JJ Thai Cuisine at 8 Jalan Legundi Unit #01-10 Victory 8 Building (Part 2 of 2)

JJ Thai Cuisine opens a year ago at 8 Jalan Legundi, Sembawang, at the Victory 8 Building & initially occupied just one unit #01-10 but quickly took over another unit #01-05 that was vacated by an ice cream parlour. 

The Ownership 

JJ Thai Cuisine's owner Mr Han started his flagship Thai Food stall at Blk 115 Bukit Merah View #01-01, Bukit Merah Food Centre, Singapore 151115 after returning to Singapore  & having completed his stint as a Restaurant Manager managing a Thai restaurant in Thailand. 

Because of the merchant & supplier network he had established in his capacity as Restaurant Manager in Thailand, he was able to import authentic ingredients direct from Thailand for use at his Bukit Merah Stall as well as his current JJ Thai Cuisine at 8 Jalan Legundi, Victory 8 Building at Sembawang. 

The Cuisine & The Signature Dishes 

The cuisine served here is Thai with key signatures such as Pandan Leaf chicken, Tom Yum Soup, Thai Fish cake, Thai Prawn cake, Thai Green Curry, Thai Red Curry, Fried Fish. JJ Thai cuisine serves lunch, dinner & drinks. 

5. Signature Sambal Kang Kong

If there is one vegetable I never get enough of - it must be the staple Sambal Kang Kong, usually one of the favorite among Zhi Char dishes, it is usually stir-fried with dried shrimp, sambal chili sauce and/or with Belachan chili sauce. 

I love it that the native Thai Chef managed the fire well enough to not overcook it or undercook it, so that the Sambal Kang Kong still retains its green hue. 

6. Signature Thai Fish Cakes (at S$8 per serving of 4 pieces ) 

The Thai Fish Cakes otherwise known as Tod Mun Pla served here at JJ Thai Cuisine are huge, quite a respectable size & portion & measures about 2.5 inches in diameter with a thickness of about 0.75 inch. 

How it is prepared - Basically the Chef combines all the core ingredients : fish paste, Thai red curry paste, egg, kaffer lime leaves, corn flour & blend them into a smooth paste, then add the french beans & mix the paste evenly. He then makes them into a flat circular cake, coats them in flour & deep fries them in a deep fryer at 180 degrees Celsius for about 3 - 4 minutes till them are fully cooked. 

For the dipping sauce the Chef uses core ingredients : Thai fish sauce, Thai sweet chili, roasted chopped peanuts, finely diced cucumber. 

Tasting Notes - compared to other Thai restaurants I visited, JJ Thai Cuisine serves up the biggest Thai fish cake I ever tasted. measuring 2.5 inches in diameter & 0.75 inch thick, the Thai Fish cake is chock full of, note, real fish meat mixed evenly with the Red curry paste, to grant a smooth chewy texture, reeks full of aromatic Kaffer lime flavor & red curry flavor, with the occasional crunchy bites from the French beans embedded within it. 
It is best recommended to pair it with the dipping sauce as it lends a sweet mildly spicy nutty flavor to the fish cake & makes it deliciously appetizing.

7. Signature Green Curry Prawns

To make the curry assessment & evaluation complete we ordered the Green Curry Prawn just to determine which curry tastes better here at JJ Thai Cuisine.  

The Thai Chef uses fresh large prawns for this recipe. The large prawns are butterflied & de-veined, but with heads still attached. 

The green curry paste generally used in Thai cuisine are made using core ingredients such as : cilantro roots, coriander, cumin, galangal, garlic, kaffer lime, lemongrass, peppercorns, salt, shallots, shrimp paste, chili leaf, Thai green chili peppers. 

The ingredients are pounded in a mortar & pestle till a smooth paste is found then it is ready for use in making the Thai Green Curry Prawn. 

Tasting Notes - I am impressed the Chef uses large prawns here for this dish. Generally if the prawns are fresh the meat is firm & bouncy & has a sturdy crunchy bite to it. The Thai Chef cleverly butterflies the prawns so they are better able to absorb the flavors of the green curry paste as well as to be better infused with the rich flavors. 

The green curry gravy is slightly more lemak than the red curry & bears a amalgam of aromatic flavors of the various spices & herbs uses in this recipe. 

JJ Thai Cuisine is conveniently located at : 

8 Jalan Legundi, Unit #01-10, 

Victory 8 Building, Singapore 

Tel : 64844110

www.facebook.com/JJThaiCuisine

www.jjthaicuisine.com.sg

Opening Hours : 

11.30 am to 10.30 pm ( Tuesday to Sundays )

Closed on Mondays 

Offers Delivery, Catering, Take-Outs.

Accepts Cash only.

JJ Thai Cuisine at 8 Jalan Legundi Unit #01-10 Victory 8 Building (Part 1 of 2)

JJ Thai Cuisine opens a year ago at 8 Jalan Legundi, Sembawang, at the Victory 8 Building & initially occupied just one unit #01-10 but quickly took over another unit at #01-05 that was vacated by an ice cream parlour. 

The Ownership 

JJ Thai Cuisine's owner Mr Han started his flagship Thai Food stall at Blk 115 Bukit Merah View #01-01, Bukit Merah Food Centre, Singapore 151115 after returning to Singapore  & having completed his stint as a Restaurant Manager managing a Thai restaurant in Thailand. 

Because of the merchant & supplier network he had established in his capacity as Restaurant Manager in Thailand, he was able to import authentic ingredients direct from Thailand for use at his Bukit Merah Stall as well as his current JJ Thai Cuisine at 8 Jalan Legundi, Victory 8 Building at Sembawang. 

The Cuisine & The Signature Dishes 

The cuisine served here is Thai with key signatures such as Pandan Leaf chicken, Tom Yum Soup, Thai Fish cake, Thai Prawn cake, Thai Green Curry, Thai Red Curry, Fried Fish. JJ Thai cuisine serves lunch, dinner & drinks. 

1. Signature Thai Prawn cake (donut shaped)

If you are really very hungry & have a lot of room, I suggest you try out their Thai Prawn cakes (below*) that serves 4 pieces for a reasonable price of S$10.00. 

How it is prepared - The native Thai Chef handmakes these Thai Prawn cakes by mincing the fresh prawns & squid into a paste then shaped them like a donut. 

The chef then coats the Thai Prawn cakes with Japanese bread crumbs & deep fries them in oil at high heat. 

The end result is Thai Prawn cakes that are donut shaped & measures 3 inches in diameter with a thickness of about 1.5 inch. Priced at S$2.50 per piece this Thai Prawn cake is really a steal. 

Tasting Notes - One thing to note is that the ingredients used here at JJ Thai Cuisine is really fresh. The native Chef uses fresh prawns in this recipe and mixes it with some fresh squid paste, then kneads it thoroughly to give it a springy consistency. 

Interspersed between the prawn & squid paste are tiny bite size portions of the fresh prawn. The native Thai Chef uses Japanese bread crumbs to coat the Thai Prawn cake & to seal the natural flavors of the prawn & squid within the donut shaped Thai Prawn cake. 

The end result is the inner core prawn & squid meat is juicy sweet tender springy, the outer Japanese bread crumb layer is not oily any bit but lends a crispy bite & aroma to the Prawn cake. 

It helps that the Thai native Chef serves this dish with the tangy citrus sweet spicy Thai Chili sauce that pairs so delightfully well with the Thai Prawn Cake. IMHO I am so going to order this same dish on my second, third & forever visits to JJ Thai Cuisine. Ssh....Shh.....don't tell anyone !

2. Signature Sweet & Sour Pork(at S$10 per serving)

The Thai native Chef uses core ingredients - pork sliced in thin strips, red & green & yellow capsicums sliced in thin strips, cucumber in slices, onions diced, cabbage in strips to garnish as base. 

Sweet & sour pork happens to be Bob's must try dish, those that we are so used to eating at most Zhi Char stalls are usually diced & coated with a generous dose of flour & deep fried till crisp. 

How it is prepared - Here at JJ Thai Cuisine, the Thai chef prefers to cut the pork in strips then coats them with flour & deep fried for use later. He then stir fries the capsicum strips, with the cucumber & onions & adds the fried pork strips & stirs in the ketchup & tomato sauce with a dash of sugar to lend a sweetness to the sauce. 

Tasting Notes - I must confess upfront I never crave anything cooked in ketchup as I have never loved ketchup, don't ask me why, but I simply dislike tomato & ketchup. But the Thai Chef manage to whip up a modestly passable Sweet & Sour Pork for me. The capsicums lends a fair amount of mild peppery flavor with a crunchy bite. The caramelized ketchup tomato sauce glistens in the cozy spotlight & gives the sweet & sour pork strips an appetizing glaze.

3. Signature Red Curry Chicken (priced at S$8 per seving)

As with most Thai restaurants the curry gravy are usually prepared way ahead, & the meat ordered added to the curry & then served. Here at JJ Thai Cuisine, the native Thai Chef had already prepared the red curry at the start of the day's operation. 

So when Bob & I ordered the Red Curry Chicken the Thai Chef simply added the chicken cubes into the red curry gravy, cooked the chicken pieces in the gravy till they are done, then served warm. 

Tasting Notes - If Mr Han has a chance to read this post I hope he will take IMHO in a positive light & strive to do better for this dish. IMHO I felt that the portion of chicken pieces in this dish served on the night of our visit was simply way too little - there was only like 4 to 5 pieces of chicken meat swimming in the red curry gravy. 

The chicken meat used here is likely to be fresh chicken as the meat is rather tender. The red curry gravy is flavorful, mildly spicy with a tinge of sweetness. Generally Thai curry gravy are a tad on the sweeter level unlike Nasi Padang Curry which tend to be more spicy. The Red Curry gravy is pretty lemak & goes very well with the white rice served.

4. Signature Seafood Tang Hoon Salad

This is one dish you can never feel guilty about eating because you are never gonna get fat eating it & yet it is so fulfilling, stomach-wise. I am talking about the humble Seafood Tang Hoon Salad.

So what do you get when you mix fresh large prawns, fresh large squid rings, Tang Hoon, onions, chives, onions, carrot strips, chili, dried shrimps, together with a dash of fish sauce, citrus lime juice? The result is a deliciously appetizing salad rich in Omega-3 guaranteed to tickle your palate. 

This has to be one of my must haves at any Thai restaurant & is the core dishes I use to access whether the Thai restaurant is up to standard. For this dish JJ Thai Cuisine managed to win me over with the use of fresh ingredients in large portions. The tangy citrus spicy flavors in this salad combined with the myriad textures from the Tang Hoon & seafood used in this recipe makes this dish a voluptrously enticing dish to savor. 

JJ Thai Cuisine is conveniently located at : 

8 Jalan Legundi, Unit #01-10, 

Victory 8 Building, Singapore 

Tel : 64844110

www.facebook.com/JJThaiCuisine

www.jjthaicuisine.com.sg

Opening Hours : 

11.30 am to 10.30 pm ( Tuesday to Sundays )

Closed on Mondays 

Offers Delivery, Catering, Take-Outs.

Accepts Cash only.

Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe at 115 Aljunied Ave 2 #01-35 S(380115) - The Beginning & Founder Ron Poh

The Introduction  

Ron Poh, Founder of Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe at 115 Aljunied Ave 2, #01-35, together with his lovely Thai wife Phimporn Chankhiao, is passionate about bringing authentic Thai Cuisine from Isan, north eastern part of Thailand into the heartlands of Singapore.  The people of Isan relies on the produce from the land as well as the Mekong River to derive fresh ingredients for their cuisine.

The Beginning 

Spicy Thai -Thai Cafe started in January 2013 by Ron Poh. Ron Poh lamented that there are some restaurants in Singapore serving Thai Cuisine that do not necessarily serve authentic Thai Cuisine that the native Thai people partake but instead patrons are served a watered down version, commercially tweaked recipe to cater to the local palate. 

One thing to note though Founder Ron Poh married a Thai wife Phimporn Chankhiao, she is not the key reason why he started Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe as Ron Poh had already bore plans to open a Thai restaurant way before he met her.

Founder Ron Poh's Background 

Ron Poh, 50, hails from the Telecommunications 

& Information Communications industry having worked in the Telecommunications & Information Communications industry for 20 years as a Systems Integrator. 

Coming from the Telco industry with 20 years experience & having started Spicy Thai - Thai Restaurant back in 2008, Founder Ron Poh brings with him close to more than 7 years' experience in the F&B industry.

The History of Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe 

Ron Poh went into the F&B business since 2008. when he ran a Thai F&B Zhi Char Stall called Spicy Thai - Thai Restaurant  in a coffee-shop in Jalan Besar, located along Dickson Road, Singapore serving authentic Thai Cuisine. He decided to close the stall in June 2014 & moved to a much bigger premise at Blk 115, Aljunied Avenue 2, #01-35, S(380115). 

Positioning 
Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe is positioned as a casual mid range restaurant that serves authentic Thai Cuisine on ala carte menu that includes Thai Mookata, Thai BBQ, Thai Seafood, Stir fry dishes, traditional Thai dishes from the Isan region. "Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe" is a brand that Founder Ron Poh created which to date he has not find time to trademark yet. 

Ron Poh's Success Secrets 
Ron Poh is not a Chef by training, yet he hires native Thai Chefs to helm the kitchen at Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe and these generally come from the North East Thailand - Isan region. 

Unique Isan Cuisine 
The unique part about cuisine from the North East Thailand - Isan region is the abundant use of spices in the cooking. 
The flavors from Isan are stronger compared to the cuisine from the city areas like Bangkok where it is milder in flavor & less spicy & more commercialized tweaked to suit the tourist palate. Core spices used daily in the Isan cuisine include: galangal, coriander, basil, chili, Thai basil, herb, spices, mint. 

The Ownership 
Currently Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe is under the management of Ron Poh's holding company "Advanced Combination Pte Ltd" where Ron Poh is the sole owner. Even though Ron Poh's parents do not come from the F&B industry, Ron Poh is eager to inspire & groom his children to join him in the F&B business.

Expansion Plans
Ron Poh is keen to grow his Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe brand through opening of other bistro outlets in heartland areas where rentals are more attractive. He is planning for a second outlet to be opened in the northern heartland of Singapore within the year. Ron Poh has plans to grow the brand into Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia within next 5 years. 

Menu Planning 
Menu planning done by Ron Poh & Manager Ah Chun who is Singaporean. The menu changes quarterly or half yearly depending on availablilty of ingredients. To date the Ala Carte menu boasts of more than 70 items. Ron Poh hires 4 Chefs mostly from Isan & Malaysia where the Executive Chef Boonpeng Meedee heads the team. The restaurant does not have a Central kitchen, most of the food preparation are done at the kitchen here at Aljunied Avenue 2. The restaurant uses 100% locally sourced ingredients that are of Thai origin, such as their sauces, spices & condiments. The meats, seafood are from local suppliers who are based in Jurong Port, Singapore. Restaurant uses frozen chicken, frozen pork, fresh fish, fresh live crab, fresh but not live prawns, fresh squid. In most of the cooking process here, there is no marination needed. Foods here are prepared ala minute. 

Slogan & Mission Statement 
Slogan :"Where Taste-buds Sing"
Mission Statement : "At Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe we serve authentic delicious home-styled Thai Cuisine using traditional Thai recipes that the native Thai people partake in their family gathering."

How does it differ from other restaurants  
Spicy Thai -Thai Cafe aims to serve Thai cuisines that are commonly served at every native Thai family home using authentic traditional Thai recipes. 

A lot of the dishes such as Thai Pineapple rice featured in a lot of restaurants serving Thai Cuisine here in Singapore are actually not traditionally partake by the native Thai people, and are never on the menu consumed at Thai homes. In actual fact the Pineapple rice came about as a dish to satisfy the palates of expatriates & foreigners who love to add pineapple to the rice they eat. 

The same thing applies to the Thai Olive Fried Rice which is a commonly found dish on the menu of a lot of Singapore restaurants serving Thai Cuisine & yet this very dish is never a staple of the native Thai People but is an invention to cater to the palates of expatriates & foreigners & the tourist crowd. 

A third dish commonly found at Thai restaurants here in Singapore is the Thai Stuffed chicken wings which is again never on the staple menu of ordinary native Thai folks back home in Thailand, but was created to tantalise the inquisitive tastebuds of tourists.

Now let me introduce the really authentic Thai food that native Thai ordinary folks consume back home - the fermented fish Pla ra (freshwater pond fish) used as a typical ingredient in their mango or papaya salad that is an acquired taste just like durian or wasabi or sashimi, either you love it or you hate it. I will elaborate in a later post on this dish, so watch out for it.  {{*Source Wikipedia - Pla ra (Thai: ปลาร้า  [plaː ráː], Lao: ປາແດກ) is fermented fish sauce, popular in Northeastern Thai cuisine.  It is made by pickling several varieties of fish, mainly Snakehead Murrel (Channa striata). The fish is cleaned and cut into pieces, after which it is mixed with salt and rice bran. The whole is then left in a big jar covered with a wooden lid, to ferment for three months to a year. Pla ra sauce is commonly added to a number of preparations of Isan, Northeastern Thai, cuisine, such as som tam and certain types of nam phrik, as well as to some other dishes, all of them originally from the Isan region of Thailand.}}

Founder Ron Poh shared that for the native Thai who live far from the coastal sea, the freshwater seafood they use in their diet are generally pretty bland, as such they rely on using a lot of spices & herbs to lend a stronger taste to the otherwise bland seafood. 
Majority of the Thai natives are farmers & are poor & cannot afford to eat meat & expensive food, so they usually add salty flavor to their food to boost their appetite.

Ordering 
done by iPad & Samsung Smartphone to order

Payment 
Payment is made possible using VISA, MasterCard, NETS, Cash. 

Catering Service 
Not available at the moment.

Takeaway
Restaurant allows for takeaway orders for self collect with no minimum order restriction. 

Booking of Venue for Special events 
Restaurant allow for pre-booking for special events , celebrations, anniversary. 

Loyalty Programs 
The restaurant is working out the mechanics for a Loyalty Program which will be launched later.

Target Market 
Restaurant sees mainly 80% local customers, with expats comprising 20%, with a good mix of PMEBs & families.

Seating Capacity 
Indoor at 80 pax, Outdoor at 150 pax.

Isan 
Isan is the northeastern region of Thailand. Isaan is Thailand's largest region, located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima. 

The Menu 
Here at Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe, the menu ranges from :

• BBQ dishes with charcoal, 
• Mookata (with charcoal), 
• Stir fry dishes, 
• Traditional Isaan dishes to 
• Fusion dishes. 

You can savour what the Isaan people eat as part of their daily meals.
For Full menu simply goto the link below:
http://spicythaicafe.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=8

The Signatures
The Signatures at Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe include: 

• Mango Salad Isaan style with fermented fish & crab,
• Hommok ( Thai style Otak), 
• Lala Bee Hoon, 
• BBQ Pork Neck,
• Basil Black Pepper Crab,  
• Walking Catfish with Spicy Lemon Soup

Spicy Thai - Thai Cafe is located at :

115 Aljunied Ave 2 #01-35, 

Singapore 380115

Tel : 67478558

Opening Hours - 11am to 12am 

www.spicythaicafe.com

Masala Soda - The Mango Tree Indian Coastal Restaurant at I12 Katong

If you have time for only one drink, you must try the Masala Soda at The Mango Tree Indian Coastal Restaurant - the core ingredients are : lime, black salt, masala, black pepper and has a peppery spunky taste to it. 

The Mango Tree Indian Coastal Restaurant is located at : 

112 East Coast Road, 

I12 Katong, #03-11, S(428802) 

Tel : 66049661, 66049662