Simply Thai 天泰, At Chamtime Plaza, Pudong, Surprisingly Authentic And Delish - Shanghai, China

Whenever I am overseas, I tend to look for something local. This round when I was at Shanghai, I tried a Thai restaurant, Simply Thai 天泰. A cuisine that is close to the heart of many Singaporean. And I was surprised to find that it tasted rather authentic.

Simply Thai is found throughout Shanghai. One of the most prominent outlet is at Xintiandi. I patronised the one at Chamtime Plaza in Pudong instead as it was closest to our office. By the way, there are many restaurants in this mall too. The other we tried were Nice Meeting You and Pizza Marzano.

View from the facade of Simply Thai didn’t suggest it was a huge space, partly contributed by the high ceiling too. The restaurant was divided into 2 section with different design theme. The first part was smaller and the feel was warm and cosy. The second part was bigger and due to the neon blue light it looks funky.

A good starter for about 4 diners or more is the Simply Platter Family Size, Simply Hors D’ oeuvre 天泰特色拼盘 (RMB 128). An assortment of Thai Fishcake, Spring roll, Summer Roll, Pandan Chicken and crackers & peanuts. Each and every item on the platter was delish.

Tom Yum Seafood Soup Small, Tom Yum Taley (Lek) 海鲜冬荫汤 (RMB 50) was with sufficient Lemongrass and various other spices. It has a good punch of sour and spicy taste.

Morning Glory with Dried Shrimps & Chilli, Pak Boong Fai Dang 泰酱空心菜 (RMB 49) is a classic dish that is unique to the Southeast Asia region. In the China region, this vegetable is always cooked with fermented beancurd. I didn’t expect the sambal used in the dish to taste closely like what we have in Singapore.

For Mains, we ordered the Pineapple Rice, Khow Pad Sap Pa Rot 菠萝炒饭 (RMB 75). Comparatively, the Pineapple Rice wasn’t as tasty as the one I have tried in Singapore. It seems that lacking of tumeric flavours and fish sauce.

Rounding up our meal with the Coconut & Sago Pudding, Kha Nom Ta Koo 香兰西米布丁(RMB 25 for 5). It was as good as the one we could get from Singapore and Thailand. The lightly sweetened sago topped with the coconut fragrance-filled cream was perfect.