Tom Toon Thai noodle cafe

Unlike other cafes, I didn't discover this one through food blogs, Urbanspoon nor friend's recommendations. It started with boyfie's church service at Planetshakers. We usually go for lunch after the service and that is when we started going to Ying Thai I which is just few tram stops away from the church. Then we noticed this Thai cafe in the same row as Ying Thai I. Back then, we couldn't believe that a thai cafe is situated right beside it. I mean, how is it gonna compete with Ying Thai?? Both Ying Thai I and II are already the best! (well, except a Thai shop that I love but the owner has relocated to Sydney sigh) And then after a few visits to Ying Thai I, both of us decided to give it a try because we were too curious how did it survive, located just beside Ying Thai I.

The space is really quite small but the owner did put in efforts in decorating the interior. There is alot of wooden elements in the cafe. Wood really successfully make you to feel more related to Thailand. I remember there are alot of handicraft souvenirs sold in Thailand are made of wood, especially wooden animal sculptures. I have wooden elephant sculptures and a wooden photo album back home. How cool is that photo album, the covers are made of wood, with elephants being symbols of Thailand crafted on top, and the inner sheets are made of recycled papers. It is so eco-friendly yet beautiful!

Also, there are a huge amount of books on the shelves. They are for sale too. So you could pick up some of them and bring them home if you are interested.

As the name of "Noodle Cafe" suggests, we had their signature noodle soup. They have beef, chicken and pork options for it. Also, you could pick the noodle type that you fancy, be it rice noodle, egg noodle or vermicelli. One thing to take note is that if you are after glass vermicelli, remember to mention it instead of just "vermicelli". Or else they'll give you rice vermicelli instead.

We both ordered Beef Noodle soup with vermicelli. As you could tell, besides the beef slices and beef balls, they actually put in pork lard too. OMG CRUNCHY DEEP FRIED PORK LARD. Really, it always make a huge difference and enhances the flavour of the dish instantly. I regretted that I didn't finish off all the lard before I finish the noodles because by then it turns soggy already. The soup is very rich. The taste is somewhat between Bak Kut Teh and Braised meat. So yummy! Also you could add in some of their chillies to make it a bit spicy just to have some kicks. 

Actually this was my second visit. I had Tom Yum soup during my first visit. It was good too, but not as spicy as Ying Thai's. The advantage is you could adjust the spicy and sour level yourself by adding their chillies. But the noodle soup beats it flat. Hands down man.