Nangfa Thai Kitchen
136 Bedok North Avenue 3 #01-166
https://www.facebook.com/nangfathaikitchen/
Vegetarian Pad Thai (SGD $5) |
Spicy History, Tasty Thai Dishes
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $14 per person.
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Established in January 2014 by a family member related to the famous Thai casual eatery Nakhon Kitchen, the casual diner known as Nangfa Thai Kitchen is named after the Thai word for 'angel'. Retaining almost similar ambience, service, food quality, and prices as their counterpart competitor, but edging them out slightly on consistency of execution, Nangfa Thai Kitchen is a solid choice for delicious and affordable Thai dishes.
Ambience at Nangfa Thai Kitchen is casual and relaxed. The simple and rustic wooden furnishings are closely packed in the small area. Bright natural lights illuminate the open frontage during the day, while warm lights cast a soft glow at night. There's minimal decor, save some touches of Thai flourishes in the finishings of the counter.
Service at Nangfa Thai Kitchen is quick and efficient, be it seating diners, fulfilling orders, or cleaning up when diners leave. Staff are polite, and will recite back your orders to confirm. They do have some product knowledge of the menu, and can accomodate requests for vegetarian dishes. However, peak periods see long queues of up to 40 minutes waiting time.
Food at Nangfa Thai Kitchen is predominantly Thai cuisine, featuring some of the most beloved Thai dishes. Expect bold flavours and consistently well executed dishes. Portions are sized for either individuals, or for sharing. Prices are affordable and wallet-friendly, cheap enough that you could eat here every other day. Budget about SGD $14 per person.
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Nangfa Thai Kitchen Facade |
Menu |
Menu |
Kitchen |
Refreshing glass of Nam Ta Krai / Iced Lemongrass Tea (SGD $3), with its thin texture that carries bold herbal sweet flavour. Nicely thirst-quenching, great for cooling off on warm days.
Nam Ta Krai / Iced Lemongrass Tea (SGD $3) |
Generous portion of steamed Thai Khao Plao / White Rice (SGD $1), with fluffy soft texture and a fragrant delicate grainy sweet earthy aroma. Best ordered as part of a meal.
Khao Plao / White Rice (SGD $1) |
The Thot Man Goong / Prawn Cake (SGD $12 for 4 pieces) is large, with a slightly crisp bite to the crumb breaded exterior, and a juicy bouncy texture to the interior. Lovely sweet savoury shrimpy flavours here. Served with a Thai chili and fish sauce that has bright sweet and spicy flavours. Good!
Thot Man Goong / Prawn Cake (SGD $12 for 4 pieces) |
Thot Man Goong / Prawn Cake |
Thot Man Goong / Prawn Cake |
The Tod Mun Pla / Fish Cake (SGD $6 for 4 pieces) is large, with a tender bouncy texture that bursts with juicy flavour when bit. This has bold sweet savoury spicy herbal flavours, and pairs well with most dishes. It's made with minced fish paste, egg whites, long beans, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorn, salt, red chili, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, coriander root, shallots, garlic, and shrimp paste. Everything is pounded / blended together until it forms a paste, which is then shaped into circles and deep fried. Good!
Tod Mun Pla / Fish Cake (SGD $6 for 4 pieces) |
Tod Mun Pla / Fish Cake |
Tod Mun Pla / Fish Cake |
Loved the Gai Hor Bai Toey / Pandan Chicken (SGD $6 for 4 pieces). The fragrant morsels of boneless chicken are wrapped in pandan / screwpine leaf, which imparts its earthy floral flavour to the natural savoury sweet salty spice notes of the marinated chicken. Satisfying with a tender moist chew to texture. Highly recommended!
Gai Hor Bai Toey / Pandan Chicken (SGD $6 for 4 pieces) |
Gai Hor Bai Toey / Pandan Chicken |
Gai Hor Bai Toey / Pandan Chicken |
The Som Tam / Green Papaya Salad (SGD $6) has a lovely crunchy juicy texture, from the ingredients which include shreds of young green papaya, string beans, carrots, red onions, cucumber, and crushed peanuts, all in a thin but vegetal spicy sour sweet gravy of fish sauce, Thai sweet chili, sugar, light soy sauce, lime juice, and chopped red chili. It's plated over leafy lettuce, and has a refreshing note that helps open the palate. Worth ordering!
Som Tam / Green Papaya Salad (SGD $6) |
Som Tam / Green Papaya Salad |
Loved the Pla Muk Neung Manao / Steamed Squid In Lime Garlic Sauce (SGD $10) for its bright freshness. The bouncy squid rings are fresh with delicate sweet savoury flavour. But it's the Thai lemon sauce that lifts this dish, punchy with robust sharp tangy zesty sour sweet herbal flavours, so addictive. Yum. Highly recommended!
Pla Muk Neung Manao / Steamed Squid In Lime Garlic Sauce (SGD $10) |
Pla Muk Neung Manao / Steamed Squid In Lime Garlic Sauce |
A simple plain Khai Jiao / Egg Omelette (SGD $6), with a fluffy soft moist texture and delicate eggy sweet savoury flavour. You can choose to add on tender white onions, or bouncy prawns / shrimp to this.
Khai Jiao / Egg Omelette (SGD $6) |
Khai Jiao / Egg Omelette |
The Thai Chinese style Braised Tofu Beancurd With Seafood (SGD $12) is a homely, comforting dish. The claypot arrives bubbling hot, with the soft rounds of silky tofu beancurd picking up the savoury sweet salty flavours of the thick oyster sauce and seafood stock gravy beautifully. The assorted seafood within is fresh with sweet savoury flavour, and includes juicy prawns / shrimp, tender mackerel fish slices, and bouncy squid. The tender vegetables hold delicate vegetal earthy sweet flavour, and includes baby corn, broccoli, carrots, straw mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and cauliflower. Best paired with white rice. Good!
Braised Tofu Beancurd With Seafood (SGD $12) |
Braised Tofu Beancurd With Seafood |
The Kaeng Khiao Wan Gai / Green Curry Chicken (SGD $8) is delicious. The warm, rich green curry is thick with earthy herbal sweet spice flavour, resulting from the blend of green curry paste, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, basil leaves, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, lemongrass, ginger, and garlic. The garnish of crunchy string beans, tender boneless chicken, soft pea eggplant, and sliced red chili work perfectly together, and pick up the green curry well. Best paired with white rice. Highly recommended!
Kaeng Khiao Wan Gai / Green Curry Chicken (SGD $8) |
Kaeng Khiao Wan Gai / Green Curry Chicken |
The Kaeng Phed Neua / Red Curry Beef (SGD $8) is so tasty. The warm, rich red curry is thick with savoury sweet spice earthy flavour, resulting from the blend of red curry paste, coconut milk, basil leaves, kaffir lime zest, salt, powdered cumin, powdered coriander, lemongrass, red chili, galangal, and garlic. The garnish of crunchy string beans, chewy beef slices, soft pea eggplant, and sliced red chili pair nicely together, and pick up the red curry well. Best paired with white rice. Highly recommended!
Kaeng Phed Neua / Red Curry Beef (SGD $8) |
Kaeng Phed Neua / Red Curry Beef |
The Tom Kha Gai / Coconut Chicken Soup (SGD $6) is a thin, milky soup / broth / curry, that consists of coconut milk, boneless chicken, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, straw mushrooms, button mushrooms, shallots, chili, and coriander leaves. This has a delicate sweet milky sour spice flavour, with a short lingering aftertaste. The chicken and mushrooms are beautifully tender, though there's quite a bit of chicken skin. Mild and easily drinkable broth / soup. Personally, this doesn't quite appeal to me, though it's decently executed.
Tom Kha Gai / Coconut Chicken Soup (SGD $6) |
Tom Kha Gai / Coconut Chicken Soup |
The Tom Yum Goong Nam Khon / Tom Yum Prawn Creamy Soup (SGD $6 / $10) and the Tom Yum Thick Soup Chicken (SGD $6 / $10) both have a thin but punchy soup / broth, filled with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, galangal, fish sauce, and crushed red chili peppers. This results in robust earthy herbal savoury sour spicy flavours. The soup is garnished with tender straw mushrooms with an earthy flavour, and either fresh juicy river prawns / shrimp which are savoury sweet with a crunchy shell, or tender chunks of lean boneless chicken meat that have sweet savoury flavour. The 'thick' version adds red chili paste to give the soup / broth a fiery look, but is slightly less spicy than the 'clear' version. Good!
Tom Yum Goong Nam Khon / Tom Yum Prawn Creamy Soup (SGD $6 / $10) |
Tom Yum Goong Nam Khon / Tom Yum Prawn Creamy Soup |
Tom Yum Thick Soup Chicken (SGD $6 / $10) |
Tom Yum Thick Soup Chicken |
The Vegetarian Pad Thai / Stir-Fried Thai Rice Noodles (SGD $5) is pretty mild. The chewy soft pad thai noodles are semi-sticky, tending to clump together. I like the generous garnish of tender crunchy vegetables, including broccoli, choy sum / Chinese flowering cabbage, carrots, peas, baby corn, bean sprouts, and cauliflower, alongside egg, tofu beancurd strips, crushed peanuts, lime juice, and chili flakes. These lend bright vegetal eggy sweet earthy savoury spice flavours. The lack of smoky aroma, and the overly clumpy noodles brought this down though. Could be improved.
Vegetarian Pad Thai / Stir-Fried Thai Rice Noodles (SGD $5) |
Vegetarian Pad Thai / Stir-Fried Thai Rice Noodles |
The Vegetarian Khao Pad Sapparod / Pineapple Fried Rice (SGD $6) has been my go-to order for awhile now. I love the fluffy moist fragrant grains of fried rice, and the generous garnish of tender crunchy vegetables, including broccoli, choy sum / Chinese flowering cabbage, carrots, peas, corn kernels, and cauliflower, with egg and optional white onions, all of which hold vegetal sweet flavour. The juicy fruits (pineapple, raisins) with bright fruity sweet sour notes, and crunchy cashew nuts with nutty sweet flavour, complete this dish. Feels so wholesome, healthy, and clean, yet delicious. Highly recommended!
Vegetarian Khao Pad Sapparod / Pineapple Fried Rice (SGD $6) |
Vegetarian Khao Pad Sapparod / Pineapple Fried Rice |
The Pad Kra Pao Moo Sap / Stir-Fried Holy Basil With Minced Pork (SGD $6) is a satisfying meal. The base of fluffy white rice has mild grainy sweet flavour, but the main contribution of taste is from the tender minced pork, crunchy string beans, soft white onions, and holy basil, with its robust salty savoury meaty herbal flavour. Completed with a decent fried egg with eggy sweet savoury flavour. I like to order other side dishes along with this. Worth ordering!
Pad Kra Pao Moo Sap / Stir-Fried Holy Basil With Minced Pork (SGD $6) |
Pad Kra Pao Moo Sap / Stir-Fried Holy Basil With Minced Pork |
The Khao Pad Nahm Liap Moo Sap / Olive And Minced Pork Fried Rice (SGD $6) is quite filling, with a heaping mound of rice fried with black olives, minced chicken, and egg, giving it a unique dark purple colour. This has distinct earthy savoury salty eggy herbal flavours. Served with juicy cucumbers with vegetal sweet flavour, crisp red onions with sharp vegetal spice flavour, crunchy cashew nuts with nutty earthy flavour, spring onions, a lime wedge, and chopped red chili. I love the spicy kick this has from the chili. Good!
Khao Pad Nahm Liap Moo Sap / Olive And Minced Pork Fried Rice (SGD $6) |
Khao Pad Nahm Liap Moo Sap / Olive And Minced Pork Fried Rice |
Khao Pad Nahm Liap Moo Sap / Olive And Minced Pork Fried Rice |
The Khao Niao Mamuang / Mango Sticky Rice (SGD $5) features a base of sticky chewy glutinous rice, garnished with crispy bits of toasted white rice grains, lending an interesting crunch to texture, alongside its grainy sweet flavour. Topped with tender juicy slices of fresh mango with fruity sweet flavour, and drizzled with rich coconut milk which lends an earthy floral milky sweet note. Good!
Khao Niao Mamuang / Mango Sticky Rice (SGD $5) |
Khao Niao Mamuang / Mango Sticky Rice |
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Disclaimer: Half our visits here were before the COVID-19 circuit breaker in Singapore was implemented, some menu items pictured are no longer available. Environment photos were likewise taken before COVID-19.
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CONVERSATION