Patara Fine Thai Cuisine

a-roi
- which means 'delicious' in thai

you know you are in an excellent thai resturant when the
1. padd thai does not count as one of their chief's recommendation.
2. green curry chicken does not taste like something out of an instant packet mix.
3. pineapple fried rice does not look as if big bird rubbed off it.

dinner with my hong kong relatives (brat included) at patara fine thai cuisine (swissotel stamford) was a charming affair, punctuated by an abromsial array of authentic thai food.



duang dtar kong koon suay mak -your eyes are so beautiful
my sisters and i shared two soups amongst the three of us -namely oxtail soup and fish maw soup with quail eggs. the oxtail soup was good, not fantastic but a suitable entree to what could be an extremely rich dinner. i did not have much of a chance to try the soup as i was busy looking over to my right at the fish maw soup, leaving fang to scoop up every single morsel. the fish maw soup, on the other hand, is unorthodox, totally unlike what you have in teochew resturants. but the folks hthere at patara are generous with the fish maw and the soup is r-i-c-h, mildly gooey, almost like a dessert if not for the existence of fish maw.



jub meu dai mai? -can i hold your hand?
olive fried rice was wayy-yumm. though normally i pick olives out of my pizza, the olives here lent a bittersweet aroma to the fried rice. throw in chopped lime, cashew nuts and slice chili/ garlic.. and voila! the delectable anti-atkins rice dish is born!

i must admit i am not a green curry fan AT ALL -bring on the hothothot fish head curry anytime!- but since i did not feel like purging after trying this, i think i can say for sure that this dish is a must-have for green curry freaks. oh by the way, patara serves another type of fried rice (not pictured) that has green curry infused within it. not served in a separate bowl, the chef skilfully infuses the essence of green curry within the rice and creates a dish, which i believe, is unique to patara.



koon keu kon nun tee pom ror -you are the one i have been waiting for.
i have no idea what goes into this honey-spice-marinated pork ribs (did i just answer my own question?) but this dish is just lovely. the pork ribs are succulent yet crisp and sinfully oleagemous. order this for a finger-licking good time. haha. yes, i can still use the excuse that i have not gone through finishing touch at school.



ruk raek pop -love at first sight
the mee grobb (above) is a statement on its own. on the menu, this dish is given the description as 3-flavoured crispy noodle and i had originally expected it to resemble the crispy ee-mee that we normally take at chinese resturants. so you can imagine the surprise i received when the waiter served up a dish unresembling something edible. but do not get me wrong as patara has not produced anything worth cringing over and this is no exception. hitting the right notes on the crisp factor, i sure am glad i decided to let my adventurous side dominate for a while. by the way, this is a sweet dish too. haha.

and which true-blue singaporean does not love buffet? got a sweet tooth? patara's dessert and fruit buffet is a crowd-pleaser though a no-go zone for those who intolerant to coconut milk.

to me, patara hits the right notes on authentic thai food. a great place for gatherings, the price is worth paying for and guess what, it is not even THAT expensive. p.s. just be careful not to order the evian water! haha.