Restaurant Chedi, a contemporary Thai restaurant located in Jalan Besar along Hamilton Road, formally opened its doors on 17 February 2023. The laidback, understatedly sophisticated restaurant takes its name from the Thai word for “monument”, symbolising a place of sacred purity. It reflects the affection and respect Chef-owner K-Jin Lim has for Thailand’s diverse and complex cuisine.
Together with Head Chef Miller Mai, the duo has shaped a well-paced eight-course tasting menu that takes diners on a pleasurable journey through Thailand that is both familiar and adventurous, designed to offer a complete dining experience no matter the group size.
Key to Restaurant Chedi’s tightly curated menu is the bond between the two chefs and the experience they bring to the table. Chef K-Jin’s devotion to mastering the nuances of Thai cuisine was so deep that he uprooted his young family to move to Chiang Mai 2014 and trained under a traditional Thai chef whose grandmother was the Head Chef of the Thai Royal Family for one year.
During the eight years Chef K-Jin called Chiang Mai home, he took the time to travel around The Land of Smiles — from remote villages to cities — and learnt the intricacies of Thai cuisine.
Meanwhile, Chef Miller brings a wealth of experience in translating familiar flavours with creativity. He first earned his stripes at age 13, assisting his father in the family’s tze char restaurant, gathering vital knowledge of what indeed seduces diners’ palates and bellies. His near two decades of experience spanning Chinese, French, Italian and Japanese kitchens across Singapore includes stints at Tippling Club and Open Farm Community.
The former head chef of Ding Dong memorably delivered witty, modern Southeast Asian plates that were rib-stickingly robust yet refined. His judicious use of contemporary kitchen techniques and his understanding of diners’ hunger for deliciously satiating meals — yield experiences that are witty, fun and seriously good.
The 8-course tasting menu ($148++) at Restaurant Chedi will change throughout the year to offer diners new entry points into Thailand’s diverse regional cuisines. The chefs’ deft balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet — the hallmarks of Thai cuisine — come to the fore in each dish, enabling diners at different stages of familiarity with Thai cuisine to derive pleasure and satisfaction from each menu change.
The chefs have elected to set the stage by offering guests an opening line-up of predominantly familiar classics presented from their perspective. The results are dishes that stay true to their origins on the palate and in terms of the emotions they evoke — while inviting guests to discover the subtleties of Thai cuisine from a new vantage point.
The evening opens with Miang kham, a snack especially popular in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. At Restaurant Chedi, a cone of wild betel leaf is presented sitting on the lip of a shot glass. It cradles a melange of raw and cooked, fresh and dried ingredients that come together to create a dish with elements of sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, and textural layers, complemented by the seafood components’ deep umami baritone.
The accompanying sip of drink made from Thai tamarind, palm sugar, salt, and soda water is thoughtfully designed to clean the palate after.
The Tom kha gai is a considered rethinking of the iconic Thai broth. A chicken wingette is painstakingly tunnel-boned before it is stuffed with peppery chicken and mushroom glutinous rice as well as foie gras, then baked. It is served with a cold espuma meant to be enjoyed as a dip, where coconut milk infused with shallots, lemongrass, and galangal are interspersed with the fresh, herbal notes of coriander leaves, microgreens and bursts of sweet tartness from pomegranate seeds.
Preceding the main course is Gaeng som fak thong, a testament to how familiar, comforting and accessible gustatory pleasures can be elevated by skilled chefs paying attention to technique. Traditionally, the orange curry is considered the spiciest of Thai curries.
Here, the chefs thicken the earthy curry with Japanese pumpkin puree, which adds sweetness to its fiery kick. It is paired with crisp-skinned, moist and tender Chilean sea bass served on crispy rafts of moreish tilapia fish floss made in-house with traditional Thai methods.
Primed to develop a cult following, the Chedi signature salted ikan kurau (threadfin) fried rice is an optional add-on ($14 per bowl, minimum order two bowls) to the tasting menu. Briny, with complex flavours drawn from the sea, boasts legitimate wok hei (that desirable smoky char which translates to mean the “breath of the wok”).
The indulgent rice bowl is beguilingly evocative. Studded with threadfin house cured for six months, fresh crabmeat and tobiko, it is a tempting request even for the already well-fed diner.
Housed in a 1930s shophouse, the cosy restaurant is lined with traditional Thai folk art along one wall which depicts ancient Thailand’s lifestyle and traditions. An eclectic playlist of mellow Thai tunes ranging from pop to rock adds to the relaxed, rustic urban vibe.
For a ringside view of the action in the open kitchen, guests may choose to be seated at one of the restaurant’s 10 counter seats at the chef’s table. The rest of the dining room offers versatile seating for both small and large groups of diners. Restaurant Chedi is poised to be the new must-visit Thai restaurant in Jalan Besar, offering a deliciously fun, contemporary take on Thailand's rich culinary heritage that diners will hanker after — time and again.
a. 15 Hamilton Rd, Singapore 209185
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