With recipes plucked from a royal Thai recipe book and modernised with contemporary cooking styles, HUE brings a refined dining experience that is thoughtful and innovative, yet stays true to the essence of Thai culture.
About HUE
HUE was born from the passion of five friends: a chef, two Thai nationals and a medley of interior designers. As such, the incorporation of Thai culture extends past just the food—the restaurant’s pale blue facade represents a waterfall, paying homage to water as a Thai symbol of life.
The restaurant’s interior includes Thai iconographies like elephants and colourful Thai patterns featuring a neon sign reading “tHe hUnger is rEal”, showing off the restaurant’s name “hue”, which also means hungry in Thai.
Even the bar counter is an artful nod to Thai culture—it changes colour daily depending on the day of the week, according to Thai tradition which assigns a different colour to each day of the week to garner blessings.
Amuse-Bouche and Appetisers
We tried a variety of dishes at HUE. The first item we had was the Melon First, an amuse-bouche consisting of refreshing watermelon cubes topped with salted fish, fried shallots and sugar.
We then moved on to their appetisers — Oychestra ($18 for 3 pcs, $32 for 6pcs, $60 for 12 pcs) presented fresh Irish oysters dressed in three different Thai dressings. You’re recommended to eat them in a specific order: start off with the refreshing and slightly spicy flavours of lemongrass and beetroot, follow with the distinctly sour and spicier coriander dressing, then finish off with the sweet and fruity pineapple oyster. The oysters we had fresh and succulent, and the tangy and spicy dressings enhanced the natural briny flavours of the oysters nicely.
We were also served the Three Little Pigs ($19), which is a crispy oven-roasted pork belly stir-fried together with garlic, coriander and white pepper. We enjoyed how the richness of the fried pork was balanced out by the dressing’s refreshing and tart notes, and although the sauce had a distinct coriander flavour, we felt it wasn’t too overpowering and was just right.
Another delicious appetiser we had was the Garlilicious Prawn ($28), which served fresh Tiger prawns in a fragrant and mouth-watering garlic butter and truffle sauce. This was a decadent and aromatic dish that satisfied the table.
The last appetiser we tried was Pulp Garden ($18), which is a pomelo salad topped with tiger prawns and accompanied by crushed peanuts, crispy shallots and chopped chilli.
HUE Signature Dish
The Not a Tom Yum ($19) is a HUE Original, and as the name suggests, this isn’t actually a bowl of tom yum. It’s simply inspired by the flavour profiles of a Southern Thailand recipe, and features a unique sour and spicy soup that’s deeply umami thanks to the generous seafood that makes up the thick prawn-based broth. Although the dish comes with charred tiger prawns and a deep-fried omelette, the star of this dish is definitely the soup, and it was the most unforgettable dish of our trip.
Main Dishes
HUE offers a range of main dishes, from meat to seafood. We tried the Moocano ($23), which is a contemporary take on Mooping, the Thai street snack of grilled pork collar. In this dish, it has been reinvented as a chargrilled pork glazed with a sticky-sweet golden brown lava sauce made in-house, served atop a bed of sticky glutinous rice. This was another delicious plate, with the meat being reminiscent of a char siew that’s even more tender and flavourful than expected.
The Paper Fish ($23 for 180g, $45 for 360g) was another impressive dish, and featured a whole Barramundi fillet oven-baked in parchment paper. This cooking method is supposed to retain the juices of the fish and lock in the aroma of the Thai herbs and spices, and this was something we definitely saw in the final dish. Served with a strongly tangy and refreshing sauce with classic Thai flavours, the fish was perfectly cooked, and flaky without being the slightest bit dry. This was a simple dish perfectly executed, allowing the natural qualities of the Barramundi to shine through.
The Wrap It Up ($19) is a fun dish that gives diners the chance to put together their meal, and is HUE’s rendition of another popular street food—Kway Teow Lui San, or Thai fresh spring rolls with herbs. Here, you’re given a bowl of kway teow that you can top with sauteed minced pork, coriander, roasted peanuts and chopped chilli, which you can toss together with a sauce to make your own filling. This can then be wrapped in crisp butterhead lettuce for your hands-on enjoyment!
Desserts and Drinks
When we first arrived, we ordered some drinks to quench our thirst. We got the Butterfly Effect ($8), a butterfly pea drink flavoured with lemongrass and lime, and the Red Hurricane ($8), which uses Thai red sala syrup, lime and pomegranate. These drinks were ice cold and refreshing, perfect in the Singaporean heat.
We had the Sohm Choon ($15) for dessert, which is a refreshing bowl of lychee shaved ice topped with sweet-sour fruits. When we tried this dessert we were surprised when by a burst of fresh ginger, which balanced the syrupy sweetness of the lychee shaved ice well and allowed the summer dessert to stay refreshing without becoming too cloying.
We also had the Ong Lai ($15), which is a deconstructed pineapple tart served with Thai chilli vanilla ice cream, with a thick rum sauce on the side and a gula melaka sauce to pour over. We were greatly impressed by the ice cream, which managed to capture the fresh kick of Thai chilli without overpowering the dessert with spice and integrate it well with the creamy vanilla flavour.
Finally, we tried the Tea-ramisu ($14), which swapped out the coffee that usually soaks the ladyfingers biscuits with Thai tea. It was topped with fresh cream and chocolate tuiles, and is a dessert you cannot go wrong with especially for Thai milk tea lovers.
We had a great experience and enjoyed the modern take on Thai culture at HUE. Come down to Lavender and try these dishes out for yourself!
Address: 123 Tyrwhitt Rd, Singapore 207549
Opening Hours: Closed on Monday
Tuesday & Wednesday — 6pm to 10pm
Thursday & Sunday — 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 10.30pm
Friday & Saturday — 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm
Nearest MRT: Farrer Park MRT Station, Bendemeer MRT Station
*Disclaimer: Must Share Good Things was invited to this food tasting. However, all opinions are expressly the writer’s own.
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