What do you do when you are bored of eating Chinese and the local Thai is not up to scratch? Go to Krapow in Chinatown Point! This place is one heck-of-a-find. I know my fellow pork addicts will agree. Melty pork in red curry sauce and Pad Thai with roasted pork belly are among the best dishes here.
Flossie’s rating: ★★★★
A stroll and a sticky beak around Chinatown Point is one of my favourite pastimes in Singapore. The mall is an eclectic collection of eateries, grocers and beauty shops. The dowdy 80s carpets feel strangely familiar. Krapow in Chinatown Point is a newcomer. I was hesitant to try this eatery at first due to its ominous location. Situated by the escalator on level two, this particular store has seen a lot of turnover! However, I was intrigued by their pork-heavy menu.
Krapow in Chinatown Point has quickly become my go-to for lunch in the area. This place is all about the pig and the chilli! Just close your eyes and imagine all your favourite Thai classics with yummy pork and the spice factor ramped up! I think of it as good Chinese-influenced Thai food – although Krapow do not market themselves as a fusion restaurant.
The MUST TRY dish on the menu is the Thai red curry with pork for $12.90. This dish is heavenly. Generous chunks of slow-cooked pork just fall apart in your mouth. The curry sauce has a dreamy consistency – not too thick and not too watery – like whipped milk. Every spoonful is bursting with aromatic flavours and hot spice. Your eyes will be crying tears of joy and capsaicin by the time you finish your bowl.
Krapow also serve a very special Pad Thai cooked with crackling pork belly and chock full of chilli. After I tasted this dish for the first time I saw the light… Yes, yes, YES! Crunchy Chinese-style pork and Thai-flavoured noodles are the perfect duo!!! The portion size is generous enough to satisfy one very hungry person otherwise it is perfect for sharing.
For the veggos, Krapow also cook a respectable vegetarian Pad Thai too. It is fried with double egg and tofu. The Pad Thai dishes here don’t taste like they come from a packet. There is a hint of sweetness, some Chinese spice, and an overall distinctly Thai flavour. The Pad Thai with pork is $17 and the vegetarian version is $11.90. Check out that pile of chilli flakes on the plate in the picture below!
If you only care about eating pig then you can order a plate of crackling pork with seeded mustard sauce. This is one of the more expensive dishes on the menu at over $15 a pop for a meagre serve. To be honest, the pork at Krapow has its good days and bad days. The pork always tastes great when it is part of a Thai dish. But when the restaurant is having a bad day, and the pork is not roasted to perfection, then it doesn’t quite stand up as a dish on its own.
Other delicious dishes on the menu include the drunkard noodles, which are stir fried with Thai basil and minced meat, as well as the pork knuckle (Khao Kha Moo), which is meaty although not quite as fatty the typical hawker variety.
Of course, Chinese-style vegetables are also available. A plate of Asian greens, stir-fried with garlic, are around $12 and are tasty and fresh.
Krapow in Chinatown Point has three menus. There is the written menu, a thick menu binder with pictures, and then specials menu (which is usually on the table). It can be a little confusing. The restaurant operates as self-service. This means you place your order and pay at the counter first. Dishes are then be served as and when they are ready so they may not all arrive at the same time. Picky eaters can dictate their preferred level of spiciness when ordering out of extra hot, hot or mild.
This place is really special. Whenever I am in the area I just have to pop in and try something new on the menu (in addition to my usual bowl of red curry). I hope that Krapow in Chinatown Point here to stay!
If you are a beef lover, not a porker lover, then check out my beef noodle recommendation at Chinatown Point.
Krapow at Chinatown Point
New Bridge Road
133 Chinatown Point #02-39，
Singapore 059413