E-Sarn Thai Cuisine: Singapore Restaurant Review

Authentic and homely Thai food.

E-Sarn has been around Singapore for more than a decade under the lovely Boss and Thai Founder, Madam Achara. She had her very first place at Farrer Market hawker centre, selling simple Thai dishes like beef noodles.

Today, together with her son, she is managing over 5 E-Sarn restaurant outlets island wide.

Every morning, she would diligently scour the local market for the freshest ingredients she can get. Not only are E-Sarn restaurants’ chefs all of Thai nationality, they are also taught to cook according to Madam Achara’s methods and standards.

Madam Achara’s dedication to simple, yet quality thai dishes is the reason why previous customers and regulars still remember her fondly from her days at Farrer Market.

Despite E-Sarn’s locations, at Keppel Club and Turf Club etc, their prices are pretty acceptable for our wallets. Don’t let that whole Keppel Club and Turf Club vibes scare you away! Today, we were invited to E-Sarn’s latest outlet at Keppel Club to give them a try.

E-Sarn Thai’s at Keppel bay was spacious and classy – with contrasting dark wood furniture and white walls, elegant warm hanging lights and graphical posters of places in Thailand. The tables here are large enough for groups or gatherings. Definitely more refined than the other casual outlets.

The space allows for more privacy from neighbouring tables. Isn’t it just reaaaally weird when the couple next to you can hear exactly what you’re talking about? Not an issue here.

Pomelo Salad, Yum Sohm Oh ($11.50)

To get us prepped for the big meal ahead, they started us with a zesty Pomelo Salad to whet our appetites. As Papaya salad is usually the more popular Thai salad dish, I’ve never gotten around to trying pomelo salad before but boy, I was glad I did that day.

A huge pile of juicy pomelo pulps were slathered on, with shallots and dried coconut that was drizzled with a sweet, tangy lime dressing. It is an odd notion to have onions, coconut and pomelo together but the combination was great.

The fried onions’ fragrance and slight sweetness tames the tartness of the lime and pomelo while the coconut brought a subtle creamy aroma. A great balance between sour, natural saccharine essence and tanginess delivered an appetiser worthy of being called an appetiser (Why do people call non-appetising things appetiser seriously).

Fish Cakes, Tod Mun Pla, 5 pieces ($7.50)

Next we had E-Sarn’s homemade Thai Fish Cakes. These yellowtail fish patties had a good consistency to it, with noticeable fragrance of spices but could use more flavour. The sweet chili sauce topped with a generous sliced cucumbers and peanuts was pretty decent.

Tom Yum ($8.50)

Ahhh Tom Yum, the soup oh so quintessentially Thai and loved by so many, perfect for chillier days. This bowl of tom yum was simply tom yummilicious LOL – what a cringe-worthy pun but the tom yum was undeniably fantastic.

It was sufficiently sour, semi-sweet and savoury with a good amount of prawns, mushrooms and fish slices inside. It wasn’t the kind that renders you incapable of finishing it due to the spiciness which I am extremely grateful for.

It was really shiok. So don’t need to worry about your a**hole feeling like it’s on fire when you poop after Thai food. This size is good for two to finish and might not be enough for three because it’s so good you’d just want more bowls of it.

C’mon don’t deprive yourself of such goodness, have more tom yum from the land of smiles; perhaps Tom Yum is one of the reasons why Thais are happier and more laid-back. If that’s so, more for us! It’ll be good for our weary souls.

Chiang Mai Pork Sausage, Sai Uwa ($9.50)

An uncommon dish in Singapore, the Chiang Mai sausages are made in-house using their very own sausage making machine, Madam Achara mixes over ten herbs including lemongrass, blue ginger, chili and onions and pressed them together with minced pork for this sausage.

The result was a sausage that felt more vegetarian than an actual sausage due to its super fibrous texture but had a very intriguing medley of spices.

The chili that accompanies the sausages was light but quite spicy and complemented the sausages well. This dish was interesting to try but might not be that suitable for the local Singapore palate.

Tang Hoon Claypot Prawns, Goong Obb Mor Din ($17.50)

The coriander root-seasoned prawns were large and flavourful, while the tang hoon, infused with prawn flavour, was cooked to a satisfying level of chewiness. E-Sarn’s Tang Hoon was of the drier variety but I prefer my Thai stir-fried tang hoon to be have more wet sauce. But overall pretty decent as the flavour is rich and the prawns are huge.

Grilled Pork, Moo Yang and Sticky Rice, Khao Niao ($14.50, $2.00)

One of the best dishes of this tasting. The grilled pork is slightly overdone hence it was a tad dry but it was seasoned well with sufficient charring that gave it the oh-so lovely smokiness. It was a simple dish but really good so I kept stuffing my face with it regardless.

According to Madam Achara, Thai people normally have moo yang with their fragrant sticky rice. But because we weren’t really used to that combination, we thought it’d taste better with plain white rice and locals might feel the same.

However, if you want to have this dish as closely to it is consumed traditionally go ahead and give it a try.

Mini Pandan Wings ($11.50)

Relatively new to the menu, these wings were aromatic especially due to the pandan, and flavourful but overfried and consequently too dry. Must have it hot or warm because after it cools, it becomes even stiffer. But if you don’t mind your chicken slightly drier, the seasoning is actually pretty good and many customers enjoy it. It is a dish that holds the potential to be a crowd pleaser.

Thai Mackerel with Spicy Dipping Sauce, Nam Prik Pla Tu ($29.50)

Madam Achara introduced us to this promotional dish that she personally really enjoys. According to her, this dish is a staple in a Thai household’s staple dishes. It is simply deep fried mackerel and a whole lot of raw vegetables that are both dipped in a Thai chili belacan sauce.

We did not get to try it but she says that after persuading customers to try it, they would end up liking it. This dish is not on the permanent menu but on a promotional one.

Finally, the anticipated hour has arrived – dessert is served.

Coconut Jelly Ice Cream ($6.50)

E-Sarn also stepped up to the coconut ice cream trend and let me tell you, they might have simply knocked everyone else off the charts. Their coconuts and ice creams are imported from a Thai supplier, assuring quality and authenticity.

The coconut ice cream was creamy and rich with coconut flavour, it almost puts coconut ice cream specialty stores to shame. Using coconut water, they use it to make their very own coconut jelly to layer at the bottom of their ice cream.

This jelly was delicious- It wasn’t overly sugary, tasting like natural coconut water. Furthermore red beans, peanuts and atap-seeds aren’t of lousy quality. Their attention to details, quality and authenticity are what sets them apart.

10/10 would come back for this

Mango with Sticky Rice ($6.00)

E-sarn’s mango sticky rice did not disappoint either. The sticky rice was fragrant and creamy after the addition of the coconut milk and thankfully was not too sugary. Mango sticky rice that are too sweet end up too off-putting and difficult for my throat to accept because they are just too painfully sweet.

So thankfully, E-Sarn’s was sweet enough. The mango was gorgeously yellow, ripe and refreshing with only a tad little sweetness. The rice was definitely sweeter than the mango, which nicely balances out the sweetness of this entire dessert. I would eat this again.

E-Sarn has an extensive menu of Thai dishes, probably double the numbers of some Thai restaurants, ranging from North to South Thailand. With a myriad of dishes to choose from, you’d probably take a really long time to decide.

E-Sarn has a fair share of good dishes but bearing in mind that there are many Thai restaurants out there, they might need to work to make themselves stand out. If you’d like to enjoy Thai food that you don’t usually get the chance to try at other Thai places, E-Sarn Thai would be a great place to visit.

And I would recommend it to lovers of Thai Coconut ice cream or Tom Yum soup.

Expected Damage: $20 – $30 per pax

E-Sarn Thai Cuisine: Keppel Club, 10 Bukit Chermin Road, Main Club House, Level 1, Singapore 109918 | Tel: 6878 0866 | Website

The post E-Sarn Thai Cuisine: Singapore Restaurant Review appeared first on SETHLUI.com.