Folks Collective's Soft Launch (China Square Central) | ThumbsForFood

Folk's collective is a new restaurant in China Square Central. It is opened by my Thai friend, Akira Monthienvichienchai whose dream is to set up his own restaurant. I was honored to be able to visit the restaurant during their opening. 

When you walk pass the restaurant, you will definitely be attracted by the restaurant's decor. It's interior is inspired from a vintage market in Bangkok. Hence, the mismatched furniture, vintage posters and reminiscent displays around the restaurant.  Do note that I was there for the soft launch and there are actually more dishes in the actual menu! 

I particularly like the medicinal hall drawers display that was fixed into the wall. We were wondering whether it was actually real drawers. And, yes! They are actually usable drawers that you can pull out the different compartments. 

Medicinal Hall Drawers

Interior of the shop

Vintage paintings on the wall

The food they serve are Thai food and some dishes are fusion of Thai and other cuisines. Let me introduce you the various dishes we tried! Prices of the dishes vary from $5 to about $20. I feel that the price is reasonable for the quality of food.  

The Green Curry Chicken ($8.90) can be seen below. For those who like green curry, I would say this is a must try. You can see that the bowl is overflowing with ingredients like brinjal, chicken and spices. This dish is not spicy, so, for those who can't take spicy food, try this. The coconut milk taste is not too overpowering so it suits my palate. This dish goes really well with rice!

Green Curry (kaeng khiao wan)

We were given free flow lemongrass tea ($3.20) that day as their opening special. But, we couldn't help it but order our own cup of Thai Milk Iced Tea! It's $3.90 for a cup. The cup is specially purchased to go with the restaurant's theme. The Thai Milk Iced tea is really refreshing. As I am not a lemongrass fan, I would choose the milk tea over the lemongrass drink.

Thai Iced Milk Tea and Lemongrass Tea

The mini bucket of chicken drumsticks were free flow that day. On the actual menu, it would be sold at $6.90 per mini bucket. We liked the marinade and the sauce drizzled over the drums. A great appetizer to whet your appetites.

Bucket of mini drums

The dish below is cereal prawns ($18.90) fried with thai basil leaves. The prawns are fried well and since they are fresh, the shells don't stick to the meat. Having said that, I would definitely appreciate more cereal atop the prawns!

Cereal Prawns

Thai Style BBQ chicken (Gai Yang) was another dish on their mains. This dish is $14. I would say the price is reasonable for the portion of the meat. I would say this dish is less special than the rest but, if you're a fan of chicken do try this. Dip the chicken in the sauce served with it which will bring out the flavor of the meat.

Thai style BBQ chicken (Gai Yang)

The mango salad with soft shell crab is $12 and was recommended by Akira. I got to say the mango salad is really nice! The mango salad is not overly unripe and thus, not too sour. The soft shell crab was fried well and tasty.

Mango salad with soft shell crab

One of their fusion dishes is the one below. It is the Siam Spaghetti at $8.90. It is something like an Aglio Olio fried with basil leaves, chili and garlic. I would say the dish is really quite different. For me, I would say it's an innovative creation. As I am not a fan of basil, I guess I won't be choosing this dish next time.

Siam Spaghetti

What is Thai food without the fame Tom Yum Goong ($8.90)? They have the one that is plain based and the one with coconut milk. My preference is the plain-based one below. It is served with prawns, mushrooms, fish and spices. I think it's not too spicy. The flavor of the tom yum is really fragrant.

Tom Yum Goong

We tried 2 desserts on the menu that day! The desserts are priced below $10.

The Ice cream Kati ($4.90) is coconut icecream topped with some nuts. The base has sticky glutinous rice which suprisingly goes extremely well with the icecream. Even though I'm not a coconut fan, I love the dessert! Do try it if you're there.

Ice cream Kati- Coconut Ice Cream

Thai tea-infused brownie ($5.90) is the other dessert we tried. The thai tea flavor in the brownie is subtle but quite unique. Intriguing taste I would say!

If you're looking for a new Thai restaurant, do try out Folks Collective for their classic Thai dishes and innovative Thai fusion dishes! :) And you'll definitely enjoy the ambience and the decor that is carefully thought through by the owner of the shop! If you're curious as to why it's called Folks Collective, do ask the people there!

For those who are interested in cocktails, they do serve alcohol and unique cocktails priced below $20!

Folks Collective
20 Cross Street

China Square Central
#01-25
Singapore 048422

6536 6739
www.folkscollective.com

Love, Y