Read full review
2013-06-19
82 views
Being an ex-student of a school nearby, ThaiPan has always been my frequent hideout for excellent company and delicious eats. Tucked away inside the condominium of Mandarin Gardens, it can be a challenge to find (at first!) given the sprawling space of the entire place. Being a frequent customer there means that you find your way to this lovely restaurant no matter which entrance you enter from The most convenient one would be along the main road, along Neptune Court. For those who enter from t
The interior was recently refurbished and although the decor is nothing extraordinary, it has a no-frills, warm ambience that really amplifies the atmosphere of having good food with great company. This place can also accommodate tables up to 10 persons, so it's great for a large gathering too!
Although the cuisine here is supposedly Chinese with traces of Thai influences, most of us agree that their Zi Char dishes are the best, with their signature ThaiPan fried rice -their very own rendition of the conventional fried rice with a spicy twist as fresh chilli padis are added in! Prices are extremely reasonable, ranging from $4-$5.50 for a one dish meal.
We ordered a Medium ThaiPan Fried Rice ($7), Honey Pork Chop ($9) and a Sambal Kang Kong ($9) to share.
The Sambal Kang Kong arrived first - the food here is served quite quickly! The vegetables weren't as crisp as I would have liked, and were slightly soggy given that the sauce it was fried in was a tad watery. It would have been better if the sambal had more hae bi hiam (dried shrimp) and was slightly less watery. On the whole, it was a decent dish but for the excellent food standards ThaiPan has, this was slightly more disappointing.We recommend vegetables such as their Si Ji Dou or their Mixed Fried Vegetables. Both are very tasty and would go well with nearly every dish!
The Honey Pork Chop is my favourite dish out of their entire menu - I'm not a fan of meat dishes but this stole my heart. With a dash of sesame seeds on the tender, sauce-glazed pork chops -this dish scores! The meat is fried, tender and juicy on the inside. The sauce is glaze-y and slightly sticky, a savoury sauce which has the perfect sweetness derived from honey (hence the name honey pork chop!). It's not overly sweet such that it ruins the balance of flavour as a savoury dish and I could honestly have it alone with just rice. Delicious and definitely worth eating.
The ThaiPan fried rice is my favourite one dish meal to order if I'm dining alone (yes it's a place where one can be totally at ease having a quiet meal alone!) It's tasty but not overly salty -do not be fooled by the dark-brown-coloured rice! It has bits of crab meat, egg, spring onions and chilli padi inside. It's fragrant, with grainy rice and the perfect spiciness. It's impressive in every sense and no one should visit ThaiPan without trying their specialty fried rice!! Fantastic value for excellent food -strongly recommending this to everyone!
ThaiPan offers an impressive variety of dishes (be it one dish meals or rice with dishes). We also recommend dishes such as their Butter Squid, which is squid fried in a buttery egg-like paste (sauce??), garnished with curry leaves. It's a real hit with ThaiPan lovers and it's one of the most sinful dishes you can lay your hands on..but it's so good. Although it's a "Thai" restaurant (of some sorts), we don't exactly recommend their Pad Thai -it's not exactly authentic and you can easily get better ones elsewhere.
Impressively, they also offer beers and wine (think: Heineken as well as a whole selection of wines from their own collection!) on top the usual drinks, for those who would like an alcoholic beverage to complement their meal. They have an al fresco seating (although it's not very large/spacious) but we rather sit in the comfort of the air-conditioning given the heat! x.x Service wise, the staff aren't exactly the friendliest and most exceptional, but they are polite and serve the dishes pretty quickly. Be warned though, if the place gets crowded (especially during the peak dinner and lunch hours (12.30 - 2 and 6.30 to 8), getting your bill may take awhile.
The food is great, the prices are even better. Everyone should take some time to discover this gem in Marine Parade even though the regulars would very much want to have this place all to ourselves -it's such a find!
Ps. There's no service charge here, only GST! And they serve water
Post
