THE food of South-east Asia is often described as being the perfect balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet.
The hot, sour and salty I have no problems with. But it can be a bit of a jolt when the cooks fling too much sugar in savoury food. A little enhances the flavour, but sugary Thai braised pig trotters or beef noodles just don't do it for me.
So it was a refreshing change to dive into a properly savoury bowl of beef noodles at Thai Noodle House, a 21/2-year-old joint at Coronation Arcade at the junction of Coronation and Bukit Timah roads.
The no-frills eatery does brisk business at both lunch and dinner, and seems to function as a sort of satellite canteen for students of the nearby Hwa Chong Institution.
Everything on the menu looks tempting but order the Thai beef noodle soup ($6), where slippery, silky rice noodles swim in a hearty, herby beef broth.
The soup manages to be beefy without being gamey. It has such depth of flavour and the generous helping of sliced beef, beef balls and tenderly delicious beef brisket keeps the dish interesting.
Help yourself to the tart green chilli relish at the table - it works especially well on the rich brisket. There's sugar too, just in case you need it.
Madam Achara Siripong, 51, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Mr Kamol Thongpitakkul, also 51, says she prefers the natural sweetness that comes from simmering good quality beef bones and meat, and uses no sugar in the brew.
The couple have lived here for 10 years and started the restaurant because, she says, she got bored staying at home.
The cooking skills she picked up at her mother's restaurant back home have stood her in good stead.
She says: 'Our restaurant is small but I want the quality to be good.'
That means importing ingredients like a special lime from Haatyai.
'When it rains, the price triples but I still order it.'
That beguiling lime, with its sweet-tart flavour, goes into her lime juice ($3.50), which just about every diner seems to order. Some have been known to down three mugs in the course of a meal, she says.
Savour it in other dishes on the menu - in an eye-poppingly zingy tanghoon salad ($8.50), for example.
Ultra-fine rice vermicelli is tossed in a chilli-hot and tart dressing and garnished with prawns, squid, minced chicken, dried shrimps and greens.
You'll also find hints of it in a delicious seafood tomyam noodle soup ($6), which balances hot, sour, salty and sweet in just the right way.
It has come to a point where I cannot decide whether to have the beef or the tomyam noodles and resent having to make a choice.
