Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen - Alternate Thai cuisine in Town

Operating Days: Daily

Operating Time: 12 PM to 6 AM

Address: 262 Middle Road, Elias Building, S188989

We chanced upon Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen after some shopping at Dhoby Ghaut area. Located just a 5 minutes walking distance from POMO, this place is opened all night, which make it a great place to place for dinner/supper.

We are provided with the menu and a pencil after a table was allocated to us. They offer many familiar dishes you would see on the menu in any Thai restaurants.

Everything was pretty much self-service at Aroy Dee. Once you have marked out what you want to order on the paper menu, you are required to bring it over to the counter to place your order. Aroy Dee takes only cash transaction, do ensure you have enough cash on hand when you visit.

We ordered a cup of ice green milk tea which was served to us in just a few minutes. The first mouth was slightly too sweet for our liking, but thankfully, the taste was more balanced after the ice melted.

Our love for Tom yum soup is beyond words and It is definitely a must for us to order whenever we visit a Thai restaurant. The taste of the Tom Yum soup at Aroy Dee is slightly on the saltier side — but it is definitely full of flavour. It would be better if they can hold back slightly on the amount of salt added to their soup base. 

Next came was the Basil minced chicken rice. Unlike most Thai eatery, we were quite disappointed to not see a fried egg on top of the white rice. Nevertheless, the taste of the minced chicken won our hearts down. It was stir- fried very well with a good amount oyster sauce and fish sauce, and the fragrance of the basil leaves lingers in your mouth after you have eaten. The cut chilli padi also spiced up the whole dish, which overall left us with a deep impression.

It would be better if there was a fried egg added.

The fried egg was served almost immediately right after the Basil leaves with minced chicken. Overall, the taste was pretty normal— it is a dish that is hard to go wrong in any eatery.

The pandan chicken was the last dish that was served and we had some expectation for this dish. There were a total of 6 pieces served for the $10 portion.

The taste of the pandan chicken was no way similar to any other pandan chicken we had tasted elsewhere. Instead of using thigh meat, breast meat used, which made the chicken very dry. The taste of the chicken was normal.

All in all, we would still recommend Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen to people who have late night Thai food craving after having a pint or two nearby. The opening hours of Aroy Dee is also a plus point for all the night owls (they close at 6am).

Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen probably isn't the best Thai food you can get in Singapore, but they do have some kickass dishes that you can try if you visit. Do share with us some of your favourite dishes after you have visited them!

Ah Balling Peanut Soup 75花生湯圓 - Lantern Festival 元宵节 dessert all year round.

Operating Days: Daily

Operating Time: 11 AM to 8.30PM (Weekdays)

Operating Time: 10 AM to 8.30PM (Weekends)

Address: Golden Mile Food Centre, 505 Beach Road, #01-75, S 199583

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If you are a fan of glutinous rice balls and peanut soup, you would have probably heard of Ah Balling Peanut Soup 75花生汤圆. This is one of the famous Ah Balling stalls with more than half a century of history in Singapore. So why the name Ah Balling? In the past, people used to make rice ball as big as the size of the duck eggs, with the shape resembling duck eggs as well. The Teochew called the duck eggs as "Ah Ball Leng 鸭母卵", and that’s how the term “Ah Balling” came about.

Starting price for 4 Glutinous Rice Balls is priced at $2. The Ah Balling comes with various filling, such as peanut, black sesame seeds, green tea, yam paste and red bean. They have also different flavours of soup to go with the rice balls — peanut soup, longan, ginger and almond milk.

In my opinion, peanut filling is the best, especially if you choose to have it match with their famous peanut soup. You can still see the peanuts in their original form, and they have been boiled to the right point of softness.

The peanuts are cooked for so long till they are soft and all the flavour in it were all in the soup!

Each rice ball is of similar sizes and they are extremely chewy. Be careful when you are eating as the filling in it would ooze out if you didn’t chew properly. The peanut filling inside also provides a crunchy bite, giving it a good contrast to the soft rice balls.

Ah Balling 75 花生汤圆 serves traditional glutinous rice ball dessert that is well-liked by many Singaporeans today. It is no longer a dessert most Chinese eat during major festivities which in the past, it symbolizes reunion (团圆/圆满). Do give them a visit if you are nearby!
P.S. If you happen to eat at the stall on Lantern Festival 元宵節, don’t be surprised to find pink rice ball in your soup!

Tian Wai Tian 天外天 - Fish Head Steamboat + Zi Char

Operating Days: Daily

Operating Time: 5 PM to 11 PM

Address: 1383 Serangoon Road, S 328254

Tian Wai Tian has been around for decades and most Singaporeans will not find this name unfamiliar. Famous for Fishhead Steamboat, this place is constantly filled up by patrons during their operation hours despite its ulu location.

Situated at the corner beside rows of shop houses, you will definitely not miss this place as it is one of the very few eateries along that stretch.

No other stalls are open during dinner time, and all customers you see sitting down are solely the patrons of Tian Wai Tan.

Rows of tables were spreaded out along the five-foot way to cater to the number of patrons during dinner time.  Most of the tables were still occupied when we left the place.

We ordered a large pomfret steamboat ($45) and it was served to us 20 Minutes after. The large pot served was filled with Chinese cabbage, Chinese Spinach, and fried yam. The portion of the fish slices given was appropriate as well.

There were abundant of great taste from all the ingredients in this big pot! This teochew style fish head steamboat served in each pot was cooked and kept warm using the traditional charcoal method. The cloudy soup will definitely make you want more each time you taste it. 

We ordered a medium Furong Egg ($10) as well. It was crispy at the side and this egg dish is of course something that can’t go wrong. 

Next dish came was the Tofu Prawn. A highly raved “must try” dish, this dish is as unique as it sounds (in a good way). We never thought chili crab sauce could go so well with egg tofu and prawn!  The chili crab sauce goes very well with white rice as well.

The garlic Kai Lan here was really good! Every strend of Kai Lan on this plate were filled with garlic taste, and not forgetting the “wok hei” taste! If you are a fan of garlic, you will definitely like this.

Hei Zhor (Prawn Roll) is another dish you commonly see on almost every table at Tian Wai Tian. The skin was crispy with generous amount of ingredients wrapped inside. Many have also raved about the generous amount of chestnut bits in each piece of prawn roll, however, we have eaten better prawn roll at other places. It was pretty normal to us.

This is the medium size Hae Chor, with about 16 pieces, just enough for the 8 of us.

Tian Wai Tian offers one of the better teochew style fish head steamboat in Singapore. They have also several outlets around the island, which makes it easier for people to visit. For the Serangoon outlet, you may not receive too much attention from the waiter as it is pretty much a self service eating house. Soup here is refillable, but you will need to go to their kitchen to get it yourself. Ready for order? You have to queue up at the cashier area to order and the only payment they accept here is cash.

It is pretty much a decent and a no frill place suitable for small group dining. If you want to dine in with a big group (more than 4), we would suggest you go there earlier as the number of big tables they provide are limited.

Song Kee Kway Teow Noodle Soup 松記粿條湯 - Fishball Noodle open till Midnight.

Operating Days: Daily

Operating Time: 10.30 AM to 12 AM

Address: 75 Toa Payoh Lorong 5, #01-20, S 310075 

Toa Payoh Lorong 5 hawker centre is a place for supper, with only a few stalls that starts their business in the morning. Song Kee Kway Teow Noodle soup is one of the very few stalls that start their business early.

Having been around for decades, many regulars will come by this stall in for their fish ball noodles.

I am amazed by how they are able to have the fish ball machines in a small stall. Do have a look when you are queuing up for their food.

I ordered my usual dry version of Mee Pok noodles. It came with 7 fish balls, priced at $4. They have the $3.50 portion as well which is suitable for someone who is not feeling too hungry.

The owner was very generous with the amount of pork lard and spring onions given in every bowl. It is not the “healthier choice” of course, but I like the way how the noodles were not too dry overall. Each mouthful were filled with the fragrance from the pork lard, which might be too rich for some depending on individual’s taste. In addition, the Chilli here is very worth mentioning as well. It was paired very well with the ketchup included. It will be better if the noodle can be served slightly harder as I felt it was a little over cooked in my opinion.

The Fish balls were bouncy and fresh. Every bite taken has had good texture and it makes you want to eat more.

What I like about Song Kee is the type of seasoning used for its noodle. It has lots of pork lard bits and fried shallots, which goes very well with the chilli base, giving a nice combination overall and definitely makes a fulfilling dinner / supper.