Food Review: Baan Ying at Royal Square Novena | The Great Baan Ying Brunch for a buffet spread of Thai food

Posted on March 16, 2019 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place I rarely see Thai restaurants in such a spacious and brightly lit setting, at least not in Singapore. I finally checked out Baan Ying Singapore located at Royal Square in Novena, a Thai brand which originated from Bangkok. Baan Ying started out as a small Thai eatery back at Bangkok’s Siam Square in 1999, before expanding to seven outlets in Bangkok. Singapore is their first overseas outlet, which is a beautiful space in Novena.

The Food Other than its usual ala carte menu, I checked out the restaurant on a Saturday for The Great Baan Ying Brunch, a weekend semi- buffet concept. Priced at S$38.80++ per person, it includes a buffet spread of 12 to 15 appetisers, sides and desserts on rotation each week. You can then select a main course as part of the semi-buffet, from the likes of Angus Beef Steak to Bone-in Iberico Pork Chop.

The appetisers on rotation during my visit include the likes of homemade Nam Prik (traditional Thai dip), DIY Som Tum (Thai salad station), Tom Yum Chicken Soup, Pineapple Curry with Pork Belly, Fried Omelette and Crispy Fish Flakes.

The appetisers spread is pretty decent for the price of the buffet, with a good mix of salad, meats, vegetables and soup. Some standouts for me are the Tom Yum Soup and Crispy Fish Flakes.

For mains, I opted for the Angus Beef Steak which is served along with Isaan inspired sauces. It is quite a decent portion which I estimate to be at least 150g. The beef is cooked to medium by default, though my preference is usually medium-rare. It might be because it was too well done, hence I didn’t find that it was particularly succulent. Perhaps I should have gone with a Thai selection for the mains instead, including the Norweigian Salmon Fillet With Crispy Thai Herbs or the Large River Prawns. My fellow diner was not quite impressed with their selection of the Bone In Iberico Pork Loin as well.

For desserts, expect the likes of Thai Ruby and Coconut Jelly. The Thai Ruby is surprisingly not that sweet, while I would recommend adding more ice into the Coconut Jelly to lessen its sweetness.

Rants We like the Thai selections on the buffet spread, but their mains did not seem to impress.

Will I Return Again? Not for the buffet spread as with the rants, while the buffet selections were accomplished, the mains fell short. Having said, we would be more keen to visit Baan Ying for its ala-carte menu soon again as we heard positive reviews of them.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

Make your reservations instantly at Baan Ying Singapore here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 3/5