Thanh Ying Thai

Having been a long-time customer of Thanying restaurant at Amara hotel, we decided to return to this well-established Thai fine dining restaurant after a long hiatus since our last visit. 

For starters, we ordered the pomelo salad, which struck an impeccable equipoise between the palette of flavours - the tangy sweetness of the dressing, the cringe-inducing acidity of the pomelo and the well-balanced richness of the coconut drippings. Mm, the best pomelo salad I've had thus far.

Pomelo Salad

Next up were the soups, one of which I am unable to recall, whilst the other was a perfectly delectable Tom Yam soup which I proceeded to devour. The soup, though fine in consistency, was infused with a potpourri of scents and consisted of a generous serving of button mushrooms along with a menagerie of seafood items. Once again, one of the best Tom Yam soups I have had.

Tom Yam Soup

Following the soup was the catfish salad, which comprised fried and chopped catfish bits complemented by a thick concoction of thai chilli sauce dressing. While this dish was novel and unique in its own right, the catfish bites were slightly dry with a tinge of bitterness and may not be suited to everyone's palate. 

Catfish

Last but not least was the Nyonya steamed fish which was cooked on a hotplate in a sweetly ascerbic broth. The fish was tender and not overcooked, and along with the broth whose panoply of flavours had been exquisitely finetuned, this made for a mouth-watering and savoury dish that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Steamed Fish

For drinks, one may opt for the lemongrass, as Thanh Ying's rendition seems fairly authentic and lacks the ruinous cloyingness that one might find in most other lemongrass drinks (replete with a large dose of sugar solution).

Lemongrass Drink

As for dessert, should one have a large appetite for sweets and treats, consider going for the dessert buffet which offers an impressive variety of kuehs, including the all-time favourite tako delicacy, comprising a trifecta of water chestnut bits, pandan jelly and coconut cream.

Dessert Table

All in all, dinner at Thanh Ying was enjoyable and was one of the best - if not, the best - of Thai cuisine that I have tasted locally in Singapore, although the restaurant should consider revamping their slightly drab interior in favour of a more modern and chic decor.