Met up with my polytechnic friends after work last Friday and we had Thai food at Yhingthai Palace (
Address: 36 Purvis St, Singapore 188613) which one of them, swears by.
We arrived at 7pm and were promptly seated. My first thought when we entered the place was "OMG, so noisy."
Though the place looks quite classy, the noise was unbearable. Maybe it's because of three tables of relatives or friends who kept shouting and talking at the top of their voices from where they were seated.
That aside, I have read many reviews about the place and the first thing I ordered based on what I have researched on was the mango salad ($15).
It came like that. The salad itself with fried chicken strips at the side. Not very healthy I guess thanks to the chicken strips, but I'm not complaining.. hehe. Now let's dissect it and see how it tastes on its own.
First up, the mango salad. Warning, if you are not into spicy food, avoid this dish at all cost. Why? Because the sauce they put in it.. it's a little bit sadistic to me, when you first bite into it, it's like a bit sourish and a little bit spicy? THEN after you swallow it, the real spiciness of the salad kicks in. My friends and I were left panting for water. Luckily, I ordered the jasmine tea ($3.80) which is refillable.
Otherwise, the ingredients were very, very fresh. The french beans and cabbage were crunchy. I like.
Next up was the chicken strips. To be honest, it's fried chicken strips. It tastes like those taiwanese street food. Which is ok. Nothing much to shout about as you can easily go to Bugis Village and get it. I'm suspecting it came with the salad so the strips can 'dull' the spiciness of the mango salad.
Another recommendation was the stuffed chicken wing ($3.50 per piece, minimum two)... stuffed with chicken meat (duh) and mushrooms. Here's another warning. Wait for it to cool down first. I guess I was so excited to try it because my mouth was still on fire from the mango salad (the chicken strips ran out cause we were sharing it amongst our group), I almost burnt the roof of my mouth when I took a bite.
When it finally did cool down, I got to taste it and it tasted alright to me. Maybe it's because my mouth was already numb from the spiciness of the mango salad? The mushroom stuffed in it was like a slice of mushroom. This dish is not exactly as memorable as the mango salad.. but definitely worth a try.
Next up was the fried yam cakes. Personally, I hate yam but my friend persuaded me to try it. So I did and to be my surprise, I liked it. Maybe it's because it went quite well with the sweet sauce that came with it? I'll definitely recommend trying this dish.
We also ordered tom yum soup which is $7 per bowl. It is clear tom yum soup and the taste is perfect. Not too sour nor was it too spicy. The balance to me felt right. Ingredients were also fresh. A must try.
We also had springrolls which is also priced per piece with minimum two pieces per order. I didn't try that as I am generally not a fan of spring rolls.
Pineapple rice came next and I tell you it is one of the best pineapple rice I have ever tried in Singapore. I felt the rice was not too oily, the pineapple was sweet and the prawns were fresh. Some pineapple rice I tried were too oily or the pineapple was too sour, if not too hard, or the prawns just tasted weird. This was good. The ingredients all compliment each other. A must try.
This is the olive fried rice. We played safe and mixed the rice without the chilli and boy oh boy, it was good. Another must try. Everything was fresh and complimented each other well.
Total bill for the five of us was about $180+ including our drinks.
As mentioned earlier, the place was too crowded so we decided to scoot to another location for desserts.
We chanced upon Your Very Treatz, at 420 North Bridge Road, North Bridge Centre, 01-06. Exactly opposite the National Library. First thing we noticed about this place was how quiet it is which is exactly what we wanted as the previous venue was so noisy that one of my friends complained that she felt she was going deaf.
Second thing was the menu, the desserts and drinks are CHEAP.
Cakes start from $2.80 a piece. Of course, I don't mean a HUGE slice for $2.80 a piece. It's more of from a sample size. The bigger ones costs more. As we were stuffed from our thai meal, we decided to try the mini cakes.
We ordered the chocolate mousse which costs $3.80. To be honest, I personally feel that the cake is ok. Nothing particularly special. But I can't complain much because of the price I paid for it.
My friend had the fruit tea which is $5.80. It came like this with a small piece of cookie. Pretty cute. I stole a sip from her cup and it tasted heavenly despite the fact that it came without the sugar. Worth a try.
Overall, I'll definitely recommend this place as it's a great place to just chill and catch up with friends over desserts and drinks.
A nice way to end a Friday night with my polytechnic friends. :)
