Mama Tomyum Chicken Those whom regularly transit through Woodlands Xchange along the North-South Line (not to be confused with Stellar@TE2, which is the air-conditioned retail corridor within the grounds of the underpass in the unpaid zone of the Thomson-East Coast Line side of the station) might have probably noticed a new F&B establishment which had sprouted up fairly recently. Mama Thai Palace is a fairly recent addition to Woodlands Xchange, having taken over the shop unit which used to house the dine-in area of Khun Thai previously — the shop is actually pretty noticeable considering the use of bright orange and dark blue elements in its fittings that is a big contrast against the more simple decor of Khun Thai had. Considering the small size of the shop unit that Mama Thai Palace had occupied, it is interesting to see how they were able to fit in a small dine-in area that comprises of three tables that are good for four pax each. Given how the menu board for the establishment is being designed, we would think that Mama Thai Palace’s signature offerings would be their Mama Tomyum offerings, though the establishment also churns out other rice and noodle dishes for individual diners whom are not craving to have a Red Tom Yum Soup with noodles right from the pot. For those whom are looking to dine at Mama Thai Palace in a group, Mama Thai Palace also serves up dishes sectioned into categories such as Soup / Omelette, Vegetables and Snacks that would work well in a communal setting. Beverages served at Mama Thai Palace includes Thai Milk Tea, Thai Green Milk Tea, Lime Juice and canned drinks. It is interesting to note that none of the dishes at Mama Thai Palace features pork however.
Since their Mama Tom Yum items do very much look like the signature offerings at Mama Thai Palace, we decided to go for the Mama Tom Yum Chicken when we made our visit to Mama Thai Palace on a weekday dinner service. The Mama Tom Yum Chicken is an item that takes inspiration from the trendy Tom Yum Mama Noodles from Jeh O Chula in Bangkok, Thailand — an item that has also been replicated across various Thai eateries in Singapore over the years. Apart from the Mama Tom Yum Chicken, Mama Thai Palace also does serve up other variations of the Mama Tom Yum such as the Mama Tom Yum Seafood, as well as the Mama Tom Yum Vege. Coming in a personal-sized hotpot, we weren’t actually expecting that the candle holder of the hotpot was going to be lit with gel fuel considering how Mama Thai Palace is an eatery within the retail area of the MRT Station — needless to say, we were pretty impressed with how they are not using the hotpot as just a form of crockery to serve the Mama Tom Yum in. The Red Tom Yum Soup is being prepared from scratch on the spot; one can view the cooking process through the glass panels surrounding the kitchen. The Red Tom Yum Soup comes with tomatoes, onions, coriander, Enoki mushrooms, beaten egg white, molten egg yolk, chicken and instant noodles — most of the elements are pretty pedestrian in terms of quality and nothing to shout about; the molten egg yolk does give it a creamier texture while the Enoki mushroom provides a bouncy bite. If anything, we did wish that the tomatoes were cooked a little softer; the noodles also carried a texture that was slightly lesser than bouncy for us. That being said, the Red Tom Yum Soup was on point; it was tangy, bright and spicy — definitely enough kick to tickle the taste buds and works for those who have a higher tolerance to spiciness even. At $7.90, it is a rather decent, sorta fuss-free meal if one isn’t too picky about what they are getting with all considerations factored in.
