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Gourmet Visits The River Ping Palace

I had been planning a dinner out at The River Ping Palace for some time, and finally got the gang together to find out what culinary creations this charming old riverside teakwood place could offer. We wandered in and took a table by the water's edge enjoying a view across the full breadth of the River Ping.

The restaurant is run by Esther Ting, a generously-spirited Singaporean lady who can speak no less than eight languages, including Thai and a host of Chinese dialects. Fortunately she took to conversing with us in fluent English.

"You have to like food to be in the restaurant business. You eat what I eat. The same dishes I ate in my Grandmother's kitchen as a child," she told us.

Esther is also dedicated to using the freshest ingredients available. "If a fish isn't still swimming when you buy it, why eat it," she joked, highlighting just how fresh she likes things to be.

The food steadily began to arrive - a tasty simple plate of salami for starters, followed by pla muek pad prik pao, squid stir-fried with sweet chili paste. Next to appear was the khamoo muntow, stewed pork with herbs cooked gently on a low charcoal fire for about 6 hours to make the pork very soft. This was sided with local fresh vegetables. Alongside this came some fried buns, and it has to be said they were the best darn buns I've ever had. Soft and sweet on the inside, and lightly crispy on the outside and not the least bit oily. We were also treated to some plates of mixed vegetable tempura and finally some fried oysters.

But Esther had yet to reveal the ace up her chef's sleeve. Dessert! Trust me, she makes the best mango pie ever! There was also a remarkable kind of ‘hot chocolate' pudding served in a tiny receptacle. It had three layers of crushed peanuts at the bottom, chocolate cake with a hot chocolate filling in the middle, and whipped cream on top. However neither of these appeared on the menu as Esther normally provides her guests with dessert for free based on what she's been inspired to create on the day.

"A person can always lie about something, but food tells no lies," our hostess remarked, asking afterwards what the response was from our our taste buds.

Truly satisfied indeed, we all confirmed.

Text: Matt Demon
Images: Karin