Affordable Thai food at Took Lae Dee, Tai Seng

Took Lae Dee is one of Thailand's most sought after 24hour chain outlet that serves authentic and traditional Thai food. Took Lae Dee opened its first overseas chain outlet in the East of Singapore and is smacked right in the middle of an industrial estate in Tai Seng. Yes it may be out of the way for some but this off the beaten location doesn't seem to stop hungry customers from indulging in some Thai goodness.

Although this is a self-service establishment, Took Lae Dee is perfect for a convenient and fresh meal on a busy work day, Took Lae Dee which literally means good and cheap in Thai, definitely lives up to its name. We were pretty impressed with the menu spread and its affordable pricing which are catered to people who are on a tight budget. Dishes are as low as $3.80, now isn't that a bang for the buck.

Even though they are a fast service restaurant, they do ensure food that is being served here are of the freshest quality. Every dish is made fresh to order so do be patient during rush hours.

We got two refreshing dish to start of with which definitely worked up an appetite. A Thai Spicy Vermicelli Salad($6.00) served with fresh prawns and minced pork and a classic Green Papaya Salad($6.00).

We've got to warn you, the Thais do take their chillies seriously. This is because the people behind Took Lae Dee really emphasises on authenticity and the spiciness level here is exactly how Thai people back home has it and is definitely not for the faint hearted souls who are horrible at enduring the heat.

Fortunately, they have a soothing Iced Milk Tea($2.80) to help ease the spiciness level. This happens to be their specialty too as the ice used are actually frozen tea cubes. That means that no matter how long you leave your tea untouched, it doesn't get diluted. You are also able to control the amount of sweetness as the sugar syrup is served on the side.

For those of you who are a fan of Pad Kaprow Moo/Gai(Thai Holy Basil Pork/Chicken) you are in for treat. This dish is priced at a steal of $3.80[without an egg]. What makes this dish different from any other place is that they use fresh Thai Holy Basil as opposed to other establishments which use generic sweet basil leaves instead. As mentioned above, Took Lae Dee really takes their traditional recipe seriously and they do pay every bit of attention to even the simplest of ingredients used such as these basil leaves.

Albeit the meat being a tad on the dry side and we wished for a runny egg yolk, who would complain with the price that's tagged on it.

Up next, a common dish you'd find in a Thai restaurant. This my friend, is our definition of a well stir fried chicken Pad Thai[$5.00].

For most of you who are a Pad Thai(Thai Fried Rice Noodles) enthusiast, you should know that there are two variations to this. One would be a bit wet in texture and the other would be stir fried till it's dry but still a tad moist. We'd say this falls more towards the second variation and it is exactly how we like our Pad Thai served which isn't overly sweet too which makes it even more pleasurable to eat.

This dish was the star of the night. A choice of either pork/chicken green curry($7.00), served with baby eggplants and Thai holy basil. It had the right volume of coconut milk incorporated in which didn't make it feel overly rich. If you are watching your carbohydrate intake, do forget it and please have a plate of rice with this. It's a match made in heaven. This wasn't overly spicy so I would say this is a safer dish to order if you can't handle spicy food.

They also serve other a la carte dishes such as Tom Yum Chicken/Seafood soup($6.80/$8.00).

There's also stir fried Thai Morning Glory($5.00) which you can order and share among your friends/families if you like to have some variety.

We ended our dinner with a traditional Thai mango sticky rice($3.80).

Unlike Took Lae Dee in Thailand that is opened 24/7, the one in Tai Seng is open from 11am to 9pm daily with its last order being taken at 8.30pm.

Rest assured that they are working on the operating hours to feed you night owls and having more outlets in areas which are more accessible.

Took Lae Dee

18 Tai Seng Street

#01-34/35/K9

Singapore 539775

Contact: +65 6272 2000

#TookLaeDee #TaiSeng #ThaifoodinSingapore #affordablefoodinsingapore