Kha Thai Restaurant, HortPark Singapore

Kha restaurant serves exquisite Thai street food – well that’s what the guide I picked up from the tourist information office says. I agree with exquisite, but it is hardly street food, the setting is beautiful and the prices are rather steeper than hawker centers.

I first spied Kha restaurant sparkling in the corner, lights reflecting on the infinity pool and twinkling amongst the vegitation when we went to a wedding reception at HortPark. Not long after that I went for a lunch time recky. Today I suggested it to my husband as a Monday lunch time treat. We were not disappointed.

We chose to sit outside amongst the greenery and the overhead fans as opposed to the icy cool interior (cool in both respects of the word). The food was amazing.

As a lover of Banana Flower salad I had to try the Deep Fried Banana Flower with sweet chili sauce – crisp and delicate in flavor rather like tempura. There wasn’t enough chili sauce for my liking but then I do rather like the stuff. Hubby had a favorite of ours, Larb Gai,  which is a minced chicken salad served with lettuce in which you wrap the chicken mixture in. We first tired Larb Gai in a Thai restaurant in Hong Kong when we were living there – a fiery concoction more than happy to blow your head off and clear the sinuses and despite that we kept going back for more. Here the salad reminded me more of a Vietnamese salad full of mint, coriander and lemon grass with just a hint of chili and a far more pleasant experience.

Our main courses consisted of Chicken Massaman Curry, another favorite of mine and something I try whenever I see it on the menu and a refreshing Char grilled Tiger Prawn with a Green Papaya Salad. I can not comment on the Prawn dish but as always with Massaman Curry I would have been happy with just a bowl of the sauce with a plate full of rice, although the chicken and pumkin in the sauce was yummy too.

The name HortPark makes you think there must be some stately pile existing somewhere around, sadly not. Opened in 2007 it's what's called a Gardening Hub, where research is carried out and garden ideas are exhibited year round in Chelsea Flower Show style gardens – or that’s the intention. In fact what is more interesting is it is part of the Park Connector system here in Singapore and connects Kent Ridge Park to Mount Faber all part of Singapore Southern Ridges. Southern Ridges, no, there are no mountains as such but it’s significant in the landscape as a hilly green belt of deserted plantations and rain forest full of wild life.

Kent Ridge Park is quite a lot older and has played a more important roll in Singapore’s history, a former British Fortress and the sight of a 48 hour battle between the Malay Regiment and the Japanese Army at the beginning of the Japanese invasion during World War 2. But more of that another day.