The highlight of our meal here this afternoon was the dessert.
That's not to mean that the entrees weren't good.
Of course not.
Especially since this was an afternoon where my friend and I were particularly missing the flavors of Thailand, and what with us being here in the Bugis zone, decided we'd go this place up on the 4th floor of Bugis+ for our meal.
There's much to be had here at Pratunam by Soi Thai Soi Nice.
At first glance the menu looks simple- Noodles, Rice, Sides. Soup, Dessert, but within each category there is variety, and it is this variety that makes it hard to decide.
I'm great with Tom Yum, and I was attracted to the Tom Yum Kuay Teow Moo that looked like it had plenty of ingredients inside. There seemed to be tofu, or tau kwa, deep fried dumplings, bean curd skin dumplings, and what looked like meatballs.
There was also a Tom Yum Kuay Teow Seafood version.
Then there was the Thai Wanton Noodle, the Braised Pork Knuckle Noodle, the Grilled Chicken Dry Noodle, and something that caught my eye- the Claypot Prawn Vermicelli.
The Pad See Ew that I had this afternoon was on another menu- and that was what I ordered- because I'm the type of person who cannot resist a plate of stir-fried flat rice noodles in soy sauce, never mind if I'm vacillating between the vermicelli and the kuay teow.
What I liked- after first bite- was that the noodle didn't feel very oily.
I have had some Pad Thais and Pad See Ews that look, and feel, overwhelmed with cooking oil, but my plate this afternoon didn't feel like that.
The kuay teow too had such a pleasant light chew that I think I ate it slowly noodle by noodle instead of stuffing a few inside my mouth like I'm sometimes wont to do.
What makes having a meal here interesting is that you never quite know what it is you're going to order until you're there're at the restaurant.
At another time I might choose the Runny Omelet Prawn Fried Rice, or the Fried Pork Belly Rice, or maybe even the Meatball Porridge (which Thailand does somewhat differently from those that I have had here in Singapore).
My friend's choice of meal for today's lunch was the Signature Basil Minced Pork Rice.
I'm not sure if it was better than any of the other basil minced meat plates he has had at other places, but there was a runny omelet on his plate this afternoon, and I think it added that bit of oompah to the meal.
In the future when I come I think I might consider some of their sides too.
It might not look like anything special but I like how the prawn donuts look, I like spring rolls, and the grilled chicken thigh looked good too.
But there'll always be place for dessert.
On their main menu they have just one- the Mango Sticky Rice.
But this afternoon they had waffles with pandan custard and Thai tea custard.
So we got that.
A little small the pieces were, but we didn't mind- after all the kuay teow and the rice and the egg this was just the right size. What's best was that the pieces were crispy at the edges, fluffy in the center, and the custard was thick, sweet, almost pudding like.
It made for a great post-meal dessert, and, because we ate slow, an early afternoon snack as well.