Noodles at just $1? In Singapore? REALLY?!
Yes! They are here now! These popular Kuay Tiau Rua (Boat Noodles) were traditionally sold by vendors on boats along the canals of Bangkok. While these boat noodles cost only 10 baht (~$0.45) in Bangkok, it is about twice the price here in Singapore (Surprise, surprise), and of course without any increase in the quantity of noodles. These bowls of noodles are sold in such small quantities because it was to prevent them from spilling in rough waters in the past, and now, it’s just sold for the sake of novelty and probably to let us try more flavors of these noodles in one setting.
As I did not get to try these interesting boat noodles in BKK previously, I was of course really excited when I received the invite for the media tasting at the one-month old Thai Boat Noodle restaurant at Bedok Point.
The Place
Located on the 2nd storey of Bedok Point Mall, a good 5-minute walk away from Bedok MRT, Thai Boat Noodle is an open concept restaurant planted right in the centre of the level, surrounded by other food establishments. The restaurant has rows of communal wooden tables, as well as a relatively open kitchen, a modern twist to the Thai Boat Noodles stalls in Bangkok. You can also find the usual thai condiments, like chili flakes, sugar and homemade chili on each table as well.
The Food
We all received the famous Thai Fruity Yellow Bean Paste [Look choup] ($6.40) as a door gift.
It was so brightly colored and cute, that I did not bear to eat them. It’s also because I am not a fan of anything beanie, even though I am Clara Bean. My mother enjoyed them thoroughly though. The first dish of the night was the Tomyum Fried Rice ($7.80).While many of my dining companions complained that the fried rice was too moist for their liking, I actually loved the way it exactly was. It just seemed like having tomyum soup with rice, but a much more infused version. The spice from this dish only occurs to you once you stop eating it, and it can get pretty overwhelming. So, one tip to enjoy this dish is, DON’T STOP EATING IT TILL YOU’RE DONE! This was hands down my favorite dish of the night!
The second dish was the Crispy Chicken Skin ($4.80). This was the hot favorite of the night as everyone couldn’t stop popping these crispy babies into their mouths. The chicken skin had some remnants of fat underneath it, which made each piece moist, and not too dry like you would expect an entirely fried dish to be. The sweet and spicy thai sauce that accompanied it was a great complement too!
Next up, were their specialty Thai Boat Noodles, which came in 4 flavors:
1) Boat Noodle Soup ($1): Rice noodle with pork ball in pork broth. The pork broth was a little too salty, and left us really thirsty as an aftermath. MSG maybe?
2) Boat Noodle Dry ($1): The dry version of the above, which consists of rice noodles, pork ball, peanuts and homemade black sauce. The boy and I thought that the peanuts were a little out of place with the sweet black sauce that went together with this noodles. The overall taste of this bowl of noodles was sweet, but it was strangely addictive for me.
3) Spicy Pork Noodle ($1): Glass noodle with pork ball, minced pork meat, cucumber, onion and tomato. The glass noodles were al dente and very yummy. It was a little above the spiciness threshold, but everyone was raving about how good the glass noodles were. I thought it would have been better if they used these glass noodles for their boat noodles instead! 4) Tom Yum Noodle ($1.50): The bowl I have been waiting for. TOM YUM. YUM. YUM. RIce noodle with mushroom, fish slice and prawn. I loved this so much, I just wanted to order 20 bowls at one shot. Unfortunately I had to watch my image that night. What a pity.
We ended the night with Thai Pandan Jelly ($6.40 for 4) as dessert:
I thought these were pretty good. Besides the fresh taste of pandan, it was also accompanied with generous amounts of coconut and chestnut for the added flavor and crunch! A great dessert I would say. The only thing that was lacking in this restaurant was the offering of Red Ruby as a dessert. HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE RED RUBY ON YOUR MENU?!
Closing Remarks
The tasting session was overall a satisfactory one, with hits and misses. I was frankly not too impressed by their signature Thai Boat Noodles. It is probably for novelty’s sake, as well as a way for you to try the different varieties of noodles in one seating. I say, go for the tom yum noodles and spicy pork noodles! Then again, it doesn’t hurt for you to try the others as well, since they are just a dollar each! Beware though, each bowl is probably enough for one huge mouthful, or 2 average mouthfuls or 3 petite mouthfuls! They are also currently running an Eating Challenge, where the person who is able to eat the most bowls of these noodles stand a chance to win an iPhone 6!
I thought the other dishes such as the Tom Yum Fried Rice and Crispy Chicken Skin fared better though. Conclusion? Thai Boat Noodle is probably worth a try if you’re craving for thai food in the vicinity!
How to get there?
799 New Upper Changi Road
Bedok Point #02-32/34
Opening Hours
Monday – Friday: 11.30am to 10pm
Saturday – Sunday: 10.30am to 10pm
Last order: 9.30pm
Once again, thank you Thai Boat Noodle for the invite!
you should try the more authentic boat noodle at golden mile complex – Noodle Cafe. they have two different sizes. go google