We were in the Thomson area, my colleague and I, and what with it being evening after having finished a meeting, decided we'd have our dinner close by.
There is a lot of food to be had here in the Thomson area.
Whether it be you're going for Asian cuisine, Indian cuisine, Teochew porridge, brunch-like meals, pastries, or whatever it is you might feel like having that day, the Thomson area is no short of choice.
But us still being a bit of a noob to the place- despite having come here quite often over the last few months- weren't sure this evening what we ought to have.
We could have had the wanton noodles or the curry rice Thai style, but this evening I didn't feel like having a big bowl of curry with a pork cutlet soaked inside out. Neither did I feel like having dishes to go with smooth rice porridge.
So there we were, wondering what else we could have this evening when my friend- through the Grab app- discovered that there was a Basil King nearby.
So we went to try.
At first I wasn't very sure- there have been a fair bit of mixed reviews about it- some say it's good, some say it's not, some say it's not that big a deal to be getting such good reviews, others however say that there's enough of spice and enough of the meat to make one feel the meal is enough.
Much more however has been raved about the egg, or eggs.
And, after trying it, I have to say, yeah it's true.
Okay, I can't say whether or not it brought me back to the smooth, familiar vibes of BKK, or whether it made me think of the one place I went to almost a year or so ago, but it was comforting to see Thai characters on the circumference of the plate, it was nice seeing the bright colors of the customized plate, and the food looking full and shiok right in the center of it.
Honestly, the plate made me think of a tattoo.
Food wise, well, it might not seem that fantastic for those who know how to wield the wok and the spatula and control the fire and the time, but if you be anyone like me who is clumsy in the kitchen and has zero estimate of sauce portion and heat portion etc etc, to get fried eggs with whites all fluffed up and yolks so big and orangey, well, that be a blessing.
I can't remember how exactly it was I ate my Pad Krapow basil beef rice this late afternoon.
Did I eat the minced beef all by itself?
Did I scoop up the beef to eat with the rice by the spoon?
And the egg; did I have the fluffy fried whites together with the rice, or did I eat it all on its own by itself?
All this, I now can't remember.
What I can, and do recall, is me breaking the yolk to eat it together with the rice. That was something I had always wanted to do. It always fascinates me just how something simple like egg yolk eaten with rice can be made so appetizing and delicious.
This plate, the bright big orange yolk had been skillfully kept runny- despite it being fried- and I remember the quiet joy in my heart as I watched the orange yolk flow all over the heap of soft rice grains, giving them a color so appetizing and cheerful it enhanced the meal.
As much as I rave about the egg, of course, I wasn't there for them both themselves.
The basil beef was just as well-fried too.
I had worried it might be too dry, or too oily- two extremes that some places make their Pad Krapow to be- but no, this one was moist, only slightly oily, yet full of flavor and very rounded in the taste.
I'm glad my friend chose the non-spicy.
Think that is how I'm also going to make it be.