Got to hear about the new Nakhon Udon Thai Kitchen that had recently opened its doors at Tampines — these folks are pretty much a coffeeshop stall that is situated in the Happy Hawkers food court at Blk 602B Tampines Avenue 9 in the Tampines GreenRidges neighbourhood. If this address does sound familiar, this is because it is the same exact coffeeshop which The Only Burger is also situated at. Whilst being a relatively new brand that had just appeared in the local F&B scene, these folks are actually by the same people behind Nana Original Thai Food — Nana Original Thai Food having outlets in locations such as Aperia, Far East Plaza and Clementi; they also do run the Nana Thai Royale concept that is situated at Clarke Quay as well. Nakhon Udon Thai Kitchen should be a fairly obvious stall to find here — the stall is decked with a bright yellow signboard that is fairly attention grabbing. Being a Thai food stall that caters to both individual diners and those looking for communal options to share across the table, Nakhon Udon Thai Kitchen’s menu is split across sections dedicated to Mixed Thai Salad, Fried Delights, Soup, Curry, Mains, Vegetables, Rice, Noodles and Desserts.

It probably could have been a case of us not paying attention much to the menus of other Thai establishments that we are visiting; that being said, it is the first time that we are coming across the dish that is named Mee Korat in Singapore. A quick Google search seemed to have suggested that the Mee Korat is a dish that is rather similar to the Pad Thai; that being said, the Mee Korat is a dish that comes without the tofu, peanuts and chili powder — the chili here for the Mee Korat is added into the noodles itself during the wok-frying process (yes; you can’t order Mee Korat non-spicy!). It is noted that Nakhon Udon Thai Kitchen serves up the Mee Korat with different meat / seafood options; one can either go for chicken, pork or seafood, which we opted for the chicken option. Flavour and texture wise, this dish doesn’t really differ too much from the Pad Thai; it still is sweet, tangy and savoury — whilst we had not have Nana Original Thai Food’s rendition of the Pad Thai to make a direct comparison on this, we did feel that all the flavours here in the Mee Korat does feel more intense than that of the Pad Thai we had tasted elsewhere. Coming with a bed of omelette strips over the top, the omelette helps to add a light and fluffy texture to the dish; compliments the heavier savouriness notes here and the spiciness that should tickle the tastebuds even for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. The raw beansprouts also helped to add a crunch factor, though other elements that are can be detected or observed here would include onions and garlic as well.

During our visit, we had also gave their Thai Chendol a go; they were initially a little reluctant to serve it as they had ran out of ice on the day of our visit when we dropped during dinner service on the weekend. That being said, they had mentioned that the elements are still chilled and we went with ordering the item without ice anyway; this is considering how rare it is for one to come across the Thai Chendol in a coffeeshop stall setting. The coconut milk’s fragrance ran through the entire bowl; the Pandan jelly provided a hint of Pandan fragrance that goes hand-in-hand with the coconut milk — all that whilst the tapioca starch in various shapes and sizes providing for a chewiness to go along. The opening of Nakhon Udon Thai Kitchen is likely one that would excite those residing at Tampines; the opening of a new Thai establishment serving up decent Thai fare certainly adds on to the variety of dining options in the ‘hood; the fact that Nakhon Udon Thai Kitchen is a concept by the same folks behind Nana Original Thai Food would further steady those whom are familiar with the brand a further push to give it a go. Prices of the various dishes at Nakhon Udon Thai Kitchen are fairly reasonable with all dishes except the items listed in the Fish section of the menu being listed at $20 for the largest serving portions; a spot in which we would be happy to dine at if in the area.