Rochor Thai (Closed)

Full review at http://lepakwithyaops.com/rochor-thai-msg-free-authentic-thai-bistro-at-joo-chiatFollow Lepak With Yaops on Instagram and FacebookTaking pride in their food preparation, dishes at Rochor Thai are 100% abstained from MSG. Talk about having a healthier choice, perhaps this is the place for you!Here are my orders:Green Curry - With its bold and well-balanced flavour, it is comparable to what's offered at Nakhon Kitchen. At the same time, its spiciness wasn't that strong of a punch, so double thumbs up!Pork Collar - Nicely grilled and mildly charred, tender and mouth-watering! It's a pity that the picture turned out other wise due to inappropriate lighting.Salted Egg Squid - Pure DISAPPOINTMENT. Far cry from any salted egg dishes that I've ever tried, however, the waiter claimed that this is their rendition of it.Phad Thai - Swee la! Love the 'chewy' texture of the rice noodle and the mildly sweetened flavour. A little too pricey though.Till date, Nakhon Kitchen is still my favourite Thai eatery in the aspects of taste and price. Nevertheless, Rochor Thai is another fine Thai eatery to venture if you've got a generous budget. continue reading

For full review, please visit us at http://www.makeyourcaloriescount.com/2014/08/sg-rochor-thai-rare-gem-found-on-joo.htmlThe casual dining scene in Singapore is almost as vibrant as the cafes with cuisines ranging from Thai to Korean. When diners like you and me are overwhelmed by the abundance of restaurants out there, it is honestly not easy to spot a rare gem anymore as most places succumb to shortcuts and compromise on serving the most authentic meal.With much scepticism, we made our way down to this Thai bistro located on Joo Chiat Road. With no lack of famous eateries lined along Joo Chiat Road and the nearby East Coast Road, can this modest looking place serve a Thai cuisine that would make our calories worthy?A classic appetiser, this papaya salad had the usual green papaya, carrots, long beans, garlic, chillies, dried shrimps and peanuts freshly pounded and blended with their in-house special tamarind sauce. What made it a touch more special was the sliced salted duck egg which added another dimension to the dish. In terms of flavours, it helped to provide the salinity balance to the tartness of the green papaya and the spice of the chillies before coming to a harmony with the sweetness and acidity from the tamarind sauce.Available in two sizes, the larger portion is available at S$15.80, however this was more than enough to warm the stomachs of us three. With mild sweetness to tease our palate upon the first taste, the acidity grew with the sourness before the heat from the fiery red chillies took over. The portion was satisfying with succulent prawns, flower-cut squids and generous slices of fish fillet in the broth.A huge fan of grilled pork collar, I have struggled to find a place where I can go to in Singapore for this comfort food. My best experience with this delicate piece of protein was at nahm in Bangkok where cooking was executed to perfection.Grilled upon order, the pork collar retained moisture and tasted succulent as you bite into the juiciness of the melted fats. I loved the nice coating layer of crispness which was beautifully complemented by the heat from the chilli flakes, sourness from the tamarind, savouriness from the fish sauce, shallots and little palm sugar to enhance the flavours of the grill.One of the signature dishes at Rochor Thai, it had an interesting story where a drunkard actually ate this flavourful dish that and woke up! What titillated my palate for this was the fragrance from the hot basil leaves and the red chillies. The portion size was surely generous but for most diners who would be more used to the crunch of your prawns, expect the texture to be tender soft. This might be due to it being slightly overcooked but on the positives, the prawns were thoughtfully deveined and deshelling was certainly made easy for diners.Of the three types of basil, the chefs cleverly introduced a second type of basil, Thai sweet basil in this dish. Drawing resemblance from the usual tzechar stir-fry of the clams, the beautiful fragrance from the Thai sweet basil whetted my appetite. Be sure to scoop some of the lovely stock to go with the carefully cleaned clams as it adds a balanced flavour of savouriness and sweetness with a subtle hint of heat.This had to be the dish of the evening with the chefs' brilliant use of technique to elevate the freshness of the fish. Quite frankly, I was surprised that a Thai bistro would implement the salt-baked technique which helped lock in the moisture to the flesh, resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. Personally, I also find that fish should be cooked on-the-bone to derive the best flavours so this dish was really the star of the evening.A generous amount of lemongrass was also stuffed into the fish supposedly to help enhance the fragrance but I thought it failed to shine through. Nonetheless, the dipping sauce helped to add some salinity to the already tasty protein.More commonly know as kangkong, this stir-fry introduced some greens to complete a hearty meal. With fermented bean paste and chillies, the dish had sufficient wok-hei yet allowing the stems to retain their crunch.There was a strong coconut fragrance in the sticky rice and served warm, it was truly some sweet calories to sum up a sumptuous Thai meal. The mung beans atop the thoughtfully designed heart-shaped sticky rice added a layer of texture with a nice crunch. The sweet Thai mango was also spot-on, overall a simple dish done well.Offering a casual dining ambience, Rochor Thai offers honest cooking at very affordable prices. What really impressed me was dedication and quality of food served at this modest looking restaurant. If you know your Thai food, expect to enjoy a satisfying dish. That being said, we did not go for the usual street food such as Pad Thai or green curry but who needs those when you can enjoy perfectly grilled pork collar and salt-baked fish?It was simply amazing to watch Joel in action as the chef took efforts to step out from the busy kitchen to speak to his customers and obtain their feedback. The serving crew on the floor were also fetching feedbacks and checking with the customers on their meals from time to time. While most would regard such dedicated customer service as a given, how often was your last meal at a bistro or restaurant that you received such attention? continue reading

Nestled along the bustling streets of Joo Chiat, Rochor Thai delivers authentic cuisine from the Land of Smiles to our local food scene. Helmed by a passionate food enthusiast, Joel, the exciting menu consists of traditional flavours crafted with modern Thai elements, such as their speciality green curry and pad thai talay. Hence, it was indeed a pleasure when Openrice.com invited yours truly to Rochor Thai for another food tasting session recently.So what's on the food tasting menu?Before dinner, an amuse-bouche ("mouth-amuser" in French) was served. Unlike appetisers, this single bite-sized creations are usually free and can be served out of the menu, according to the chef's selection alone. Joel's amuse-bouche was brilliantly crafted - cold noodles topped with pork floss, infused with the star flavours of Thai cuisine in a bite-size, namely sour, spicy and bitter.Som Tum – Green Papaya Salad Central Thailand Style ($6.80) was served as an appetiser. It didn't pack much of an "oomph", but it did make a good preparation for the palate.Gaeng Kaew Wan Gai - Chef's Special Green Curry with Chicken Thigh and Thai Eggplant (S - $11.80, L - $18.80) was my favourite dish of the dinner. The unique blend of green curry and coconut milk was made from scratch, and for those who do not take spicy food, this is a great option to go with. Tom Yum Talay/Po Taek – Hot & Spicy Seafood Soup with Thai Herbs/Clear Spicy Sour Soup with Holy Basil and Kaffir Lime Leaves (S - $8.80, L - $15.80) were pretty standardized with the average flavours and ingredients. Just a warning not to be fooled by the clear colour of the latter, as it packs quite a deadly degree of spiciness.Pad Kee Mao Goong - Stir Fried Thai "Drunken" Style Prawns (S - $16.80, L - $24.80) alongside with Gaeng Phet Pla Krapong Daeng - Dry Red Curry with Red Snapper Fillets (S - $16.80, L - $24.80) served as good side dishes for the dinner. Snapper fillets were Girlfriend's favourite, but it just seemed too average for myself. Oh, and the prawns weren't that "drunk" anyway.Pla Nin Pao – Salt Baked Whole Tilapia served with Spicy Coriander Sauce ($22.80) was succulent and juicy. Personally, I didn't adore the flavour of the coriander sauce, however the fresh sweetness of the tilapia makes it good enough to eat it on its own.Hoay Lai Pad Prik Pao - Clams Flambe in Chilli Jam and Chef's Stock (S - $14.80, L - $22.80) was the chef's attempt to deviant away from the boring preparation methods of clams. I'd say it was a good enough attempt, as traces of overcooked clams were present. Kor Moo Yang – Seared Pork Collar served with Aromatic Dried Chilli Sauce ($12.80) was excellent. The meat was seared just nicely to lock the juices in, which presents no less than a satisfying dish. Great to eat it without the sauce as well. Pad Thai Talay (S - $7.80, L - $14.80) - Everyone's favourite street food from Thailand. I have never had pad thai before, prior to this, but "impressed" might be just the fitting word to describe Rochor Thai's rendition.Khao Niew Ma Muang - Mango Sticky Rice ($7.80) and Tab Tim Grob - Thai Red Ruby ($4.80) are served right after the meal. The former has an added nutty crunch to its sticky rice, while the latter was an awesome version of the common red ruby. According to them, the red coloring comes from the natural pigmentation of beetroot itself.In a nutshell, Rochor Thai serves authentic Thai dishes, infused with both modern and traditional elements, in a much cosy environment. In my opinion, the food whipped out here is much better than those mainstream restaurants.Once again, I give my thanks to Openrice and Rochor Thai for their hospitality and food tasting session. continue reading

Traditional décor from what can be seen outside, yet it infused with modern Thai culinary elements. Rochor Thai was one of the famous Thai eateries in the town. Outstanding standard of food, it delivered strictly MSG-free dishes and all their ingredients were naturally taste. Service staffs were friendly and responsive, always take good care their customers.Browsing throughout the Menu, I spotted tempting soup and I gave up other choices. Exactly tongue-numbing level spiciness, it was fire-burning for my liking without any regret. Prawns were fatly fresh, springy texture when eating. Originally $8.80 for the Tom Yum Soup, I paid additional $2.00 for thinly grass noodles. Definitely experienced a superb dinning of Thai, we enjoyed the dining time. continue reading

4 of us were there on Sunday after hearing them on radio. We drove down all the way from Bt Timah and had high expectations. 3 of us frequent Thailand and we have been searching high and low all around Singapore for the real thai food. Reached there, realised it was the old yummy claypot. We ordered the clear tom yum, jellyfish, grilled pork, papaya salad, salted tilapia and pineapple fried rice. The jellyfish was something new. Perhaps a twist to Thai food because we have never seen jellyfish served in thailand before. It was crunchy, fragrant, tasty. Pretty unique to us. I have been looking at reviews around hungrygowhere for many years now and decided to make this my virgin review because they deserved it. And also to let people know that it might be too authentic to local Singaporeans who dont really search around for food in thailand. going to places only where the tourists go. The papaya salad. It was not the ones that are overly sweet everywhere in Singapore. The entire presentation, taste brought me back to thailand. I had sticky rice with it. Oh, this is one of the few thai restaurants in singapore that serve sticky rice to go with your food, just like in thailand! Most places just serve white rice. Trust me, sticky rice with papaya salad, grilled pork, and saled tilapia. The perfect combination. The grilled pork was juicy, tender, and not dry! One thing that is a little different from thailand, that is most thai grilled pork are dry. The tilapia as well. Although it lacks the charcoal fragrance, the moisture of the meat made up for it. The pineapple rice is atually very good. Maybe its because we get better grade thai jasmine rice exported over than those being sold in thailand. My other 2 friends and myself actually enjoyed it very much. One of us unfortunately, found the food "unauthentic". But he has never been to thailand in his life though. Perhaps he has been spoiled by the "authentic" thai food in singapore, and the over emphasis on north eastern thai cuisine in golden mile. Fantastic real authentic thai cuisine in singapore. They are new and I do hope that they can last long in the competitive dining scene in Singapore. I'm guessing a big bulk of their customers would find the food "unauthentic". For those looking for real thai food, this is IT. continue reading