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Millenia Walk has recently
undergone some exciting changes: on 28 July 2000, ‘Time 2 ’was launched with
great revelry, feasting and performances by local celebrities. Referring to the
stretch from Paulaner Brauhaus leading up to the main Millenia Walk complex and
flanked by Conrad International on one side, Time 2 has transformed this private
street into a new dining location boasting 11 international food and beverage
outlets. This street also features a ‘park and dine’ concept where visitors
can drive up and park in front of the restaurants. Come with our reviewer as he
tries out one of the new restaurants along this new private dining street.
You may be forgiven for not having heard of The Blue
Elephant, but now that you have, there is absolutely no reason not to make that
trip down to the recently opened Thai restaurant tucked snugly along Millennia
Walk’s newly revamped ‘boardwalk’. Spoting a clean, understated look with
its simple decor, we were pleasantly surprised by the culinary flair that was
unveiled. Tempered with the unmistakable flavours of Thai spices, The Blue
Elephant is set to create an identity that would boast its truly authentic Royal
Thai cuisine.
The restaurant’s friendly menu has iconic blue
elephants to signify the chef’s
recommendations, and fiery red elephants to
denote the level of spiciness, which is arguably one of the most common queries.
Deciding on starters can be difficult, but here we decided to stray from the
norm and ordered what seemed unusual on the menu. A definite must is the Yum Som-Oh,
which is an exotic pomelo salad mixed with chicken, prawns, coconut, chilli and
lime juice. This unusual but refreshing salad dish with chunks of fresh pomelo
can, however, cause quite a stir, especially if you bite into the small,
inconspicuous slices of chilli padi amongst the morsels of chicken and prawns.
Alongside the salad, we tucked into Tod Mun Goong, Thai prawn cakes, and Tom Yum
Talay, the renowned seafood tom yum soup. 
The prawn cakes, moist and filled with
tender pieces of prawns, were a hearty and fresh alternative to the usual fish
cakes found on most Thai menus. The hot and spicy soup is a must-have for
die-hard Tom Yum soup lovers, with its succulent seafood, but be warned, it has
three fiery red elephants on the menu!
For the main course, The Blue Elephant’s menu takes
you
through its selection of seafood specials (fish, prawns, squid and
shellfish), meat selections (beef, pork and chicken), curry dishes, vegetables
and beancurd, and rice and noodles. What is unusual but interesting on the menu
is the BBQ Thai Style, which has both seafood and meat selections.
However, being faced with such a menu can be a bane,
but we were lucky to have the very affable assistant restaurant manager, Ms
Sarah Anne McCall-Naidu, and one of the three owners of the restaurant, Mr Eddie
Tan, on hand to make recommendations.
There is nothing quite alluring as the Pla Kao Sam Rod
— deep fried fresh whole garoupa served with a special Thai chilli sauce. This
was served together with Gaeng Ped Gai, Nuer, Moo or Goong — their famous
spicy green curry with a choice of chicken, beef, pork or prawn. We chose
chicken and were not disappointed; this delectable curry goes extremely well
with steaming hot rice. The combination of these two dishes simply released a
surge of flavours in our mouths which had us craving for more! As there is only
a limited quantity anyone can consume in one sitting, we recommend sampling
their signature dishes, and trying their other dishes on your subsequent visits,
which you will definitely be making after having tasted what the restaurant has
to offer.
We were planning to pass up on dessert, but on the
assistant manager’s assurance that it would not be heavy, which most other
Thai desserts tend to be, we decided to try the Khow Neow Ma Muang, which is
fresh mango slices served with glutinous rice, and the unavoidable Red Ruby, Tub
Tim Grob. Rather than an attack of cloying sweetness, both desserts offered a
delicate sensation on our palate. However, I must say that it was the Khow Neow
Ma Muang which won us over and served as a great finale to a truly enjoyable
meal.
Although the menu does not have a vegetarian
selection, we were assured that they would try to cater to customers’ needs
and whip up their famous spicy green curry minus the meat!
The Blue Elephant is set to open up more ambrosial
possibilities for individuals who love to dine out. For those who love Thai
cuisine, this restaurant is definitely worth a visit!
The Blue Elephant
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-06/09 Millenia Walk
Singapore 039596
Tel: 438 4888
Anil Changaroth
Lim & Lim
The Blue Elephant —
Royal Thai Cuisine