A blessing it is to have a meal here at the Soi 47 of Toa Payoh Lorong 6.
Don't laugh.
Soi 47 might be one of those places where authenticity sits somewhere in between, but as far as one goes when craving a plate of Pad See Ew or Moo Ping or Green Curry, this is one of the best.
I have a love for their Pad See Ew and their Pad Thai.
I also have a love for the Green Curry and their Tom Kha, both of which, come to think of it, I have not had in a long time.
It is a relief, and joy, really, to be back here at this outlet at the corner unit of the void deck of this block.
I don't know if it is the familiar sight of them tables and chairs.
Or the sight of the menu, which, by the way (in much typical Thai fashion) has looked the same and has not changed since the first time I had their meals over at Temple Street in Chinatown.
If you think it amusing, you must know that there was a season where Soi 47- six, seven outlets and all- faced the risk of an impending closure, and indeed, for a few weeks they did, until one day when corporate management did what corporate management does, and the outlets (or at least this one) reopened again.
We could not be more glad, I tell you.
Especially since Thai food is very close to our hearts and which is a cuisine we always want to go for whenever we can.
You might say it's the taste, or the portion or the fact that the cuisine somehow brings back very pleasant memories.
And it doesn't always have to be the dishes that we favor.
Sometimes we skip the familiar favorites and go for dishes that we feel like having that day.
Like today, this evening, where instead of Green Curry or Pad Thai, we ordered a plate of fried duck Mama (instant noodles), and a big fluffy egg omelet.
I had been surprised by the order of noodles.
My friend generally prefers rice.
As it turns out, he had made the order by mistake, but what with us being us, we just ate the noodles (happily) anyway.
The charm of this dish lies in the ingredients- the duck, and the fried egg.
It might surprise some just why a duck leg is so attractive.
First of all, it is fried.
Here on this island, roast duck, braised duck, even stewed duck, are common. Fried duck, however, is not. I don't think I have ever seen fried duck meat ever been offered in any of our hawker centers, coffee shops or even restaurants. It is not a dish on any reputable Chinese restaurant menu. It is also not a dish that you can buy for a couple of dollars at a hawker center.
It's rare.
What's more, the meat beneath the crispy skin is remarkably tender.
One might think that the meat be dry and hard, but no, it isn't.
It also has a distinctive, if not slight, smoky taste only distinguishable in meats that have been fried in a wok already full of wok hei.
Think that's what we liked the most.
Same too for the fluffy omelet.
Nearly every Thai place I know offers the omelet. At other places I don't have the feeling to order the omelet, but not here.
Perhaps it be that Soi 47 does it in a homely, familiar way that makes you think of the street stalls in Bangkok whilst sitting at a table in Toa Payoh.
Might be the generous amount of eggs they use for the omelet.
Or, might be the way they do their ubiquitous omelet that has textures both soft, fluffy, crispy, and tasty, yet not very, very greasy at the same time.
Comforting as a dish this is, we had a great time with the omelet, eating it together with the rice, feeling the crisp and crunch of the egg mix perfectly good together with the hot grains of rice.