Food Review: Restaurant Khiri At Hamilton Road | Contemporary Thai Restaurant In Jalan Besar

Posted on October 29, 2023 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place One of my favourite new restaurants which opened in Singapore this year, I revisited Restaurant Khiri, formerly known as Restaurant Chedi located along Hamilton Road for its new second edition menu. The space of Khiri vs Restaurant Chedi has not changed much, where there are regular tables for small groups and couples, as well as a long counter seating.

The Food The new menu is a continuation of the restaurant’s pursuit to familiarise diners with the nuanced flavours of Thailand, delivered in a degustation format. While the first iteration acquainted diners with predominantly familiar classics, Head Chef Miller Mai is deepening his exploration into Thai dishes and ingredients in the new menu, where there is only one 8-course menu (S$148++ per person) for dinner.

Here is what to expect from the 8-course menu:

Miang kham I Wild betel leaf, Rayong Shrimp with Homemade Lemongrass Reduction
“Miang kham” means one bite snack in Thai and this appetiser is a nice balance of sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter flavours. I love the flavours along with the shrimp and it comes with an accompanying sweet, salty and mildly sour drink which consists of Thai tamarind, palm sugar, salt and soda water to cleanse the palate.

Kai pan ta-krai, Thod man goong | “Street Style Snacks” Lemongrass chicken & prawn cake with pickled shallot chilli
A duo combination of lemongrass chicken and prawn cake. I really love the delicious prawn cake made from Argentinian red prawns where the prawn cake is wrapped in yuba, or soymilk skin, then fried for an addictive crunch. It goes well with the accompanying spicy and sweet condiment sauces.

Let’s also not forget the lemongrass chicken which is brushed with coriander glaze and finished with finely sliced kaffir lime leaf and crispy mung beans.

Kaeng Liang Kao Phod | Hokkaido white corn soup with Scallop mousse & holy basil
A soup course is up next where the comforting white corn soup is served thick and meant to be like a mild curry. The Hokkaido scallops here are paired with a layer of scallop mousse, fresh dill and white corn.

Yum phonlamai ruam pla grob | Crispy fish roll, spicy mango salad with hazelnuts
A relatively light salad course, but still an appetising one. The mixed salad is tossed with various seeds and hazelnuts in a slightly tangy salad dressing which uses tamarind as the base.

The best part? That accompanying small bowl of crisp, delicate fish floss which is house made. Have the crispy fish floss bits with the salad for a nice crunchy texture.

Priaew waan sorbet | Soursop, pomelo, kaffir lime
A palate cleanser here with a sorbet of soursop with zest of kaffir lime and pomelo pulp on the top.

Pla kra pong daeng yang | Dry Aged Barramundi, Grilled Garlic Sprout & Zesty Thai Green Chili
The snapper here is dry aged for 2 days and then pan fried and finished over charcoal grill. It is served along with nam jim (a Thai seafood sauce), with garlic sprouts, ladyfinger and baby spinach. The overall flavours of this dish are slightly spicy and sour.

For mains, there is a choice between grilled Iberico pork or beef.

Esaan Kor moo yang | Grilled Iberico secreto, Esaan style
This is one of my favourite courses where Iberico secreto – a thin cut of meat between the shoulder blade and the loin – is marinated with a Northern Thai flavour combination of herbs and aromatics like coriander root and garlic. The delicious pork is then charred over charcoal flames and basted with palm sugar for a subtle sweetness and caramelisation. It is very tender as well, and it does not need any extra condiments to taste good.

Kaeng massaman sikhrong nuea thoon | Slow-Cooked Angus Beef Short Ribs (additional supplement of S$22)
Alternatively, beef lovers can opt for the beef short ribs where Australian Angus beef is brined for 12 hours and slow cooked for another 12 hours in the massaman paste. The resulting texture of the beef is a fall-off-the-fork tenderness.

If you still have space, there are also optional add-ons like Chedi signature salted fish fried rice with 6 month cured threadfin, crabmeat and tobiko (S$14 per bowl, minimum order 2 bowls). You get an umami flavours of the sea from the cured threadfin and tobiko, where the fried rice is fragrant with hints of ‘wok hei’.

Kaeng buad phueak chor pha-ga | Silky purple yam paste served warm with palm sugar dumpling & our house churned coconut ice cream
For dessert, I had the Kaeng buad phueak chor pha-ga, a steamed dumpling made of glutinous rice flour stuffed with palm sugar along with a creamy yam paste.

This is accompanied by the homemade coconut ice cream on the side in a separate bowl. Not too sweet overall, and it tastes better when I mixed the coconut ice cream with the yam paste.

Rants It is a pity that the restaurant is not opened for lunch at the moment.

Will I Return Again? Elevated Thai food is not that common in Singapore and the flavours at Khiri are robust and good. If you love Thai food and want a more elevated dining experience, this restaurant is worth a try.

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

Make your reservations instantly at Restaurant Khiri here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 4/5