Diandin Leluk @ Serangoon Gardens

In the early 80s, the “Tuk Tuk Thai Kitchen” started a food business by peddling on a rented lorry, selling packed lunches to Thai workers at construction sites around Singapore. In 1985, they opened their very first Thai food outlet at Golden Mile Complex, called “Diandin Leluk” which caters mainly to the Thai community.

In 1990s, they started serving authentic Thai cuisine to Singaporeans and foreigners. All cuisine are prepared by native Thai chefs with years of culinary experience. We had dinner at the Serangoon Gardens branch and were quite impressed by their food.

The vermicelli seafood salad ($8) was perfectly done with a nice blend of salty, sour, and spicy flavours. It was served on an oval plate a little too small for it’s contents but that didn’t affect it’s taste.

The black pepper beef ($10) was tender and served on a hotplate with ginger, onions bulbs and shoots. Taste was rather ordinary I thought – something you can get from any coffeeshop “zhi char” stall.

The deep fried Sea Bass with Thai chilli sauce ($30) was the highlight of the night for me. It was crispy and tasty – almost melting in your mouth. The stomach of the fish did not taste the least bit “fishy” and the chilli was just the right amount of sweet and spicy.

The Tom Yum seafood soup ($10) is hot and sour - flavoured with lemon grass, lime juice, lime leaves and chilli. This is traditional spicy Thai soup and a must try in an authentic thai restaurant.

My ratings – Food: 9/10. Service: 8/10. Ambience: 8/10. Value for money: 8/10. The bill came up to about $55.65 for the 3 of us with the above dishes, rice, an authentic Thai iced-tea, and a 20% discount. More info about Diandin Leluk Thai Restaurant @ www.diandinleluk.com.

Update 02/08/2010: The Serangoon Garden branch has been taken over by Por Jai Authentic Thai Restaurant. Diandin Leluk Thai Restaurant is still available at Golden Mile Complex and 221 Geylang Road.