Lotus Thai Restaurant
Lotus Thai Restaurant is tucked away at one corner on the second floor of Paya Lebar Square. The shopping mall is directly connected to the Paya Lebar MRT station and can be conveniently accessed in all weather conditions.
The restaurant offers Thai dishes that are popular among Singaporeans like Thai green curry, phad Thai, tom yum soup, pineapple fried rice, and spicy basil fried rice. While it is not halal-certified, we noticed that there is no pork served in any of their dishes. Meat-free dishes are also available and listed under “Green Options” section in its menu.
Lotus Thai Restaurant Menu
Below are its menu items and prices:
Appetizer
- Thai Fish Cakes – $8.80
- Thai Prawn Cakes – $9.80
- Vegetarian Spring Rolls – $7.80
- Thai Chicken Wings – $9.80
- Pandan Chicken – $9.80
- Lotus Thai Platter – $18.80
- Fish cakes, prawn cakes, pandan chicken and spring rolls
Curry
- Thai Green Curry
- Chicken – $9.80
- Beef or Seafood – $10.80
- Thai Red Curry
- Chicken – $9.80
- Beef or Seafood – $10.80
- Dry Red Curry
- Chicken – $10.80
- Beef or Seafood – $11.80
Salad
- Seafood Vermicelli Salad – $10.80
- Mango Salad – $7.80
- Beef Salad – $9.80
Soup
- Tom Yum Seafood (Red/Clear) – $10.80
- Tom Yum Chicken (Red/Clear) – $9.80
- Tofu Mushroom Soup – $9.80
- Tom Khai Gai (Thai Coconut Soup) – $9.80
- Thai Beef Soup
- Stewed Beef or Sliced Beef – $9.80
- Mixed Stew + Sliced Beef – $10.80
Fish
- Steamed Sea Bass
- Lemon Sauce – $28.00
- Soya Sauce – $28.00
- Thai Styled Fried Sea Bass
- Mango Salad – $28.00
- Sweet & Sour – $28.00
- Thai Chili Sauce – $28.00
Prawn & Crab
- Soft Shell Crab Garlic – $22.80
- Soft Shell Crab Curry – $22.80
- Curry Prawn – $12.80
- Garlic Prawn – $12.80
- Prawn in Thai Chili Sauce – $12.80
- Thai Stewed Vermicelli Claypot
- Prawn – $18.00
- Scallop – $28.00
- Scallop & Prawn – $28.00
Tofu & Egg
- Deep Fried Tofu Minced Chicken with Gravy Sauce – $10.80
Omelette
- Minced Chicken – $8.80
- Onion & Spring Onion – $8.80
- Radish (Caipu) – $8.80
- Basil Leaf – $8.80
- Prawn – $9.80
Chicken & Beef
- Black Pepper Chicken – $10.80
- Black Pepper Beef – $11.80
- Basil Leaf Chicken – $10.80
- Basil Leaf Beef – $11.80
- Garlic Chicken – $10.80
- Cashew Nut Chicken – $10.80
- Honey Chicken – $10.80
- Thai Chicken Larb (Larb Gai) – $10.80
Vegetables
- Thai Style Fried Kang Kong – $8.80
- Garlic Kang Kang – $8.80
- Stir Fried Radish with Egg – $8.80
- Stir Fried Cabbage with Fish Sauce – $8.80
- Stir Fried Baby Kailan – $8.80
- Mixed Vegetables – $8.80
- Broccoli Mushroom – $9.50
- Broccoli Mushroom and Scallop – $16.80
Green Option
- Fried Spring Rolls – $7.80
- Cabbage, carrot, green bean, onion, vermicelli
- Thai Green Curry – $9.80
- Eggplant, cauliflower, assorted vege
- Thai Red Curry – $9.80
- Cauliflower, eggplant, carrot, kailan, sweet basil
- Dry Red Curry – $9.80
- Cauliflower, eggplant, carrot, kailan, lime leaves
- Thai Fried Rice – $6.80
- Kailan, mixed vegetables, white onions, spring onions
- Olive Fried Rice – $6.80
- Kailan, white onions, spring onions
- Thai Fried Hor Fun (Dry) – $7.80
- Kailan, carrot, mushroom
- Phad Thai – $7.80
- Fried tofu, beansprout, chives, assorted vegetables, peanut
- Tom Yum Soup (Red/Clear) – $9.80
- Mushroom, tomato, carrot, cauliflower, lime leaf, lemongrass
- Deep Fried Tofu with Gravy – $10.80
- Egg, tofu, mushroom, white onion, capsicum, carrot, spring onion, diced tofu
- Basil Leaf Tofu – $10.80
- Diced Tofu, long bean, white onion, chili, hot basil
Noodle
- Phad Thai
- Chicken – $7.80
- Seafood – $8.80
- Thai Spicy Fried Kway Teow
- Chicken – $7.80
- Seafood – $8.80
- Fried Hor Fun (Dry)
- Chicken – $7.80
- Seafood – $8.80
- Fried Vermicelli with Seafood – $8.80
- Thai Beef Kway Teow Soup
- Stewed Beef or Sliced Beef – $9.80
- Mixed Stew+Sliced Beef – $10.80
- Tom Yum Kway Teow Soup (Red/Clear)
- Chicken – $9.80
- Seafood – $10.80
Rice
- Olive Fried Rice – $6.80
- Pineapple Fried Rice – $7.80
- Seafood Fried Rice – $7.80
- Tom Yum Seafood Fried Rice – $8.80
- Spicy Basil Fried Rice
- Chicken – $7.80
- Beef or Seafood – $8.80
- Steamed Rice – $1.00
Beverages
- Perrier Sparkling Water – $5.00
- Thai Coconut Chilled – $5.50
- Soda Lime – $3.50
- Singha Soda – $2.50
- Coke / Sprite / Fanta Green – $3.50
- Vitamilk – $3.50
- Mineral Water – $2.00
Coffee
- Espresso – (Hot) $3.00
- Americano – (Hot) $4.00 (Iced) $4.50
- Milk-based Coffee – (Hot) $5.00 (Iced) $5.50
- Cappuccino
- Flat White
- Cafe Latte
- Cafe Mocha – (Hot) $5.50 (Iced) $6.00
Desserts
- Red Ruby with Coconut Ice Cream – $5.80
- Thai Mango Sticky Rice – $5.80
- Thai Tapioca with Coconut Cream – $4.80
- Green Bean Soup with Gingko Nuts – $3.50
- Coconut Ice Cream – (Single) $2.00 (Double) $3.50 (Triple) $5.00
Homemade Drinks
- Lemongrass Drink – (Hot) $3.00 (Iced) $3.50
- Thai Milk Tea – (Hot) $4.00 (Iced) $4.50
- Add Grass Jelly – $0.50
- Pandan Lime – (Hot) $3.00 (Iced) $3.50
Tea
- Earl Grey – (Hot) $3.50 (Iced) $4.50
- English Breakfast – (Hot) $3.50 (Iced) $4.50
- Green Tea – (Hot) $3.50 (Iced) $4.50
- Anti-Stress – (Hot) $3.50 (Iced) $4.50
- Healing Garden – (Hot) $3.50 (Iced) $4.50
Thai Beer & Sake
- Singha Beer – $8.00
- Inhouse Sake Special – $8.00
Lotus Thai Restaurant Review
Lotus Thai Restaurant is located at a corner on Level 2 of Paya Lebar Square. The shopping mall is connected to the East West Line exit of Paya Lebar MRT interchange on the ground floor. We made an Eatigo reservation for a weekday dinner with 50% discount and arrived at the outlet on time. As we reached the second floor of the mall, we noticed there were only a handful of patrons in the restaurant. A friendly female staff, whom we later found out to be the lady boss, warmly welcomed us as we walked closer to its unit. Upon informing her of our reservation, we were ushered to a reserved table near to the entrance. There was a QR code printed on a small piece of paper, and we were told to scan it to place our order. Physical menus were also available on the table.
After browsing the menu for a couple of minutes on our phones, we ordered a Pandan Chicken ($9.80), Dry Red Curry Chicken ($10.80), Pineapple Fried Rice ($7.80), and Fried Hor Fun (Dry) Chicken ($7.80). It took about 5 minutes for the Pandan Chicken to be served and the others in another 10 to 15 minutes. We noticed that their kitchen was rather small, which probably has two stoves at the maximum. As such, it is not unexpected for waiting time to be long when there are more diners.
We got our hands on the Pandan Chicken and they were savory, tender and juicy that came with a strong Pandan aroma. The downside was that there were only 4 small pieces of them. It was later when we requested for the bill that we found this item is not eligible for Eatigo discount. As such, these 4 pieces actually costed us $9.80, excluding 10% service charge and 7% GST. Each piece costs nearly $3.00! We do not think a chunk of that chicken is worthy of the price.
The next dish served was the Dry Red Curry. We were a little taken aback was it was placed in a small and shallow container that is usually used for baked rice. There were only 3 to 4 chunks of frozen fish that resembled those that we bought from NTUC Fairprice recently, 2 to 3 frozen prawns, and few slices of squid. Its taste was fine but it was not the usual Japanese, Thai nor Indian curry taste that we have tried before. Considering its price, quality and quantity, we suggest to skip this dish to all prospective diners.
The mains were the last to arrived. The Pineapple Fried Rice was accompanied with four big prawns, fried shallots and chicken floss. The taste was good but it was a pity that the prawns used were frozen ones. Also, fried shallots are usually not used in Thai fried rice but more with Tze Char in Singapore. If one is not particular about having fresh seafood and having authentically Thai cuisine, this dish will do fine.
Similar to the fried rice, the taste of the Fried Hor Fun Chicken (Dry) was also good, save for the taste being more Singaporean than Thai. With Eatigo’s 50% discount, both fried rice and fried hor fun are very worthwhile in terms of price, costing only $7.80 collectively, excluding service charge and GST. For those who are looking for wallet-friendly Thai food to fill their stomachs around Geylang area, these two dishes at Lotus Thai Restaurant are good candidates with Eatigo’s 50% discount.
As we were done with our dinner, we took the order chit on our table and went to pay at the cashier. As we were approaching the cashier, the male staff behind the counter whom we assumed in the owner shouted “Come” (来) in Mandarin. We were not expecting the kind of hawker centre style interaction in the restaurant setting. Other than the awkward interaction, what surprised us further was that the Pandan Chicken was not eligible for Eatigo’s discount and the owner refused to accept credit card payment for Eatigo bookings. On checking the Eatigo’s app, it did mentioned Pandan Chicken was not eligible in the long list of terms & conditions. We only have ourselves to blame on the oversight and proceed with making the payment via GrabPay.
In summary, we had a full but not really fulfilling dinner at Lotus Thai Restaurant. We would give its food quality a 3.5/5, its value-for-money a 3/5 (even with Eatigo’s 50% off), its service a 3/5, and its environment a 3.5/5. The dishes the restaurant served tasted more like Singaporean Tze Char than Thai cuisine. If you are looking for Thai food that is tailored to Singapore taste, we would recommend you to try Gin Khao Thai at SAFRA Tampines. For authentic Thai cuisine, we highly recommend Nakhon Kitchen, which has several outlets in Singapore. Those seeking creative Thai dishes could try Pratunam Plus located in Bugis+.
