How long have you been living in Singapore? For most of us students, it should be approximately 18 years. In all the times we have spent in Singapore, we have been brought on school excursions starting from when we were only nine years old to tourist attractions such as Kampong Glam, Little India and Chinatown. From all these trips, we have learnt about the cultures of each race and also, the type of food they eat; all this starting from almost ten years ago. But, have you heard of ‘Little Thailand’? Well, here it is.

‘Little Thailand’, more widely known as Golden Mile Complex is located at 5001 Beach Road. It encompasses just about everything that we know and do not know about Thai culture. Unlike many Thai shops and restaurants in Singapore, all the shops in ‘Little Thailand’ are owned by the Thais themselves. The shopping complex is also dubbed to be the smaller version of Mah Boon Krong (MBK) of Singapore, with fashion boutiques, Thai eateries and even a Thai supermarket with foodstuffs and products not only from Thailand but also from Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia.

The most important task at hand and yet the simplest thing one must do at ‘Little Thailand’ is to eat. Leaving without having a meal at ‘Little Thailand’ could be said to be making a wasted trip as the food there is what really makes the trip worthwhile. If you think that restaurants in Singapore such as Thai Express, Lerk Thai and Sakura Thai Restaurant serve good Thai cuisine, you really have to go to ‘Little Thailand’ where the quality and the authenticity of the food is all worth its price, from starters to the desserts. One highly recommended restaurant would be Diandin Leluk Thai Restaurant which is described to be “… the best and most authentic Thai food I have had in Singapore” by an online food critic. The restaurant has all types of Thai cuisine from the well-known Pineapple Rice and Tom Yam Soup to Pad Krapow (Minced Meat with Chilli and Basil) and Phad Thai (Thai Kway Teow). Non-chilli eaters should be warned as the food here is much spicier than the normal Thai restaurants in Singapore but for those who love authentic Thai cuisine, this is definitely the place for you!

Singapore’s education system has always encouraged us to cultivate an interest in the cultures of our fellow Singaporeans, from Malay, Indian, Chinese to Eurasian and it is through education that we are able to live harmoniously for decades. However, it is time we notice that there are an increasing number of foreign students from other countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar joining us in our schools and our duty is to make them feel welcome!  Corny as it may sound, what better way could we do that than to show our interests and understandings of their culture? Do take the first step. To learn more about Thai culture and also to enjoy Thai cuisine, visit ‘Little Thailand’ at Golden Mile Complex. It’s as good as it gets without boarding a plane to Bangkok!

Written by Liao Yuan Jun