Suanthai

This humble, unpretentious Thai eatery started off in 2005 with its first branch at Killiney Road, run by a team of restaurant managers and chefs previously from Thanying. While it’s nowhere as upscale, its affordability, value for money, earnest service and well-varied menu are its selling points. Things got off to a good start with the Thai fish cake, which was spicy, aromatic and pleasantly homemade. One of the chef’s recommendations, the pineapple rice, which came in a huge portion that serves two comfortably, tasted alright, but was nothing out of the ordinary. We had another chef’s special, the Thai grilled chicken—while tender and grilled to perfection with a golden brownish skin, it also fell a little short on oomph. For desserts, we missed out on the heady durian dessert as it was unavailable—settling instead for Thai water chestnut in coconut milk, with the chestnut sweet dollop atop a mountain of shaved ice. We won’t rule out dropping by again for its very affordable set lunches if we’re in the area, but let’s just say it has to work harder if it wants to seriously compete with other mid-range Thai restaurants.