Cafe Pal

One of the best thai food I had outside of Golden Mile Complex (the Thai-​town of Singapore)
I passed by Café Pal several times, thinking ‘I wonder if they do good business.’ as the store front didn’t really look like an authentic thai and didn’t look that cosy or inviting a «café». (If it was just a run-​down hole-​in-​the-​wall type of Thai place, I
would’ve been more tempted to try.)
Recently, I was surprised to find out that Café Pal was actually run by the son of the owner of Yingthai (
) –I which I have heard good things about.
I tried Basil chicken, Green Curry Chicken, Papaya salad (Som tam), Mango Sticky Rice.
Like others have mentioned, Basil Chicken was nice. Nothing spectacular, but good enough to enjoy.
Green Curry Chicken. One of the best one if not THE best. It was very rich in flavor without being too gooey nor watery. Good amount of chicken spotted & the curry is served with white rice, shrimp chips, and fried egg + soya sauce.
Papaya salad was authentic — not the watered down version that you’d think of.
Mango Sticky Rice was delicious. Again one of the best I’ve had in my rather short tenure in Southeastern cuisine. I really appreciate the small proportion of sticky rice to mango– especially as I have seen many places that try to cheat the portion by having lots of sticky rice and not as much mango. Café Pal’s proportion was very well-​balanced.
Would I come back? Yes. It was a very good value for money and would be trying Pad Thai next time.

This joint is located in such a strange place (next to a former Chinese hotpot joint and Fragrance hotel), you wouldn’t know it existed unless you walk pass frequently. I work nearby thank goodness and boy am I glad I found Café Pal.
The interiors look nothing like your usual bubble tea shop. I don’t really give a hoot about bubble tea and have yet to try the Thai iced tea. It has to be decent because every time I’m there there are people walking in to order it.
The secret yummy stuff here is the noodles. The tom yam noodles to be exact. I’ve heard the owner of Café Pal is related to Yhingtai Palace but heck, from my hawker-​loving tastebuds I’m telling ya, the tom yam noodles is authentic and delicious. It’s the mince chicken broth-​based type tom yam noodles, so the broth is made for noodles and not the other way round i.e. tom yam soup and the chef happens to dump some noodles in it. There aren’t alot of ingredients ala what you’d get on the street in Thailand, but the fresh prawns, to-​die-​for Thai fish cake (only 1 measly piece sliced in half), crunchy beansprouts, minced chicken and garlic is just… perfect.
That’s not all. This mystery chef or team of chefs have the most delicate frying hands. By that I mean you get two wantons with the noodles that are fried perfectly. Crisp. Ditto the plate of chicken wings I ordered. Perfectly golden brown, crisp and when I bit into one, clear Chicken juices sprayed forth on my iPhone. All I need is a little more seasoning and the wings would have been perfecto. I only eat fried chicken at No. 5 bar, 5 Izakaya and Smokey’s sunset (and even then at a certain time onwards to ensure the chef is focused on frying my darn wings). Café Pal’s now on the list.
Shhhh. You can thank me later.

This random little place — I’m not sure how — managed to get an endorsement from Anthony Bourdain on Foursquare. Again, I’m not sure how. But I’ve been curious about it ever since.
I stopped by one random Saturday afternoon expecting little and was pleasantly surprised. There’s nothing particularly interesting about the food. I would describe it as very run-​of-​the-​mill Thai. Nor is there anything particularly amazing about the bubble tea that seems to be quite popular here. But considering that you get a set lunch with noodles for $ 12 or with rice for $ 15, it’s pretty good value.
The thing I like best is the ambiance. Dim lighting, table lamps, wood and soft jazz. Who would expect such things in a random local café in Bugis?
It’s quiet, comfortable and strangely dignified. Well it was until the overweight family with novelty tees walked in and started yelling loudly. But Café Pal can’t help that, can it?

I give it a four because it’s a really nice chill out spot with good service. I love the drinks. Bubble milk tea is great and I love their western teas as well.
I would give it a miss to the Thai food but they have interesting appetizers like the kaya toast dip which was pretty good. Had a great catch up session with the girls.