If you're a real stickler for fresh seafood and quality with rebellious disregard for price tags, then Thai Village would be your best bet to impress the family!
Located at what used to be Le Bistrot at the Indoor Stadium, the restaurant doesn't hide in any way, with a visually grand entrance that calls out to most patrons marching in from the carparks. Thai-teochew cuisine is served here, so should you be feeling strongly compelled to mix up your two major food groups or just plain curious as to what that is, then do swing by and give this establishment a shot!
To start, dive into a glorious bowl of Thai Village's famous individual braised Superior Shark's Fin with Crab Meat ($65 for small). Despite the many controversial issues that surround this dish, you'll be silly to deny yourself of this pleasure. The shark's fin soup plays a recurring role in one of my hungry daydreams, in which I spoon up an alarmingly large piece of gelatinous cartilage and take a satisfying bite of it. There's no need for vinegar here, the fine produce and finesse from the chefs speaking for itself.
Braised duck Web ($20/serving)
In other idle moments between meals, I flash back to the Baked Crab with Vermicelli ($72 for large), cooked and served in the same gravy stained pot, a woozily fragrant fleshed crab wraps around a dark and satisfying mound of moist vermicelli. This, my friends, is magical. It was all hands on deck as I pry-ed my way through the surprisingly meaty crab, licking my fingers with gusto at every pinch. Not a dish to be missed!
Who needs to wait 1.5hr for lobster thermidore if you can get your hands on this? Cheese Baked Lobster ($14/100g). Despite it's odd disconnection from both Thai and Teochew cuisine, you can tell that considerable care has been put into this recipe. The light touch of bechamel below the cheese, not over cloying, so that the sweet flesh of the crustacean still shines through. With the agile twist of a fork, extract the entire lobster tail, and then proceed to rape the other limbs on the flip side, that's where the good stuff is!
Another dish that blows it out of the ballpark, (not to mention blow your guests away with the extravagant price tag) is the Pan-fried Japanese Wagyu Beef ($176 for large). A technical showstopper, the cubes of premium beef are saddled with as much flavor as they can reasonably be asked to carry. Cooked to perfection with a good amount of fats running through, I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.
Next dish to arrive at the table is the rather unsightly Baked Cod Fish ($60 for large). However with its glistening coat of natural fish oils and a intense sweet dark sauce, it's really hard to pass up on this one. The bed of cilantro roots soaking in the rendered juices and oils perfumed with garlic, ginger and pork lard, perfect to dive into if you're looking out for greens.
Speaking of veggies, the Chinese Spinach with Superior Broth ($12 for small) is a noteworthy dish for those looking to take a break from the protein rich fest.
I normally avoid my carbs, but there was no chance I could shun away from the Abalone Rice ($33/serving for 3-4 pple). Here, luscious slabs of Argentinian abalone and shitake mushrooms bless a humble bowl of white rice with their prestigious presence; a dousing of thick aromatic mushroom sauce brings it all together. There was absolute silence in the room as I ravelled in this dish, to deaf's ear, while the rest sank into a food coma of sorts.
The high point of the night was always the Yam Paste (orh nee) with gingko nuts ($5/serve). Looking like a chalky mess on the surface, this bowlful is everything dreams are made of. Smooth, yet not overly processed, the paste still retained a little bite to it. The pumpkin and gingko nuts adding textural contrast and a sparing dash of coconut milk pulls its weight. Definitely the best Orh Nee I've had to date!
Thai Village's menu may pack some pretty hefty pricing structure, but for the quality that you get, it all works out fine. Lingering over a long series of courses is not advised and I wold suggest you pick a few favourites and dive straight into it. Just make sure to bring the discerning folks who have an appreciation for the finer things in life.
Thai Village Restaurant
2 Stadium walk
#01-02/03
Singapore Indoor Stadium
s(397691)
t: 6440 2292
Operating Hours:
Daily: 11 30am - 2 30pm; 6pm - 10pm
Oh gosh I had such a good time reading this post! Your expressions are so funny =)
ReplyDeleteThanks dumplinglove for stopping by the blog! I don't think myself as funny but I do try sometimes! Glad that someone is enjoying my dry humor.
Delete