My Dad first brought me to Bei Sheng’s old outlet at Sembawang Shopping Centre’s food court just 7 or 8 years ago and it left a deep impression on us for its Thai-Chinese tze char dishes. Best of all, it won’t burn a hole in your pocket. Today, Bei Sheng or Taste of Thailand as commonly known, has expanded to a restaurant outlet situated in the hustling and bustling Chong Pang market in Yishun.
Throughout the years of my working life, I had dined at Bei Sheng numerous times esp. during the days when I was working at Chong Pang area so the restaurant never failed to remind me of the happy makan times I had with my then boss and colleagues. Life seemed so much simpler before and a meal at Bei Sheng was like a luxury splurge for lunch.
Tom yum soup
It was a bowl filled with plenty of fresh prawns, squids, fish slices and button mushrooms. It was sour and slightly spicy. Perfect to stimulate those taste buds for more to come. The soup was more orangey in colour and not clear like most tom yum soups. Probably more of a local version as I didn’t see any trace of those Thai small chillies.
Crispy squids
I loved the way the squids were cut in slices, unlike calamaris that usually come in rings. The batter wasn’t oily and heavy and in fact, tasted light enough to be a snack on its own. The squids were slightly chewy but not hard at all. A very decent dish indeed.
Prawn paste chicken
Only the mid-joints were used. Chicken were nicely fried and were juicy. Only downside was that the prawn paste tasted a little weak so they were more like normal chicken wings than actual har cheong kai. However, I still enjoyed them because they weren’t very oily. Just look at the base of the plate.
Fried fish with special Thai chilli sauce
The fish was deep fried very thoroughly and was so crispy that you can just crack the cheek and head and chew on them immediately. In fact, the other parts of the fish like the side fins could also be eaten. Just beware there could be some huge bones hanging around. Crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. My advice is to eat this immediately when it is served as it doesn’t taste as good when cooled and use the chilli sauce as a dipping sauce so do not pour them over the fish as it will soften the skin.
Kailan with oyster sauce
The vegetables managed to maintain its crispness. Just a very normal dish. We ordered not because it was very special but we just wanted some greens to go with the meal.
Pineapple rice
A very interesting version of pineapple rice. Firstly, the rice looked artificially yellow but it tasted really good. Fried with lup cheong and topped with floss. This rice went well with all the dishes ordered. For aesthetic reasons, they should consider serving the rice in a pineapple to make it look even more appetizing.
For three persons, it only cost us less than $13 per pax. Definitely a value-for-money meal.
