Kaffir & Lime (Paragon): Singapore Thai Restaurant Review
Thai Food, redefined.
Where Thai Express used to be at Orchard Paragon, comes their upscale sister brand. Kaffir & Lime underwent a major makeover and is now ready to make its grand unveiling.
Offering a open-spaced casual dining experience with fresh ingredients, you are set for an indulging time while keeping your wallet slim.
As mentioned about the major makeover previously, the former space of Kaffir & Lime has been dismantled, redesigned and built to now what gives you the comfortable and warm, inviting ambience. Other details like the utensils, plates, uniform and of course the menu underwent great changes too.
One really, unique point about this place is that, the unit is separated into two areas; one designed to cater to groups of diners and the other to couples or for business meetings. The center-piece of the store is an artwork made of 3000 pieces of orange aluminium forming a “wave” hanging from overhead, so look out for that!
So, let’s get to the food shall we?
Starting right with their Thai Basil Minced Chicken Jasmine Rice ($14.90). This was one of the nicest I had, why so because the dish struck a fine balance between the spiciness and the taste of the meat.
The basil chicken was so delicately chopped into small and bite-sized pieces, a mouthful of it together with basil and a small piece of chilli (I don’t recommend for non-spicy eaters) is really good. The portion of jasmine rice accompanied with this spicy dish helps cool your mouth if you find it overwhelmingly spicy.
A signature dish of Kaffir & Lime is the Deep Fried Whole Sea Bass ($22.90). It’s served with Kaffir & Lime Trio Dip, which is a sweet, savoury and sour sauce. You are bound to excite your tastebuds as you take a bite into the golden brown fried fish.
Crispy, flavourful and with a good contrast between the crispy skin and silky flesh. It’s not like typical whole fried fish where the whole dish including the meat has been fried to a dry crisp. Squeeze some lime juice over this dish to fully enjoy.
Who could say no to fried wings? I couldn’t. Chiang Mai Chicken Wings ($10.50) made their way to my heart. Deep fried chicken wings sprinkled with crispy basil leaves and garlic flakes. This is new on the menu, yay.
I like how crispy the skin of the wings are, with fried basil leaves giving that extra crunch and the garlic flakes bringing out the hearty flavour. Meat was pretty juicy and had that layer of moistness. But the seasoning may have been a tad overdone, thus I reckon it could be too salty for some to handle.
Another of their signature dishes here is the Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Battered Morning Glory ($12.90) served with the Kaffir & Lime Special Dip.
The morning glory and soft shell crab is coated with the chef’s special batter of curry powder, tom yum paste and other secret ingredients. It is then deep fried till golden brown. This vegetable batter is best enjoyed when dipped in their homemade Kaffir & Lime Sauce.
I felt that the sauce really gave a sour, teeth-grinding twist to the soft shell crab. Transforming your usual plain ol’ battered soft shell crab, tingle your tastebuds with the sauce that compliments it so well.
Throughout the meal, we had various drinks, but none were as special and unique as the two we are about to introduce to you. The two mocktails named eponymously after the name of the revamped restaurant, are also making their exclusive debut. Namely the Kaffir Spicy Mango Sparkle ($6.90) and Lime & Blood Orange Cooler ($6.90)
The Kaffir Spicy Mango Sparkle had quite a chili padi aftertaste after each sip, which I didn’t really know how to appreciate and enjoy. But I do know some people have a preference for sweet and spicy drinks.
Therefore my pick goes to the latter Lime & Blood Orange Cooler, which is sweet, acidic and refreshing for me, improving my appetite to eat more.
Having been to the former Thai Express in Paragon since young, I had the fondest memories of the place. As much as it is now Kaffir & Lime, the Thai food food still caught my appetite very well, with the various twist in taste and flavour in their newly launched dishes. Most of the signatures seem to be fried though, which might get a bit monotonous.
Not amazingly impressive, but for the price one can’t complain.
Expected Damage: $20-30/pax
Kaffir & Lime: 290 Orchard Road #B1-45/46 The Paragon Singapore 238859 | Tel: 6836 8417 | Website
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