Ah Loy Thai is one of the best rated Thai restaurants in Singapore according to HungryGoWhere, so it definitely merited a visit. The problem was, it closes quite early in the evenings (8pm on weekdays, 7pm on weekends) so it took me two visits before I managed to have a meal there.
Following reviewers’ recommendations, we had their Thai red tea, lemongrass drink, butter calamari, pad thai, pandan chicken and crispy fish.
I could understand why some reviewers wrote that the butter calamari was sin. The calamari was very crunchy and drenched in butter. I thought there was actually too much oil/butter, or perhaps this dish was just too sinful for me.
The pad thai noodles were al dente and cooked just right. They weren’t sticking together in clumps, they weren’t too oily, and they were still chewy. My only qualm is that they added a lot of dried shrimp to the dish, which made it very fishy. I think Asians must like that fragrance, but I don’t.
Pandan chicken was a little over-done. They deep-fried the chicken and leaves together, and some parts were charred. The taste was pretty good, but it would have been better if the chicken was still tender.
The sweet and sour crispy fish had a spicy kick. Reviews had said the fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Although the crispy outside was good, I thought this was over-fried as well, as the meat of the fish was not that tender.
The Thai red tea could have been quite nice but it was made too sweet. Service was decent by Singapore standards, although you had to be assertive to get what you wanted (and it is possibly easier to get what you want if you speak Mandarin). Patrons of this restaurant are often warned of the queue for tables and then the wait for the food. Although this place can certainly satisfy my Thai craving, I’m not entirely sure it is worth the wait.
Rating: 