Popular Golden Mile Thai Pancake Stall Baan Kanom Thai Moves To Dine-In Space, Has Savoury Menu

They had considered moving to City Gate too

The couple was away visiting Fon’s family in Thailand when most of Golden Mile Complex’s tenants were making plans to move out. “When we came back, everyone had already found a space except us, so we started to kan cheong lah,” Jaren laughed.

He considered moving to City Gate, but could not find a suitable unit. “When [the landlord] heard everyone was moving out of Golden Mile, the rent rate went up,” he said. But the couple eventually managed to find a decent-sized shop at ARC 380, which used to be a roast duck eatery. “For the space size, it is much more affordable compared to City Gate,” shared Jaren.

Business dipped after move

There was enough space for him and Fon to set up a kitchen as well as 32 dine-in seats. “It is my wife’s dream to have a restaurant of her own,” Jaren said, who soft-opened Baan Kanom Thai on Apr 18.

After operating for around two weeks, he observed that business was not as good as before, even though a number of his old regulars have dropped by. “Some people don’t know we are here. There isn’t really a crowd after lunchtime, but we are still surviving. We didn’t think so much [about renting this place], because our initial plan was to cater for delivery,” said Jaren, who has started taking group buy orders.

The couple plan to open another takeaway kiosk outlet in the future, similar to their Golden Mile joint. “If we have another outlet, we will just use this place as a central kitchen,” Jaren said.

The menu

The recipes that Fon uses for her savoury dishes here came from her mum, who runs an eatery in southern Thai town Chumphon. Her menu offers meat dishes like Grilled Lemongrass Chicken ($25), Deep-Fried Chicken Wings ($10 for six), and Grilled Pork Skewers ($5 for three).

There are seafood, veggie, salad, soup, curry, rice and noodle options too, such as Steamed Fish with Spicy Lime Sauce ($38), Papaya Salad with Crab & Pickled Fish ($10), Pineapple Fried Rice ($10), Sour Curry Soup with Prawns ($15) and Pad Thai ($6/$8/$10). Fon is planning to introduce lunch deals for the office crowd in the vicinity. “Like less than $10 for a main and a drink,” she shared. 

Mango sticky rice birthday cake

Baan Kanom Thai’s pancakes are still available, like Thai Pandan Pancakes (from $5.50 for 10), Sweet Potato Thai Pancakes (from $6 for 10) and Thai Coconut Pancakes ($5.50 for six). Other desserts include Mango Sticky Rice ($7/$10), Red Ruby in Coconut Milk ($6) and Coconut Milk Custard ($7 for six). “We have plans to do more desserts, like luk chup (a Thai mung bean dessert shaped like tiny fruits and vegetables),” Fon said.

If you really love mango sticky rice, you can order a birthday cake version which Fon and Jaren used to sell via their home-based biz. “It’s $60 for six inches, $70 for seven inches,” said Jaren, who also offers a red ruby topping (extra charge applies).

Slowly saved money to open dine-in shop

Just like how they had saved up $15,000 from running their home-based business to set up a stall at Golden Mile Complex, the couple has now ploughed their earnings from the stall into their dine-in eatery.

“We are just two people slowly saving our money, and we didn’t spend more than what we earned. We don’t have much money and our families are not rich, so we have to work hard for our dream. If you don’t save, you cannot open anything,” Fon said pragmatically.

Creamy Crab Omelette Fried Rice, $12 

Deep-Fried Chicken Wings, $10 for six (8 Days Pick!)

The fried chicken wings here are super shiok; large mid-joint wings with thin, lip-smackingly crackly skin and succulent meat. Madly addictive stuff that you should hoover up while it’s fresh and hot from the fryer.

Pad See Ew, $8

Pad see ew, which consists of kway teow stir-fried in soy sauce with meat and veggies, is the sweeter cousin of pad Thai, which uses a thinner type of rice noodle and has a tangier flavour profile. For some reason, pad see ew is not as common in Singapore as it is in Thailand, but we find it an extremely comforting dish.

We tried Fon’s version and wished it had more lashings of salty, fragrant soy sauce. Turns out, she had adjusted her original Thai recipe to go easy on the sodium after her Singaporean customers gave feedback that it was too intense for them. We suggest asking Fon for her “pad see ew Thailand-style” if you like your food heavily flavoured — this plate of smoky fried kway teow is worth the calories.

Stir-Fried Basil Oysters, $18

Most Thai eateries in Singapore serve stir-fried basil pork and chicken, but Baan Kanom Thai has the more uncommon basil oysters. The plump, juicy small oysters are tossed in a mildly spicy sauce that is oily and pretty jelak. Not our favourite dish, considering there are other more delicious options to order here.

Thai Pandan & Sweet Potato Pancakes, from $5.50 for 10 (8 Days Pick!)

We had earlier reviewed the couple’s Thai pancakes here, and are pleased to report that it is as good as ever. The light, bouncy pandan pancakes boast a fab floral fragrance, while the sweet potato version is denser but just as good. We can easily finish a box of 10 pancakes by ourselves.

Coconut Milk Custard, $7 for six (8 Days Pick!) 

The good thing about having a bigger kitchen is that Fon and Jaren can now offer more tasty desserts like this steamed coconut milk custard, which you can order to be served hot in little saucers.

Thai Coconut Pancakes, $5.50 for six

Leave ample tummy space to try the dessert selection here. The Thai coconut pancakes are just as yummy, rustic, chewy little glutinous rice discs stuffed with juicy coconut flesh that has a crunchy bite. Take advantage of the dine-in space; the hearty savoury nosh and desserts here are best enjoyed on the spot.

Baan Kanom Thai is #01-15 ARC 380, 380 Jln Besar, S209000. Tel: 9029-3098. Open daily except Mon. Tues-Fri 11am-9pm, Sat & Sun 11am-10pm. Last order 30 mins before closing. Facebook, Instagram. 

Photos: Alvin Teo