SIN: Ah Loy Thai

Heavenly fried calamari with butter sauce!

Ah Loy Thai has been known as an eatery which serves authentic cuisine of the Land of White Elephant at affordable prices. I've only been to Shaw Towers a few times thus far, and it was only on my last visit that I decided to step into the eatery.

Fried Butter Calamari S$8.90

Taste: 9.5/10

Said to be the star of the eatery, the deep-fried calamari rings were downright honest-to-goodness. The batter was pretty crispy and seasoned well, complementing the clean, white flesh which wasn't even a little bit rubbery. The butter sauce was rich and sweet, providing a nice contrast to the julienned green papayas that were just a tad too sour when they landed on my tongue. Well, the dish was way better than the highly raved one from Thaipan.

Stir-Fried White Basil Leaf with Pork S$7.00

Taste: 8.5/10

Juicy minced pork was presented in a leaf-shaped plate, along with what I guessed to be bamboo shoots which were equally moist. Even though it's written as spicy in the simple slip of paper menu, there wasn't even a tinge of hotness by it. The dish went really well with plain rice.

Tom Yum Seafood S$7.90

Taste: 8/10

The quintessential Thai soup was refreshingly sour, even though it could be balanced with more sugar. Either fresh cream or milk was used to concoct the cloudy soup, but perhaps not coconut milk as it was devoid of the latter's signature aroma. The seafood items were adequately fresh, but I enjoyed the juicy oyster mushrooms best.

Pad Thai S$7.50

Taste: 7/10

The stir-fried rice noodle was pretty good with its smoky aroma, but I felt that its sweetness was somewhat one-dimensional. The dish wasn't spicy at all, so I took a bit of their homemade chili sauce (not shown) which was apparently too salty. The shrimps were succulent though.

Mango Glutinous Rice S$5.90

Taste: 8.5/10

Although the glutinous rice didn't appear to be photo-worthy, its degree of stickiness was pretty much delightful. Its savoury taste was complemented by the not-so-rich coconut milk on top of it, and contrasted by the mango slices which were unmistakably bursting with natural sweetness.

Traditional Thai Red Milk Tea (Cold) S$2.40

Taste: 8/10

The milk tea exuded a nice fragrance, testament to the generous amount of tea that was used in making the drink. While it was adequately sweet, I felt that it could be thicker. Nevertheless, it ended the dinner well.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 8/10

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Overall: 7.5/10

I feel that it's a solid eatery for anyone who seeks a quick fix of Thai food. The server the other day was friendly, even though she was slightly haphazard. Neither she could remember the table numbers. Pika's advice: The patrons next to me ordered Thai Red Ruby, priced at S$4.90, which looked pretty appetising. You may want to give it a try!

Ah Loy Thai

100 Beach Road

#01-39/40 Shaw Towers

Singapore
(Mon-Fri: 12 noon - 8.00pm; Sat-Sun: 1.00pm - 7.00pm)

*Prices quoted are nett prices.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)