Walk into Yhing Thai Place and be greeted by the plush red drapes that do not reveal the Thai heritage the restaurant hails from. Looking more like an Arabian restaurant, the signboard hanging above the main entrance doesn’t help much as the words imprinted could be easily mistaken as “Shanghai Place”.

Located behind the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, Purvis Street is home to both Yhing Thai Place and Yhing Thai Palace, and is a 10-minutes walk from the nearby Bugis MRT Station.

The signboard might not have helped in the eatery’s branding but quality food speaks for itself. The owner of the place was originally from Northern Thailand and is also head chef of the establishment while her son runs the restaurant. Thai chefs also staff the kitchen and ingredients are brought in from the Land of a Thousand Smiles weekly, so freshness is definitely guaranteed.

Not to be confused with the more popular Yhing Thai Palace, Yhing Thai Place is located further down the road. One other differentiation patrons can make while dining there is that Yhing Thai Place serves up traditionally Thai cuisine infused with Oriental influences while Yhing Thai Palace maintains traditions by offering a myriad of honest-to-goodness Thai dishes.

To begin the feast, Miang Kum ($12), a traditional Thai appetizer whets the palate with its spiciness and fresh bursts of natural raw flavours that are both simple and complex at the same time. With humble ingredients like shallots, ginger, nuts, chilli padi, fried coconut flesh, betel nut leaves and a home made sauce, this painfully simple dish is an absolute quintessential in every Thai meal as it boasts of the sour and spicy taste that Thai cuisine is so well loved for.

For a dish that fills up the stomach, Pla Dad Deow (Yhing Thai’s Deep Fried Pomfret charged according to market price) is fried to golden perfection – crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. While it tasted a tad too oily on first bite, this dish is served together with a bowl of fresh mango sauce that offsets the lingering taste of excessive oil and complements the fish perfectly.

The signature Thai dessert of mango with glutinous rice – Khao Neow Ma Muang ($6)– is meticulously prepared by the kitchen at YhingThai, with the glutinous rice boiled twice to ensure its even texture and salty flavour. Topped with mung beans to give an authentic Thai experience, this dessert is the perfect way to end a sumptuous and spicy Thai meal!

UrbanWire gives Yhing Thai Place4 out of 5 stars.