Spice-packed southern Thai cuisine by Suea Tai restaurant, aka South Tiger, is the subject of this week's Eating In.
In the form of delivery lunch, the meal arrived at my home from EmQuartier. If you allow me to start with an unconventional dish, it's the restaurant's popular khua kling roti pizza (180 Baht) that inspired this review.
Truly scrumptious and addictive, the dish is a unification of a pan-fried martabak roti and southern Thai wok-tossed curry, all blanketed in a stretchy Italian mozzarella topping.
Khai jiew hor mhok thalay, or deep-fried curry-seethed omelette with assorted seafood filling.
The roti bread was buttery and succulent and it helped tone down the fieriness of the stuffing, which features minced pork, turmeric, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, red chillies, kaffir lime leaves, shallots and green peppercorn. Meanwhile, the slightly charred cheese lent a subtle finish to the spicy curry.
It is recommended (by me) that you reheat this roti pizza in a toaster oven for two minutes for a crispier crust and piping-hot juicy centre. By doing this, the dish became truly delicious even after being in the fridge overnight.
Above Nam phrik goong yum, or sour and spicy chopped prawn relish with assorted vegetables.
The roti pizza is a great representation of South Tiger's cuisine. The restaurant focuses on offering the highest-quality produce and comforting recipes from Thailand's southern provinces to its customers rather than highlighting the region's notorious palate-burning gastronomic trait.
Ingredients -- from seafood and vegetables to herbs and sauces -- are sourced from the best places in Phuket, Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ranong and Songkhla.
Almost all the dishes on the 90-item dine-in menu are available for takeaway. Delivery can be requested directly from the restaurant, which I did, or ordering through Robinhood, Grab, Line Man and Foodpanda.
My lunch also included gaeng som phrik sod goong foi, or Southern-style turmeric curry with baby shrimps and cha-om omelette (250 Baht); bai liang phad khai, or wok-fried melinjo leaves with egg (180 baht); nam phrik goong yum, or sour and spicy chopped prawn relish with assorted vegetables (180 Baht); and khai jiew hor mhok thalay, or curry-seethed omelette with assorted seafood filling (220 baht); and deep-fried turmeric-seasoned grey mullets with crispy garlic (220 baht).
The gaeng som curry came in three separate containers, containing orangish-yellow broth, deep-fried cha-om (aromatic climbing wattle) omelettes, and shrimp fritter topping.
The spicy broth, which had a massive portion of shrimps, came bathed in southern-style deep-fried character with a good proportion of savouriness from shrimp paste, sourness from tamarind juice and mild sweetness from the baby crustacean. The curry is to be eaten hot with the omelette and fritters drenched in the broth.
Assorted Thai jelly dessert.
I really love South Tiger's rendition of bai liang phad khai for combining a pleasant wok-burnt aroma with the tempting fragrance of smoked dried shrimps which is made even better by the naturally sweet nutty taste and tender texture of melinjo leaves.
The chopped prawn relish was enjoyable especially since it came with a hearty offering of fine vegetables -- both fresh and cooked.
However, I took advantage of being in the comfort of my home and decided to play around with the dish a little bit. A dash of coconut palm sap and shrimp paste was added to the chef's refreshingly tangy mixture, for a sweeter taste.
The delicious nam phrik paired nicely with the khai jiew hor mhok thalay, another perfect example of the restaurant's culinary brilliance.
Permeating in the thick deep-fried omelette were basil leaves and a hearty bundle of prawns, sea bass, cuttlefish and squid roe. They were so abundant that they left almost no space for the egg. A mild hint of red curry was also found in the omelette.
Of the deep-fried fish, three grey mullets, seasoned with salt, pepper and turmeric powder, came sprinkled with loads of crispy garlic. The fish also went well with nam phrik relish.
For those looking for a quick personal-sized meal, there are 30 options to choose from. The choices include steamed with a curry side dish, fried rice with crab roe and crab lump, spicy fried rice with mackerel, fermented rice noodles with crab curry, and roti bread with massaman curry, to name just a few.
There are not many dessert options on offer. If you want a sweet treat to cleanse and cool down, assorted Thai sweet jelly with a coconut cream layer (150 baht) is recommended.
South Tiger is located at The EmQuartier's Helix Sky Dining, 6th floor. Takeaway and delivery service is available every day, 11am-8pm. For more information, call 02-003-6314 or Line: @soashop or visit Facebook: southtigerrestaurant.
