Little Elephant Thai Bistro Tasting Session
57 Eng Hoon Street #01-72
Opening Hours:
Tue - Fri: 12pm - 3pm (Lunch), 6pm - 11pm (Dinner),
Sat - Sun: 11:30am - 11pm,
Closed Mon
https://www.facebook.com/littleelephantsg/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from Chang Beer, NAHMJ Food, Travel & Lifestyle Blog, Dan And Esther, and The Arctic Star.
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| Meal Flat Lay |
Tasty, Modern Thai Flavours
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Budget about SGD $33 per person.
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Established in May 2018, Little Elephant Thai Bistro is a casual eatery in the Tiong Bahru area of Singapore, located next to the famed Tiong Bahru Bakery. With a vibrant yet old-school charm, Little Elephant Thai Bistro serves up affordable, modern Thai cuisine, which is tasty and designed for sharing. I understand the Head Chef, who hails from Bangkok, Thailand, is directly responsible for preparing all the dishes. He's yet to begin training others to replicate it, which means good consistency for customers, but bad for long-term business sustainability.
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| Little Elephant Thai Bistro Signage |
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| Little Elephant Thai Bistro Exterior |
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| Little Elephant Thai Bistro Interior |
Ambience at Little Elephant Thai Bistro is comfortable, laid-back, and quaint. Vibrant and colourful tiles line the warmly lit, casual space, with decorative lamps overhead. Carved wooden elephants flank the entrance, silent guardians and greeters of the place. Light-weight metallic chairs are set alongside expensive, sturdy, hand-carved wooden furniture. They even have intimate couple seats carved from wooden boats! There's sufficient indoor and outdoor seating, and it's particularly nice outside on cool evenings. A decorative wall completes the look, with old-school telephones and attractive painted plates.
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| Little Elephant |
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| Seating Indoors |
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| Seating Outdoors |
Service at Little Elephant Thai Bistro is friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. Staff are quick to greet and seat guests, and when taking orders, offer helpful suggestions, showing they are capable of describing dishes and their ingredients. I note they are quick to clear away empty / dirty tables when diners leave, turning them around efficiently for the next set of diners. However, orders take awhile to fulfill, as currently, only the Head Chef is able to prepare and cook the dishes. If they could quickly train apprentice chefs, this would enable faster fulfillment of orders.
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| Seating Hand-Carved Boat |
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| Decorative Telephones & Plates |
Food at Little Elephant Thai Bistro is modern Thai cuisine, tweaked to suit the local palates. That said, those who seek traditional, authentic Thai flavours only need to request for it, and it will be prepared as close to versions in Bangkok, Thailand. They've gone for mid-range, quality ingredients in their dishes, which still have a nice balance of flavours and textures. Portions are designed for communal group dining, and must be shared. Prices are just below mid-range, comparable to casual restaurants, budget about SGD $33 per person for a meal here.
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| Little Elephant Thai Bistro Menu |
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| Neighbourhood |
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| Us |
The uncommon beverage of Nam Matoom / Bael Fruit Tea (SGD $3) has a delicate herbal tangy sweet sour flavour, and a refreshingly light texture, rather unique. The Cha Nam Yen / Thai Iced Milk Tea (SGD $3) has a rich, milky texture, with bold sweet earthy flavour, which we felt could be better if toned down slightly.
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| Nam Matoom / Bael Fruit Tea (SGD $3, Pictured On Left) |
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| Cha Nam Yen / Thai Iced Milk Tea (SGD $3, Pictured On Right) |
The Thai word for 'elephant' is ช้าง / 'chang', so naturally, Chang Beer (SGD $8 per bottle) is served here. Even the decor in shades of green, matches the signature green colour of the beer bottles. A well-balanced and full-bodied lager, brewed with deep-well mineral water, Chang Beer has a delicate complexity to its aroma, with a crisp, smooth, refreshing body. The promotion Bucket Of Chang Beer (SGD $32 for 5 bottles) is good value, and makes for a decent pairing with some of the spicier or boldly flavoured dishes on the menu. For the upcoming Chang Sensory Trails 2018, Little Elephant Thai Bistro will be part of the showcase booths, from 31 August till 01 September 2018, at The Lawn @ Marina Bay.
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| Bucket Of Chang Beer (SGD $32 for 5 bottles) |
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| Bucket Of Chang Beer |
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| Chang Beer (SGD $8 per bottle) |
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| Chang Beer |
The Poh Piah Tod / Vegetarian Spring Roll (SGD $8) has a crisp, crunchy, rice paper pastry crust. Within, it's stuffed with carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and soy braised vermicelli noodles. The tender, soft filling has a light earthy salty flavour. Pair it with the sweet Thai chili dipping sauce for added kick, or with the fresh, crunchy salad of cabbage, lettuce, and carrots on the side. Decent at best.
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| Poh Piah Tod / Vegetarian Spring Roll (SGD $8) |
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| Poh Piah Tod / Vegetarian Spring Roll |
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| Poh Piah Tod / Vegetarian Spring Roll |
The Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck (SGD $10) features quality pork neck, tender and moist with a light chew to texture, having a smoky savoury sweet flavour. The garnish of crushed peanuts lend a light crunch. The natural flavour of the pork shines here, but you can also pair it with a sharp fiery Thai chili and tamarind dipping sauce for a bold sour sweet spicy kick. Nice, can see this working as a snack.
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| Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck (SGD $10) |
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| Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck |
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| Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck |
The difference with the Nam Tok Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck Salad (SGD $13) is the marinated pork neck, lending a layer of herbal spicy flavour to the natural smoky savoury sweet taste of the meat. The marinade is a home made blend of lime juice, mint leaves, fish sauce, spring onions, and chili. The tender, moist texture of the pork neck has a light chew, very delightful. The salad of string beans, cabbage, and cucumber are refreshing and vegetal sweet in flavour, contrasting nicely. My personal favourite dish here. Highly recommended!
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| Nam Tok Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck Salad (SGD $13) |
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| Nam Tok Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck Salad |
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| Nam Tok Kor Moo Yang / Grilled Pork Neck Salad |
The Krapow Neua / Stir-Fried Sliced Beef With Holy Basil (SGD $22) differs from the traditional versions, due to the use of premium cuts of beef short rib. The beef is sous vide for 48 hours at 65 degrees, then stir-fried with holy basil, and a trio of bell peppers / capsicum (green, yellow, red), making the dish look vibrant and colourful, while lending a lovely fragrance and a crunch to texture. The beef short rib has a tender texture with bold savoury meaty flavour, overlaid with the herbal fresh notes of the holy basil, and the vegetal sweet flavours of the bell peppers / capsicum. We enjoyed this.
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| Krapow Neua / Stir-Fried Sliced Beef With Holy Basil (SGD $22) |
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| Krapow Neua / Stir-Fried Sliced Beef With Holy Basil |
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| Krapow Neua / Stir-Fried Sliced Beef With Holy Basil |
The unique Kung Tod Thakrai / Stir-Fried Prawn In Lemongrass & Honey Sauce (SGD $20) features large, fresh, juicy deshelled prawns / shrimp with a bouncy chew to texture, tossed in a thick, sticky, herbal sweet sour zesty gravy that is rich with notes of lemongrass and honey. The gravy is the star here, lending bold flavour, and makes the overall dish quite addictive. Best paired with white rice, as it can get cloying on its own.
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| Kung Tod Thakrai / Stir-Fried Prawn In Lemongrass & Honey Sauce (SGD $20) |
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| Kung Tod Thakrai / Stir-Fried Prawn In Lemongrass & Honey Sauce |
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| Kung Tod Thakrai / Stir-Fried Prawn In Lemongrass & Honey Sauce |
A classic Tom Yum Goong / Tom Yum Soup With Prawns (SGD $15), done well. This was the red version, and the rich soup / broth has bold sour sweet spicy flavour. Perhaps a tad less spicy than expected, though this can be tweaked on request. Alongside the large, fresh, bouncy prawns / shrimp, there's also chunks of mackerel fish, oyster mushrooms, and nearly ripe tomatoes. Good ratio of ingredients to soup / broth, and well worth sharing.
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| Tom Yum Goong / Tom Yum Soup With Prawns (SGD $15) |
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| Tom Yum Goong / Tom Yum Soup With Prawns |
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| Tom Yum Goong / Tom Yum Soup With Prawns |
The Pla Meuk Phad Kai Kem / Stir-Fried Salted Egg Squid (SGD $18) is done Thai style, which strives for balance in flavours. The result is a rich, tasty gravy, which is sweet savoury salty in flavour, unlike the regular Singaporean version. Will take awhile for most to be accustomed to this uncommon balance in taste. The chunks of squid are bouncy and fresh, and pick up the gravy well. Best paired with white rice on the side.
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| Pla Meuk Phad Kai Kem / Stir-Fried Salted Egg Squid (SGD $18) |
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| Pla Meuk Phad Kai Kem / Stir-Fried Salted Egg Squid |
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| Pla Meuk Phad Kai Kem / Stir-Fried Salted Egg Squid |
We enjoyed our experience at Little Elephant Thai Bistro. The comfortable laid-back ambience, friendly knowledgeable service, and hearty portions of delicious modern Thai food, along with affordable communal dining prices, means repeat visits to Little Elephant Thai Bistro are worthwhile. Am excited for Chang Sensory Trails 2018, as Little Elephant Thai Bistro will be part of the showcase booths, from 31 August till 01 September 2018, at The Lawn @ Marina Bay.
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CONVERSATION