If you don’t already know… Singapore’s own Little Thailand is no more. Golden Mile Complex was sold en bloc and all the Thai related shops had to relocate.
The anchor tenant of Golden Mile Complex was, in my opinion, Thai Supermarket. Well, they have relocated to Aperia Mall. Hey we went for their grand opening. Our creative director Wilber is good friends with the people at Thai Supermarket. So it was kind of expected that whenever they had anything new, he would get the call.
We were invited to try food from heir newest food kiosk, Good Gai. It heralds to be Singapore’s first Thai fried chicken kiosk. For starters, I do not eat meat. I was there to provide technical support to the team. However, we were also invited to try out the food at the other food kiosks, namely Folks Collective which is situated at the entrance of Thai Supermarket.
This is a nice little corner. It is facing the central foyer of the mall so if there are events, it is a nice place to just sit and watch the hustle and bustle of the whole mall. I personally like the quaint vibe of this place.
Our creative director Wilber was hard at work. He instantly switches to beast mode when faced with Thai food. Speaking to him while he was hard at work yields no response.
While I could not eat the foods with meat, I was offered a vegetarian Pad Thai. For starters, my expectation for Pad Thai is based on what Bangkok has to offer. It is one of my favourite dishes so the bar has to be set pretty high. So far, almost all Pad Thai dishes which I have had in Singapore falls extremely short of the high standards I have for a good plate of Pad Thai. It is not like I have been vegetarian the whole of my life. I have had Pad Thai with meat before I turned vegetarian. However, every time I order a plate of Pad Thai in a Thai restaurant outside of Thailand, I am usually faced with consuming a plate of extremely oily and yet bland plate of Pad Thai. The pinnacle, in my opinion, is from the original Thipsamai stall in Bangkok. There are other Thipsamai outlets like the one in ICONSIAM. However the true wok hei taste is only available at the original Thipsamai stall.
Now this is what Folks Collective serves up.
So why is this, to me, the best Pad Thai in Singapore. The noodles were not overcooked. They did not clump together. It is not too oily. In fact, it is not even close to what I would expect from the otherwise mediocre standard that is prevalent in many Thai restaurants in Singapore. For starters, there are two Thai restaurants within the same building as my office and I hardly have Thai food. The reason: It is just too overcooked. There is just so much oil and grease that I actually feel sick after eating.
Well the Pad Thai at Folks Collective is significantly different. It was not an official cheat day for me. Yes, I do count my calories and I do watch my diet. However, after the first mouthful of this Pad Thai had me feeling that this was not the usual grease fest. It was clean, light and flavourful. Most importantly, it had wok hei! That is what Pad Thai needs. This element is the reason why branches of Thipsamai cannot recreate the authentic Pad Thai flavour of the original Thipsamai. Is it skill or just method of cooking I do not know. I am not a chef. I am not an absolute foodie. However, I am passionate about my favourite foods. Pad Thai is my absolute favourite Thai food. I consider myself a Pad Thai connoisseur and this was amazing. Only a small step off the original Thipsamai.
We might have been there to try other dishes. However I inadvertently found a clear winner.
I declare the Pad Thai at Folks Collective the best Pad Thai in Singapore.
Yours sincerely,
Daryl
p.s. To top it off, I was offered this as well. You know the famous Yaowarat toast in Bangkok? We have a Singapore reiteration! It is actually less sweet and the bread is a little less fluffy but crispier. I personally like it! I definitely burst my caloric allowance for the day! I had BOTH the peanut butter and kaya flavours.
Disclaimer: I did not pay for my plate of Pad Thai or Yaowarat toast as this was an invite by Thai Supermarket. However, I am providing my honest review of the food I ate and I do not let Thai Supermarket curate my article before posting it up.
The review proper of why we were there will be up soon. That is Wilber’s job. I can give you a sneak peak of what he thought of the food.
Ok. I only deduced it from this picture. I don’t really know what he thought of the food. I will have to wait for his review.
Thai Supermarket (Folks Collective)
12 Kallang Avenue, #01-20, Aperia Mall, Singapore 339511
Opens daily from 10 am to 10 pm
