(Closed) Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe – Royal Square Novena

(Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe has since ceased operations.)

Opened by the same folks behind Baan Ying which is also located in the same building, Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe had silently opened its doors for its soft launch amidst the publicity of Baan Ying’s opening on social media.

Located on the first level of Royal Square Novena, Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe is pretty hard to miss being visible from the main road. The decor theme here pretty much replicates the streets of Thailand, with metallic tables and stools used for the dine-in area of the space. We visited Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe during its soft launch period; the menu consists of only noodles and toast dishes alongside a variety of beverages to go along.

(Tom Yum Noodles – Dry)

Going for the dry version of the Tom Yum Noodles, it is noted that patrons have the option of adding an onsen egg or lava egg at an additional cost; patrons can also go for their choice of noodles here, with options such as Thai stick noodles and Mee Pok forming just a few choices of noodles that one can choose from. For our order, we went for the thin egg noodles; overall the bowl of noodles felt a tad bland, missing of the flavour of the stock that other places that serve similar fare tend to carry or any hint of Tom Yum flavour. The noodles were also a tad soft; could have been better if it were to be springier. The noodles came with other condiments such as chili flakes, fish balls, fish cake, pork slices and minced pork ball — most of them were pretty decent, but our favourite has to be the minced pork ball; flavourful, tender and soft without being porky. The wanton skin that came on the side did felt a little stale, though still largely retaining its crispness.

(Kaya Toast – Pandan)

We also tried the Kaya Toast — available in both Thai Milk Tea and Pandan flavours, we went for the Pandan variant; the bread served is pretty identical to those served at local joints like Ya Kun being light and airy. The bread itself was not too heavy as a dessert option, though we would ideally prefer it to have come with white bread in the same style as the Shibuya toast that other places would typically serve theirs. The Pandan Kaya dip was suitably sweet — though the flavours are somewhat tuned down; easily fixed by smothering more of that dip onto the cubes of bread itself.

While still at the initial stage of their soft launch, the food at Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe felt like it could have done with a little bit more heart — the noodles felt as though it could have had a better texture, while the flavours were pretty lacking; the toast was decent but there are many other places which does it better than them. Perhaps Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe may have to take a look at what they have to offer, and refine the recipes of their offerings to stand out from the crowd — the Thai food scene is pretty competitive of the late, especially with so many new Thai concepts opening across the island recently.

Dink Dink Thai Street Cafe
103 Irrawaddy Road
#01-08 Royal Square Novena
Singapore 329566

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dinkdinksg/