How best to start a fire in your belly

Golden Mile Complex is known to be a popular haunt to Thai nationals and I've heard alot about the food outlets there. Apparently they serve authentic Thai food that'll beat Thai Xpress hands down. And you know what? I kind of agree. Not only is the food there ever-so-delicious, it's reasonably priced as well. So you can forget about being nervous when asking for the bill. Ha.

Naturally, I wouldn't vouch for anything unless I've tried it myself and lo and behold, I actually made my maiden trip down to the complex with JF and Leonard & Cassilda, our close friends. Both of them are Easties like us so it's so convenient to meet up and makan together. Besides, the East has so much yummy food! Think Joochiat, Siglap, Geylang, Katong, East Coast, Changi Village, etc. hahaa... :)

Okay, I'm pretty sure all of you are curious as to which stall we patronised. I tell you, it was a tough decision! We took about 15 minutes just walking up and down the place, trying to let our gut instincts lead the way. And finally we picked Diandin Leluk. Why? I don't know. Maybe it looked promising? hahaa.... well not that we regretted it.

As we were seated, the waitress handed us the menu and to be honest, we were kinda wary at first because it did look like another Thai Xpress copycat. But the moment our dishes came, I had to eat my words.

Check out the food we ate:



This is fried minced pork with basil, served with rice and egg. Leo & Cass ordered this. Both of them love spicy food so they asked the waitress to tell the chef to make theirs extra spicy. And erm, I think they kind of regretted it after. That's because they really did just that, perhaps just a bit too much. But hey, chilli IS good. That's the beauty of it all. One can love and hate chilli at the same time. Trust me, I know!




Ta-dah, here's what I ordered: Claypot Olive Rice. I was actually a bit hestitant because the menu didn't say much about what was going to be in this claypot. So I quizzed the waitress and she told me that it contains cashew nuts, lime pieces, minced pork, onions, and chilli. I tell you, I was sold the minute she finished her sentence so I ordered that. Did I live to regret my decision? Not at all! But the portion was really huge though. It's enough to feed two people. Haha so about half of it ended on JF's plate. And I had to take the chilli out of his portion because the fella isn't that much of a chilli-lover like me - or rather, he doesn't have the threshold!

What I love about this rice is it's aroma. They used olive I know, but the fragrance was amazing. And each mouthful I take, it just gives me a sense of satisfaction. The crunchy nuts gave it texture and so did the lime - it refreshes the palate and the chilli padi really woke me up! I'll definitely order this again next time.



Pad Thai, the must have dish on every Thai eatery menu. JF ordered that and he said in passing that it did taste a bit like char kway teow. Haha.... that boy, I think it's because it's his first time eating pad thai! I was too busy with my olive rice to taste his pad thai but i thought it looked a bit lack-lustre. But maybe it's just because I was too overwhelmed by my olive rice.



Oo-la-la. Check out that sambal kangkong! We asked them to make this extra spicy too. And our verdict? It was scrumptious. Yummmm... i loved it. Well it's really hard to go wrong when you add sambal to kangkong doncha think?



The main event: the crab! Someone recommended Cass the baked crab with tanghoon and we tried that. This crab was huge. It was just nice for the four of us. And I loved the tanghoon. They actually seasoned the dish with plenty of ginger and peppercorns. It gave me a heady effect, more so because I kept crunching on the peppercorns. I know, it's hot, but hey, I love it. I love starting fires in my belly. It's just that kick I get, out of that spiciness. That sounds crazy I know but hey, if you were weaned on sambal belachan, chilli padi and curries since you were a wee toddler, you had better know how to handle your chilli and yes, peppercorns well!

What a feast we had last night! Oh but before I end this post, I want you all to play a little game of 'spot the mistake'. It's not my intention to embarrass the person who typed this menu but I just want to see how obvious the mistakes are, because it was to me! And yes, this was at Diandin Leluk:



All right, after poking fun at their drink menu, allow me to make up for that, and rave about their iced tea:



This has got to be the best iced tea ever. There's something about the colour too! All four of us really loved how it tasted as well. It was awesome stuff. If anyone knows where to get tea leaves that give this kinda of colour, let me know! Because I know Lipton tea never gives you this colour. Especially after you pour the milk in; the brown will be vaguely visible. But this one which we tried, the brown-orangey hue was a sight!

Speaking of sight! Allow me to show how much we enjoyed our food:



Ah-huh, so much, that we cleared EVERYTHING. Boy were we all stuffed! And I know I was on a chilli-high. All of us agreed that it's as if there were a fire in our bellies! So guys and girls, if you ever want to experience a fire in your belly, you know where to go....

Oh, and before I forget! Allow me to wish Cass a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It's her birthday today. What a coincidence ya know, just a day before mine! And Leo's birthday's on Monday. We're all July babies and are Leos as well. And this uber spicy meal you saw in photos right here? It was a treat from Cass. Thank you Cass. Enjoy your special day! :)

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Diandin Leluk
#01-67/68/69
Golden Mile Complex
5001 Beach Road