Review: Restaurant Chedi Marries Authentic Thai Flavours With Modern Aesthetics in Jalan Besar
PUBLISHED May 8th, 2023 06:00 am | UPDATED May 14th, 2023 10:23 am
Striking in sight, and bursting with flavour in every bite – Thai cuisine is easily the way to our hearts. But, finding a restaurant in Singapore that matches both the demands of our tastebuds and Instagram-feed is no easy feat. Luckily we’ve come across a newly-opened Thai restaurant that can do both. Housed in a 1930s shophouse in Hamilton Road, Restaurant Chedi is a sophisticated yet laid-back food destination only for those in-the-know.
A brainchild of Chef-owner K-Jin Lim and Head Chef Miller Mai, the restaurant serves up unmatched flavours of Thailand with modern aesthetics and techniques. Both chefs bring their own unique backgrounds to the table, showcasing their understanding of Thai gastronomy and intricate layering of flavours.
Chef-owner K-Jin Lim has trained under a traditional Thai chef, whose grandmother was the chef of the Royal Thai family, and eventually launched his own Northern Thai restaurant, Paak Dang Riverside Restaurant in 2014 in Chiang Mai. On the other hand, Singaporean chef Miller Mai, has had over an 18-year-long career in the restaurant world, sharpening his skills at the likes of Tippling Club, Ding Dong and various other French, Chinese, Japanese and Italian kitchens. Working together at Restaurant Chedi, the chefs combine their experience and knowledge to offer Thai food enthusiasts an 8-course opening Chedi Tasting Menu (S$148++) that showcases familiar yet adventurous taste profiles. The menu is balanced with hot, sour, salty, and sweet notes, presented with contemporary culinary techniques and innovative thinking. Read on to find out what’s in store.
A throwback to chef K-Jin’s restaurant in Chiang Mai, the meal begins with the famous, miang kham. Encased in a betel leaf, this dish features all five flavours in an explosive bite. Think herbaceous and hot wild betel leaf combined with rich umami dried shrimp and Hokkaido ikura, as well as a sweet, salty and mildly sour homemade Thai miang reduction made with Thai tamarind, palm sugar, salt and soda water. Next, the nam prik gapi featured a shrimp paste relish with tempura baby tiger shrimps. Needless to say, the star of the show here was spicy and slightly briny relish that made the savoury tempura and the crunchy dried shrimps all the more addictive.
The gaeng som fak thong is one of our favourites. A comforting dish, bite into a crisp skin yet tender Chilean sea bass, atop chewy fish floss and a tangy rich orange curry thickened with Japanese pumpkin puree from Hokkaido. Alternatively, the tom kha gai is made with opposite temperatures and flavours in mind. Tender baked chicken wing is tunnel boned and stuffed with peppery chicken and sweet mushroom glutinous rice and foie gras then baked for the ultimate savoury bite. To elevate the flavours further, dip into the accompanying cold espuma, adding in the creaminess of coconut and earthy galangal.
Another favourite was the som tam ruam mit salad. Usually made with unripe mango or papaya, here the light appetiser features a medley of daily harvest greens and seasonal fruits. Chow down on the likes of piquant pomelo sacs, sweet pink guava, umami deep fried sun dried baby mackerel, nutty cashews, and more doused in a classic combination of sweet and salty fish sauce, lime and sugar. The nam ya goong mang korn is a dish from the southern part of Thailand. It boasts a tender sweet Maine lobster paired elegantly against a hot and earthy yellow curry.
For mains, the chefs (and we) recommend the Isaan-style kor muu yang. The highlight here is the charcoal-grilled Iberico secreto which gives the already juicy and tender meat a smoky kiss. Not to mention the marinade, which lends the meat its earthy and slightly heaty notes thanks to the use of coriander root, Thai garlic, and palm sugar. The simple yet deeply satisfying tub tim krob completes the affair with traditional homemade red ruby, coconut ice cream.
Overall, this restaurant is a heartfelt homage to Thai cuisine, showcasing the chefs’ dedication to honouring traditional ingredients and techniques with a contemporary twist. Each dish offers a complex and well-balanced flavour profile, with fiery spices, tangy bursts of citrus, and subtle sweetness from fish sauce. The only downside is that the open kitchen can get a bit smoky, but the attentive staff and delicious food more than make up for it.
Restaurant Chedi is located at 15 Hamilton Road, Singapore 209185, p. +65 8686 6169. Open Mon-Sat 6pm-10.30pm.
