HUE Review: New Modern Thai Restaurant In Singapore With Pretty Interiors & Lights That Change Colour Daily
Singapore has no shortage of great Thai eateries, but if you feel a hankering for Thai food with a unique twist in a stylish setting, look to HUE, a new modern Thai restaurant at Lavender.
The restaurant takes its name from the Thai word for 'hungry' and has incorporated the colour theme in the form of changing lights that follow the lucky colour of the day in Thai culture. Conceived by a group of friends including a chef and two Thai nationals, HUE serves Thai dishes we know and love made with contemporary cooking styles.
Ambience at HUE
Photo from HUE
These days, it's almost mandatory for new restaurants to have stylish interiors, and HUE is no exception. The restaurant takes on a sleek and modern cave-like setting with a homey touch. Domed arches, glowing lights and grey textured walls create a cosy, relaxed ambience that's enlivened with colourful tiles and botanical elements.
In line with the hue theme, the bar counter lights change colour every day.
Photo from HUE
There are also little nooks for photo ops like the 'the hunger is real' neon sign and a wall with a minimalist mural of elephants.
Photo from HUE
Photo from HUE
Food at HUE
Each diner will be served a complimentary appetiser, Melon First, a delightful watermelon snack topped with salted fish, crispy fried shallots and sugar.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
HUE's dishes often have little interactive elements like with the Pulps Garden ($18), a pomelo and Tiger prawn salad that you can mix in and toss with the peanuts, shallots and chilli. This was quite the addictive starter that we gobbled up in no time, albeit a little pricey for what it is.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Another sharing plate to try is the Oychestra ($18 for 3 pcs; $32 for 6 pcs; $60 for 12 pcs), a plate of fresh Irish oysters topped with three different Thai dressings. Tip: try them in this order - lemongrass and beetroot, coriander, and pineapple - from mildest to strongest flavours.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
If you'd rather stick to the classics, go for the cheekily named Three Little Pigs ($19). The roast pork belly is coated with a spicy and aromatic sauce made of garlic, coriander and white pepper.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Another one to try is the Garlilicious Prawn ($28), a row of Tiger prawns that were fresh and grilled to a perfect doneness. It was doused with a delicious sauce with a prominent mushroom flavour.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
On the mains section are dishes like the Paper Fish ($23 for 180g; $45 for 360g), a whole fillet of Barramundi oven-baked in parchment paper. This cooking method retains the juices of the fish and locks in the aromas of the Thai herbs and spices.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
If you're in the mood for something light and clean-tasting, this tender Thai-style fish is the one to order.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Next is the highlight of our meal, the Moocano ($23) which is HUE's rendition of the Thai street snack moo ping aka barbecue pork skewers. This version has chargrilled pork glazed with an in-house golden brown lava sauce sitting on sticky glutinous rice. The generous chunks of tender pork were missing that smokey flavour, but the lovely sweet and savoury sauce as well as the chewy glutinous rice made up for it.
It's served with more lava sauce on the side and a spicy cilantro dip.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
A HUE Original dish that's recommended is Not a Tom Yum ($19), a hot and spicy soup that's, as its name literally says, not actually tom yum soup but inspired by it.
The soup is served separately in a little jug and poured over the prawns. It also comes with fried omelette on the side. As promising as this dish looked, it didn't compare to good ol' tom yum soup. It had a little of that familiar Thai taste and packed a spicy punch, but took on a strong prawny flavour that overpowered the other ingredients, rendering it a one-dimensional prawn mee-like soup.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Another restaurant-befitting version of Thai street food, Wrap It Up ($19) is a deconstructed kway teow lui suan (Thai fresh spring rolls with herbs) that diners can customise to their liking. The condiments include butterhead lettuce, sautéed minced pork, coriander, roasted peanuts and chopped chilli.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
This simple yet highly satisfying dish had light aromatic flavours - perfect for occasions when you're craving something non-jelak that you can gobble up easily. It was delicious on its own and also fun to wrap in the lettuce for more refreshing bites.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
If you have tummy space to spare, HUE has a line-up of modern Thai-inspired desserts to fill it up.
The Tea-ramisu ($14) replaces coffee with Thai milk tea in lady finger biscuits, and decorated with mascarpone and rich ganache. While I appreciate the creativity and pretty plating, this is an example of when an idea sounds better in theory. The biscuits had a soggy texture from being soaked in Thai milk tea, which was also a letdown as it tasted heavily diluted.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Another beautifully plated dessert is the Ong Lai ($15), a deconstructed pineapple tart with a whole slice of sweet pineapple on top of tart crumbs. This was an OK dessert that had a novelty appeal, but I would have preferred an actual buttery tart instead of crumbs for a base. Its spotlight was stolen by the unique Thai chilli vanilla ice cream - an unlikely fusion that surprisingly worked!
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
The dessert we enjoyed most was the Sohm Choon ($15), lychee shaved ice with sweet and sour fruits, ginger and peanuts.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Keep an open mind when dining at HUE, as its offerings are quite different from the usual Thai fare we're used to. If you're feeling bored with your usual food roster and in the mood for some (pleasant) surprises, you know where to plan your meal!
HUE
Address: 123 Tyrwhitt Rd, Singapore 207549 (Nearest MRT Stations: Farrer Park, Bendemeer & Lavender)
Opening hours: Closed on Mondays; Tues & Wed: 6 - 10pm; Thurs: 12 - 3pm, 6 - 10.30pm; Fri & Sat: 12 - 3pm, 6 - 11pm; Sun: 12 - 3pm, 6 - 10.30pm
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Photos by: Karmen
