There are a few really good Thai restaurants in Singapore, including Diandin Leluk in Golden Mile Complex and Ah Loy Thai at Shaw Tower in Bugis, but my absolute, undisputed favourite has got to be Jai Thai.
Located on Purvis Street, this place actually has a sister outpost in Dhoby Ghaut, but I’ve been frequenting the Purvis Street outlet for about 4 years now, goodness. It’s got a really simple, casual decor like so:
Yeah, it’s pretty dingy, and my friends affectionately refer to it as ‘sketchy Thai’, as in, ‘Or we could go have your sketchy Thai before the concert’. With only about 3 larger round tables and 3 squeezy booths inside, most of the time patrons will find themselves shafted to one of the few tables al fresco, unless they are willing to wait for a table to free up inside. I usually don’t bother – the food is that good that I don’t want to wait.
Here’s a look at the menu:
After deciding, you input your choices onto the order sheet below – a waitress will come to confirm your orders on the form, and that’s all there is to it! No muss, no fuss.
It’s kind of a ritual for my BFF and I to come here every so often to catch up over good, cheap Thai food. When we’re here, we usually order the same core dishes, and then change it up for one dish. This way we get to (very slowly) try new things on this crazy 94-item menu, while being able to fall back on our favourites if the wild card ends up being a disappointment. Food disappointments are the worst.
We start with the Fish Cake (S$2.50 per piece, minimum 2 pieces).
I can basically already taste this in my mouth, just by looking at this photo ugh. It’s always so, so good. The texture is lightly firm and springy, it’s really juicy and moist when you bite into it, and the taste is perfect. Savoury, slightly spicy, and full-bodied. You won’t even need to dip it into the accompanying cup of sauce, but if you do, it’s also really, really good. So yummy; please always order this. 10/10
The next requisite item on our list is the Tom Yum Seafood Clear Soup (S$7/10/14 for S/M/L size).
I really love this – it’s spicy, sharp, light, and packed full of goodness – oyster mushrooms, tender fish slices, squid, prawn, and coriander. LOVE coriander! It’s worth noting that I don’t usually like the kind of fish that they use in most seafood noodles – with dedicated fish soup/fish noodles being the exception – but Jai Thai’s is remarkably tender and fresh! I don’t know what type of fish it is, but it definitely tastes good and that’s what matters 😀 The soup itself packs a punch – it’s spicy but really enjoyable! Unlike the red tom yum soup, you can taste the ingredients better. 9/10!
To have some variety, we usually just get a small Fried Kangkong (S$6/9/12).
Stir-fried in garlic and tauco (indonesian fermented soy beans) sauce, these vegetables are really good, but unfortunately not life-changing, like the ones I had at Madam Kwan’s. Those were outta control – so so delicious! Like I’ve mentioned, my personal preference is really for sambal belacan sauce when it comes to kangkong, so maybe you guys would prefer garlic sauce better if you are so-inclined, like such as. (I recently re-watched the video and died all over again. What a train wreck 😦 ) Anyway, 7.5/10 for this dish!
I think the true gem at Jai Thai is the Fried Tang Hoon (S$6/9/12 for S/M/L) or glass vermicelli, as they call it in some parts.
The noodles are cooked with prawns, egg, beansprouts and assorted vegetables. The final product is so profoundly tasty that whenever it arrives, everything else recedes into the background and all I want is to be scarfing the noodles down while they’re still hot ugh YUM. It’s really quite embarrassing – I get all noisy, going ‘omg so good ugh!’ or ‘mmm!!!’ or ‘dyingggg!’ almost in spite of myself. I’m not sure how to describe the taste – it’s savoury, the slightest bit sweet, not very spicy, and a tiny bit charred. I suppose it’s a little like char kway teow, but not quite the same. It’s just a whole bag of yum, so please go get it and try for yourself! 10/10
All in all, Jai Thai is a great place for comforting, simple, and delicious Thai food. The Thai ice tea is also the absolute shizz, I LOVE IT. You guys should go check it out soon – i think you’ll like it too!
I give this place a 95%. We spent about S$18 each.
Jai Thai
27 Purvis St
Opening Hours
Lunch: 11am to 3pm daily
Dinner: 6pm to 10pm daily
Telephone: +65 6336 6908
Alina Eats All Day 