems to be a lack of some sourness. 

The green curry chicken was not good by my reckoning. It was overcooked until the meat absolutely disintegrated. I can't really taste any chicken and the fragrance of curry is absolutely missing.

Pineapple fried rice was not bad. Not to oily and the texture and flavouring is just nice. Contradictory to popular believe, it is not easy to make a good fried rice.

Next up, Pad Thai. One of my pat peeves when it comes to Pad Thai is the amount of oil used. More often than not, cooks tend to be over zealous with the usage of oil when cooking Pad Thai making it a bit jelat. I am glad to say that the Pad Thai here do not suffer the same malice. The dish was nicely balance with the generous amount of coriander and fresh vege. However, again, the dish seems to be lacking a bit of kick generally associated with Thai food. 

The mix vegetables are nothing to write home about. They are, what they are, a plate of vegetables.

It might not be a good thing when the reputation of a restaurant precedes itself, which is definitely the case for this restaurant. The food is not bad but it is nothing as good as some suggests. I will come here again if I am conveniently around the area but definitely will not make a purpose trip for this. Another point to take note is that the cook tend to be quite liberal with the MSG.