Appreciators of Thai food now have a new outpost to satiate their cravings with the arrival of HUE in the eclectic city fringe neighborhood of Lavender.
Taking its name from the Thai word for hungry, HUE brings a modern Thai dining experience with recipes plucked from a royal Thai recipe book and modernized with contemporary cooking styles. Dishes here are innovative while retaining the cultural roots of Thai food. Born from the collective passion of a group of friends – a chef, two Thai nationals, and a medley of interior designers – HUE is a coming together of authentic Thai cuisine in a refined setting, where interior design matches flavor and food for an all-encompassing experience.
A Taste of Modern Thai
True to its Thai heritage, every visit to HUE begins with an amuse-bouche of Melon First, a refreshing watermelon snack, brined with salted fish, fried shallots, and sprinkled with sugar. Crisp and refreshing, it makes for the perfect welcome dish to cool down the body in Singapore’s hot sweltering weather while revving up the appetite ahead of the dining experience at HUE.
Appetizers bring sweet seafood to savory meats galore.
The Oychestra presents a symphony of fresh Irish oysters ($18 for 3pcs; $32 for 6pcs; $60 for 12pcs) topped with three different Thai dressings lemongrass and beetroot, coriander, as well as pineapple. Eat them in the order of lemongrass first for a refreshing and mildly spicy mouthful before moving on to the coriander variety for a sour and spicy kick. Finish off with the pineapple that wraps things up with a sweet fruity profile.
What The Fish! ($24) marries freshly cut raw fish of kingfish and salmon together on the same plate, topped off with fish roe for bursts of flavor and crispy pork crackling for crunch. Pick from a coriander dressing for a spicy and sour punch; the larb, a rice powder base dressing with the best sweet and sour profiles; or mix them both together and eat it for a fish appetizer that ignites all your tastebuds in one mouthful.
Pork lovers will relish the Three Little Pigs ($19), which sees oven-roasted crispy pork belly elevated with a quick stir fry together with three primary Thai herbs and spices garlic, coriander, and white pepper. Those who prefer prawns will find satisfaction in the Garlilicious Prawn ($28) of grilled fresh Tiger prawns, drizzled with a special fragrant truffle sauce and tossed with chopped garlic for a veil of earthiness.
Other appetizers include the Pulps Garden ($18), a refreshing pomelo salad sure to whet appetites with crunchy peanuts, crispy shallots, fresh Tiger prawns, and a sprinkling of chopped chili.
Chicken Nest ($18), crispy fried wings coated with a duo-combo of Thai sweet chili and herbs.
Dip Fried ($15), seasonal vegetable fritters that serve up a major crunch factor with a Thai sweet peanut sauce.
HUE Original
What is a Thai restaurant without tom yum, but rest assured HUE doesn’t just do your run-of-the-mill tom yum? Instead, it offers Not a Tom Yum ($19), a hot and spicy soup inspired by the flavor profiles of a Southern Thailand recipe, served with lashings of smokiness from charred seafood and fragrant spices. As its name suggests, do not mistake it for tom yum even if it might be reminiscent of it – instead, savor its unique sour and spice that borrows an incomparable savouriness from generous seafood cooked in a thick prawn-based broth, made unforgettable with a medley of Thai herbs, with a side of the deep-fried omelet.
To Follow
Mains tempt aplenty with quintessentially Thai favorites, modernized with unique touches.
The Moocano ($23) for example, is a fresh take on the street snack Mooping grilled pork collar. HUE reiterates it as a sticky glutinous rice dish served with chargrilled pork glazed with an in-house golden brown lava sauce. Upon serving, more lava sauce is poured over rice and pork, with an option of cilantro dipping on the side to add spice to the meat.
The Paper Fish ($23 for 180g; $45 for 360g) serves up a whole fillet of Barramundi oven-baked in parchment paper. This cooking method not only retains the juices of the fish but also locks in the aromas of the Thai herbs and spices that are thoroughly rubbed into the fish before baking.
A fun option comes with the Wrap It Up ($19), HUE’s own rendition of popular street food in Thailand, the Kway Teow Lui Suan (Thai fresh spring rolls with herbs), that you can put together in a wrap with your choice of condiments including butterhead lettuce, sauteed minced pork, coriander, roasted peanuts, and chopped chili.
The Bullseye ($35) cooked up grain-fed Angus rib-eye marinated with cilantro taste for a Thai take on the steak before chargrilling it to perfection.
The Mamasan ($25) simmers a whole chicken leg to perfection in a rich massaman sweet curry before serving it up with roti prata.
Those looking for a taste of the quintessential pad thai will find it with the Padthai Remix ($21), a deconstructed version of the popular Thai street noodles. The usual suspects of classic pad thai ingredients like rice noodles, Tiger prawns, fried egg, crispy wonton skin, tofu, beansprout, roasted peanuts, and chili flakes are served as separate entities, which diners then mix together on their own as an insight into the components that make up this popular dish. A spritz of lime juice completes the experience before they can dig in.
For a spot of greens, the Green and Curry ($18) reinterpret the popular green curry dish as a vegetarian version, with chargrilled vegetables including zucchini, King oyster mushroom, cherry tomatoes, long beans, and baby corn lending the bulk of the flavor as opposed to chicken, pork or beef.
To Finish
For a sweet end, one can go no wrong with the Sohm Choon ($15), a sweet and refreshing summer dessert made from sweet and sour fruits including lychee puree, lime zest, and orange wedges and ginger, piled under lychee shaved ice. A sprinkling of crunchy peanuts lends texture and fragrance to a dessert that is big on taste and bites.
The Tea-ramisu ($14) is another stellar option, recreating the ramisu with Thai milk tea instead of coffee, but proving just as satisfying with ladyfinger biscuits, mascarpone, and rich ganache.
THE HUNGER IS REAL
HUE gets hungry on both food and design, with a clever play of light and color to tell its story.
It is dressed in pale blue, a nod to waterfalls as per Thai culture’s homage to water as a symbol of life, and punctuated by warm glowing lights that light up its facade like a lantern along Tyrwhitt Road.
Enter through the main door of rusted copper, indicative of the experience that lies ahead – the solid door handle reflects the firm handshakes that will welcome all guests while the metallic finish gleams in quiet subtlety as a hint to the modern Thai menu within.
Inside, its cave-like main dining hall invites diners to uncover its Thai dishes like the hidden gems that they are while Thai iconographies from colorful Thai patterns to regal elephants bring one right into the Kingdom of new Thailand. More colorful tiles, botanical elements, and mirrors spruce up the space, centered around a neon sign that reads “tHe hUnger is rEal” which conveys the brand name and coinciding message: Hue, which means hungry in Thai.
Guests will not want to miss the chance to photograph the bar counter which changes color daily, as per the Thai culture to assign a color to a different day of the week to garner blessings from the heavens.
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ADDRESS TELEPHONE OPERATING HOURS
NEAREST MRT |
123 Tyrwhitt Rd, Singapore 207549 9018 0992
Farrer Park MRT, Bendemeer MRT |
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WEBSITE RESERVATION
FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM |
https://www.hueoriginal.com/make-a-reservation
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