Happy Thai Food

If I had to to describe Thai cuisine in a single word, I'd call it engaging. Good, authentic Thai food deeply engages our senses, stimulating and exciting the palate with its deep & rich flavors. It can be attributed to the fact that the culinary techniques used in whipping up Thai dishes are so varied - stir-frying, deep-frying, steaming, braising, stewing or even simply going raw. Additionally, the sauces & spices that complement the dishes so often brings us to the borders of our taste senses. 

Singaporeans love Thai cuisine so much that multiple Thai eateries have sprouted up all over the island over the years. They come in the form of restaurants, hole-in-the-wall eateries, and even stalls in food centres or air-conditioned food courts - mostly run by Thai natives.

Happy Thai Food is one such eatery, located in a corner of Giant Tampines food court. The menu here has almost 30 items (pretty extensive for a stall in a food court, I must say) at prices that are wallet-friendly. In fact, if you do a quick scan across the menu, you'll find that most items are not more than $7. You'd be hard-pressed to find such prices at any Thai food stall these days!

The stall may look small. but there are 3 chefs working hard in the tiny kitchen to churn out your orders at any one time, so the waiting time here is pretty fast.

The Food

Mango Salad ($5.90)

Thai Green Mango Salad is always a great starter to work up the appetite. Made from shredded unripe mango, it is bathed in a concoction that includes lime juice and fish sauce among others. Unlike green papaya, which leans on the bland side, the green mango used has sweet and sour undertones that made the salad refreshing and appetising. 

Phad Thai with Seafood ($6.90)

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be in the kitchen to witness the impressive wok skills of the Thai chefs as they whipped up my Phad Thai. The noodles are quick-fried over high heat and tossed expertly to achieve the necessary searing of the ingredients against the hot wok. The Phad Thai here has a gummier texture which some may like, and comes loaded with prawns, squids and sliced fish. At $6.90, this is definitely well-worth the price.

Tom Yum Seafood Soup ($6.90) (Recommended)

As with most stalls, there is a choice between clear or red for the Tom Yum Seafood Soup. We opted for the red, which is richer & creamier, though it was milder than we expected. The 2 large prawns thrown in were sweet, but we felt the soup could have been spicier and tangier. Do remember to request you want a bolder flavor when ordering!

Steamed Seabass with Lime & Chilli ($19.90) (Recommended)

If there was one dish that I'd recommend over here, this would be it. The Steamed Seabass was fresh and fleshy, swimming (not literally of course) in a stock that was sour, spicy and garlicky all at once. I was able to pick up the fragrance of lemongrass, lime juice, chilli padi, coriander, blue ginger and in particular, mint leaves. It's a myriad of flavors that gives off a distinctive Thai-style to the dish, one which we enjoyed to the last spoonful. The dish is helpfully heated by multiple candles at the base, which ensures that the soup remained hot for a long while.

Green Curry with Beef ($6.90)

The Thai Green Curry arrived in an impressive, beautiful green, no doubt helped by using quality green curry paste and Thai basil leaves. I loved how the portions of the beef here were generous and came in large, tender slices. The coconut milk makes it delightfully creamy but heavy as well, and I was glad for the long beans and carrot slices that were thrown in to lend some balance. It's a little on the sweet side and extremely intense though, so we weren't able to finish up the gravy, much as we liked it.

Omelette with Crabmeat ($9.90)

I love Thai-style omelettes, or khai jiao. I like how the edges are crisp while the inner layers are puffy and moist. But to achieve this kind of texture, you'd need lots of oil at high heat - something most of us can't do within our domestic kitchen. Hence, I always appreciate the khai jiao whipped up for me in eateries. The Omelette with Crabmeat over here looked convincing and passed the visual test for me, but perhaps due to the fact that I had taken too long for camera work, the fluffiness wasn't at its optimal level. But I must say that the crab meat used was plentiful - not exactly juicy, but at least fresh. Reminder to self that I must attack this dish first on my next visit.

All in, Happy Thai Food offers good Thai cuisine at affordable prices, and I especially like how fresh the ingredients are. As the owner readily admitted, the spice level for most dishes has been tamed down to cater to local palates, so I wouldn't say it is the most authentic-tasting in that sense. But if you can handle your spice, do feel free to let the chef-owner know, so that she can increase the intensity of the flavors for you!

With Lady Boss, Ms Pair

So the next time you are at Tampines Retail Park shopping at IKEA Tampines, Giant Hypermarket or Courts Megastore, do head on down to Happy Thai Food for some solid Thai cuisine at affordable food court prices!

Address: Food Court @ Giant Tampines
21 Tampines North Drive 2 S(528765)

Opening Hours: 10am to 9pm daily

Date of Last Visit: 4th August 2023