Bali Thai Cafe, Ion Orchard

The Bali Thai group of restaurants serve a mix of both Indonesian food and Thai cuisine, so you get sayur lodeh (typically Indonesian curry vegetables) and tom yum soup (classic Thai spicy and sour broth) under one roof. 

They've opened a cafe-style spot at the food basement of Ion Orchard, with a decidedly limited menu focusing on one-dish meals for a more casual and fast-food feel, like Thai Express.

The Fried Kang Kong with Garlic ($7.80) was fragrant, crunchy and delicate. I've realised that Thai dishes employ the use of aromatic deep fried garlic as a topping, the way some Chinese dishes are topped with deep fried onions. The oyster sauce isn't too heavy or thick, so it didn't overwhelm the delicate taste of the greens. The deep fried garlic provided a nice counterfoil to the slightly metallic edge of the vegetable.


I got the Tom Yum Soup with Chicken ($11.90) sans coriander, spring onions and everything else except for the soup and chicken pieces. This was a little mild in comparison to the ones at Jane Thai Food and Ah Loy Thai. That said, the soup had a nice sour tang, and they were quite generous with the chicken chunks. 


The Peek Gai Sod Sai ($2.80 per piece, minimum 2 pieces) boneless chicken wing stuffed with minced chicken and thai herbs and served with sticky sweet Thai chilli sauce was a hit. The chicken was juicy, flavourful and lightly spiced, with strips of black fungus providing a delectable crunch.


I felt the Iced Lime Tea Cooler ($4.50) was overpriced, even if it was portioned big. Soda water was added to lime juice for a fizzy tinge.



Bali Thai Cafe
2 Orchard Turn
Ion Orchard
B3-24
Tel: 6509 8600
Open daily from 11.30am to 9.30pm

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