Eat and Run

When the boys were younger, they looked forward to after-school lunch treats at Thai Express. We must have been there a zillion times yet we had only ordered the same few dishes - seafood padthai, soft shell crab in curry sauce and tomyum soup.

Now that they're in different schools and I don't pick them up anymore, we've also stopped going to Thai Express.

For dinner last Friday, I wanted to bring CH to the authentic Thai restaurant in Hougang called Nakhon Kitchen. We arrived at 6.45pm to find a long line waiting to be seated. The food there is really good and prices are reasonable.

Instead of joining the queue, we walked over to Thai Express at Hougang Mall. We were seated immediately and the food was served quickly too. I think the cooks at this outlet are more skillful because the dishes seem better than the other branches.

The mango salad was so fresh, we could feel hear the crunch of the sliced shallots and mango sticks with every bite. The sauce was perfect.

When I saw this new item on the menu - minced chicken with basil and century egg - I knew I had to try. Here, the century egg is deep fried (I think) before being added to the saucy chicken. It's a weird combination but it works. We both liked it.

What's Thai food without green curry? The one we had (chicken green curry) was sweet, coconutty and flavourful.

We left the restaurant with a warm and full tummy. The dinner was a very satisfying one. Luckily I got to burn off all those calories on Sunday morning, during the 10k Jurong Lake Run.

We picked this race because of the scenic route. Indeed, we ran through the Chinese and Japanese Gardens but I must say it's not easy to appreciate the beauty around you when you're hot, thirsty and tired.

I only managed to enjoy the Garden after the race, when I was walking back to the car.