Gin Khao

Sad to say, you won’t find authentic Thai food here.
1. Yum Mamuang (mango salad)
— average, could have been spicier and more tangy
2. Gai Tod Had Yai (deep fried chicken in HAD YAI style)
— average, KFC popcorn chicken would have tasted better
Phat Pak Bung Fai Daeng (stir fried morning glory with fermented beancurd and chilli padi)
— bland and overcooked vege
3. Gai Yang Pattaya (Pattaya-​style whole chicken leg grilled in Thai BBQ sauce)
— was expecting the chicken to be slathered in BBQ sauce then grilled (ala ayam panggang style) but what greeted us was a piece of dry chicken leg with hardly any flavour/​seasoning
4. Grilled mackerel with green chilli nahm jim
— just two pieces of grilled mackerel with the green chilli nahm jim served on the side instead of being coated onto the fish before grilling
Hot Thai milk tea and Thai ice coffee with coconut juice were nice and probably the only saving grace for our meal. Gave their desserts a miss since the food was disappointing.
Overall, the familiar punchy Thai flavours were lacking in all their dishes. Return visit highly unlikely.

Recently a new Thai restaurant is opened next to Burger King in East Coast Park. It is called Gin Khao which means to eat rice in thai language. Although there is already many restaurants selling thai food in Singapore, the chefs here use conventional and non-​conventional herbs and ingredients to present a spectrum of contrasting flavors — sweet, sour and spiciness of varied degrees.
The restaurant is decorated in a plain and simple way, which gives it a clean, sleek, industrial look that complements contemporary décor, which is often characterized by neutral color schemes, angular shapes, and the use of modern materials such as steel and glass.
Before the meal, we get to try order from the DRINKS menu.
THAI Ice Coffee with Coconut Juice ($ 4.80)
(Chef’s Recommendation)
It actually tastes like coconut juice with a barely there hint of coffee in it. Very refreshing drink to have especially in this hot weather.
Next we are treated to various MAINS dishes.
Prawn and Green Mango Relish ($ 7.80)
(Chef’s Recommendation)
Served with THAI rice crackers
This is quite an appetizing starter. In one mouthful, I could feel the crunchy crispy cracker, the sweetness of the prawn and the tangy taste of the dressing, which is quite stimulating.
Gai Tod HAD YAI ($ 7.80)
Deep fried chicken in HAD YAI style
Deep fried strips of meat, topped with deep fried garlic, and served with a tangy chilli sauce. A rather addictive dish, which makes one wishs for some ice cold beer to go with it.
Lard Moo ($ 7.80)
Warm minced pork salad with mint
Although I am not a fan of mint, I could barely taste mint in this savoury and yummy minced meat dish. I could have lots of this with just plain rice.
TOM YUM Talay ($ 12.80)
TOM YUM seafood soup
Although it looks normal, the soup is quite tangy with lots of fresh seafood in it.
Stir-​Fried Squid with Runny Salted Egg ($ 14.80)
(Chef’s Recommendation)
Pan-​seared squids coated in savoury salted egg cream
This is the dish which everyone will sure to order when dining in this restaurant. Unlike the usual salted egg sotong which commonly used battered squid topped with salted egg sauce, here the squid is unbattered. This gives a chewy, sticky texture with the real salted egg taste in it.
Ka Nah Phat Pla ($ 8.80)
Stir-​fried kai lan with oyster sauce and salted fish
A simple green leafy vegetable with lots of meaty chunky salted fish in it, which adds flavours to the simple dish.
Phat Neua ($ 13.80)
Stir-​fried spicy sliced beef
Although it looks common, the thinly sliced beef has very tender texture, while soaking up the spicy and pepper flavours.
Clams Steamed and Simmered in THAI Beer Broth ($ 12.80)
(Chef’s Recommendation)
It smells very strong of alcohol when served. The broth is clear with just the fresh juicy black mussels in it, topped with some cilantro sprigs. One could feel the burning heat sensation of the alcohol as the broth flows down the throat. Super powerful. Si Bei Power Ah! Confirm not your usual soup!
Kang Ob Woon Sen ($ 15.80)
Fresh prawns simmered in THAI garlic and pepper sauce
Served in a metal claypot, with well braised tang hoon and lots of garlic cloves underneath the prawns. Interestingly the garlic used here are in whole cloves, instead of minced garlic, which I feel have not bring out the true flavour of garlic. Oddly the tang hoon leaves behind a slightly sweet aftertaste. Although peppercorn is used in the dish, one could not feel its fiery taste.
Lastly we are treated a range of desserts.
Molten Lava Cake ($ 8.80)
(Chef’s Recommendation)
(THAI Tea) or (Chocolate)
Baked to perfection with a warm lava centre oozing out jaggery sauce with choice of gelato
We have selected Thai Tea flavoured cake to be served with Vanilla gelato. Although the lava cake is served hot, there is no lava flow of its filling when cuts open. Inside it is filled with rich and thick condensed milk which barely flows. The cake itself is moist, soft and fluffly but one can barely taste the thai tea flavour in it.
Mango with Black Sticky Rice ($ 6.80)
(Tradition or Fusion)
In replace of the usual sticky rice, the fusion version served here is made to have the dessert served with Sticky Rice gelato. The sticky rice gelato seems to be white glutinous rice mixed with vanilla gelato. However due to the cold tempurature, the rice harden and has a texture similar to uncooked rice.
Green Curry Gelato with Sticky Rice ($ 8.80)
Spice up your tongue with our green curry gelato on black glutinous rice
The green curry gelato gives a blast of the curry taste which shakes me up. The taste is slightly balance off with the slightly sweet sticky rice.
Gelato ($ 3.00 Single scope/​$ 5.50 Double scope)
Palm Sugar, TOM YUM
From the first mouthful of TOM YUM gelato, I am hit with the full blast of the tom yum soup’s spicy and sour taste, which soon follows by a slight salty aftertaste.
The Palm Sugar gelato on the other hand has rich and creamy taste, which agrees with everyone’s palate.
Overall the meal has be