Thanying Restaurant @ Amara Sanctuary

The second installation of my mini Sentosa food trial brought me to Thanying Restaurant at Amara Sanctuary Resort. Famed for its authentic Thai food that is also served to the Thai Royal Family, Thanying is also unfortunately known for its steep prices to boot.

Thanying is housed in a classy standalone unit reminiscent of a small chapel with its wooden arches and high ceilings, just across from the main lobby of Amara Sanctuary. Huge wooden frame windows offer a clear view of the surroundings and time slows to a crawl in this beautiful and relaxing space. However conversation can be a little restrained as a blanket of silence covers the whole area, probably due to the lack of customers on a Saturday evening.

Tom Yam Goong - Tom yam soup is one of the hallmarks of Thai cuisine and Thanying's rendition of this ubiquitous dish was nothing short of excellent. The soup was sweet, salty and spicy all at the same time and the spice hits you smack at the back of your throat. The taste of lemongrass permeated through rather strongly and I'm guessing thats due to the use of fresh lemongrass instead of the dried ones.

Kai Jiaw Moo Sub (Fried Egg with Minced Pork) - Its really strange to be ordering fried omelette in a Thai restaurant or in any fine dining place for that matter but I couldn't resist the promise of juicy minced pork covered with a crisp layer of frothy egg sinfully deep fried in high temperature oil. Call it comfort food if you wish. The only downside to this dish was of course the excessive oil, which rendered me nauseous after a while due to the huge portions. And its $16 mind you.

Gai Hor Bai Toey (Pandan Leaf Chicken) - Another quintessential dish in Thai cuisine, the pieces of pandan chicken were quite a size and crispy on the outside while remaining tender and moist on the inside. There was a light hint of pandan taste as well, which gave the chicken a nice faintly sweet edge.

Pineapple Rice - What I found interesting about the pineapple rice was the presence of curry powder, or at least the taste of curry powder. I liked this dish for the fact that it was nicely done without being too dry even after being laden with pork floss but I did think that the chicken cubes that came alongside were overly dry and tough.

Pad Thai - Thanying serves up the drier version of Pad Thai, which I personally prefer. However I did find the fish sauce on this one rather overwhelming or maybe its just me being overly sensitive. I appreciated the relatively generous servings of prawns and chicken cubes though.

With the bill just over $108 for 2 pax, this is one expensive and belly bursting Thai experience. Food quality is consistently decent but not exactly fantastic. Service is excellent though and professional to say the least. If your pockets are as shallow as mine and you want a decent romantic dinner at Sentosa, Thanying might just be a viable option, considering that the other "fine dining" restaurants on the island could set you back by at least twice the amount.

See all my pictures here.