Feb 22, 2009
Yellow Light shines
By Tan Hsueh Yun
With its cheerful, uncluttered sign and unusual name, Yellow Light Thai Food stands out on a busy stretch of Katong chock-a-block with eateries.
I had passed it many times but only dined there recently when a friend suggested it. Boy, I wish I'd gone earlier.
This friendly restaurant serves delicious Southern Thai food by way of Penang.
The story goes like this: In 1982, Thailand-born Madam Yoke Payong, who is now 70, started a 'restaurant' at the back of her Penang home with just one table. It was not licensed, but word of mouth about her excellent food soon drew crowds. One table became 20.
Since there was no signboard, her husband installed a bright yellow light on the roof that gave the eatery its name.
When she retired about a decade ago, her daughter Low Shih Erh took over. Her Singapore friends persuaded her to set up shop in Singapore and she did, shuttling back and forth between the two cities. She finally decided to base herself here permanently and sold off the business in Penang.
The energetic chef-owner, who is 35, has been cooking since she was six, trained to uphold her mother's exacting standards.
That would explain why many of the dishes I tasted on my visit were terrific. While the prices are not dirt cheap, the portions are pretty hearty for the price, and the freshness and quality cannot be faulted.
Some must-try dishes include Miang Khum (above, $8), a refreshing DIY appetiser of aromatic bits and bobs such as toasted coconut, lime, peanuts, dried shrimps, tiny shallots, sliced chilli padi and ginger drizzled with a tangy sauce and wrapped up in a betel nut leaf. The hot, sour and sweet flavours explode in the mouth, whetting your appetite for more.
My favourite dish that night was Khai Khem Song Kherng (below, $3 each), basically a Thai-style Scotch egg, where seasoned ground meat is wrapped around a boiled egg and deep-fried.
The Thai version cuts to the chase and uses just the yolk of a salted egg. Surrounding it is a mix of ground chicken and prawn and the whole thing is covered in noodle pieces before being deep-fried.
Each wedge is crisp, savoury, rich, and manages not to be too salty.
These eggs are much better than the ones you get in the Siam Paragon food hall in Bangkok. There, the eggs are covered with the same ground fish mixture used to make Thai fish cakes, and can be a tad rubbery.
Another must-try at Yellow Light is Poo Ja ($5 each), crab shells stuffed with crab meat, chicken, prawns, bamboo shoots and salted egg yolk. We had both the fried and steamed versions. The latter is better because the filling stays juicy and the ingredients taste so much more vivid.
Tom Yam Talay ($15) was full of fresh seafood, including pieces of sweet crab. It was good but lacked that sour kick I like in tom yum soup.
A dish of Kaeng Kheow Wan Gai or green curry chicken ($12) came with a generous serving of tender chicken but was too sweet for my taste.
For dessert, I cooled down with coconut ice cream made in-house ($3). It was good but not spectacular. A better dessert was Thap Thim Krawp ($4), a brightly coloured bowl of crunchy 'red rubies' and strips of ripe jackfruit in coconut milk.
That cheerful dessert capped off a memorable meal. I cannot wait to go back.
YELLOW LIGHT THAI FOOD
95 East Coast Road, tel: 6345-7324
Open: 11.30am to 2.30pm (lunch), 6 to 10pm (dinner), closed on Mondays
Food: ***
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