Long Lived Lunch Legend

We finally went to a very special restaurant on Sunday. It is not very special in general, but special to me. When we moved here and John had just started working at Ubisoft, he went to Holland Village with some of his new colleagues to eat at this thai restaurant called Nakhon Kitchen. When he came home the evening he told me about his lunch and the very good garlic chicken he had been eating. I was immediately intrigued since I am a huge chicken-fan.

Since then we have been to Holland Village on numerous occasions over the course of a full year. Every time we check if the queue is short enough for us to want to endure it. It is a popular place and people in Singapore like to queue, so much so that every time we have seen the line it has gone past the restaurant and out onto the street. We may be used to queuing by now but no way would be stand in line for more than ten minutes to get some food.

To our big surprise and my joy, at one o'clock on a Sunday, the line was almost non-existent. We hurried over and placed ourselves behind three groups of people. A worker handed us a menu, an order-chart and a sun-umbrella. We do not own sunbrellas but we have seen a lot of people using them in Singapore. This was the first time we used one and both of us liked it. We were already sweating from the normal heat but at least we did not have to wait in line while being burned by the sun. We decided on four dishes and a simple white rice each.

When it was our turn to be placed at a table we were given the worst, or the best, two seated table available. It was right behind the counter and next to the queue. At least it was in the shadow and at least we got a table. The music in this place was an odd choice; some kind of loud dance music. I was pleased to not sit right underneath a speaker. The table was stable but the plastic stool felt like it would break at anytime. Our drinks arrived and our rice arrived. Then came, not all at once but spread out as is custom in Singapore (and possibly other Asian countries as well), our garlic chicken, kai-lan with garlic and chili (it was too spicy for me), mango salad, which was literally a shredded mango with nuts and spices, and finally a tofu soup with small pieces of pork. This meal cost us twenty seven Sing-dollars and the restaurant did not even take tax. It was a great meal, we left full but not stuffed and everything was delicious (and spicy). I am so glad that I finally got to eat there!

I recommend keeping an eye out for this place. If you do not mind standing in a long line then head over right away. Personally I do not think it is quite worth a long wait in the blistering heat, but when a table is ready for you in less than fifteen minutes, it is absolutely worth it!