Folks Collective @ China Square

Folks Collective is a casual Thai restaurant by day and gastropub by night. With a space designed with cosy corners and feature areas, it is hard to associate Folks Collective with its cuisine.







This chest of drawers reminds more of a medical hall than a thai eatery though but in all its mismatched furniture, the whole concept works.

They offer reasonably priced lunch sets and also tiffin buffet lunches at $39++. Portions are good enough for 1 and we had the luxury of ordering everything on the menu since they were all so tiny and lived to suffer later when the dishes would not stop being served.



Lychee Red Curry
Pineapple, Aubergine. Cherry Tomato

This duck curry was an unusual order, who'd have thought lychee, pineapples and duck would make such a delicious combination? Sweet and savoury laced with mouthwatering spices, oh yum.




Black Pepper Beef
Peppercorns,  Capsicums, Spring Onions

With such a good start, this black pepper beef was ordinary in comparison.




Cashew Nut Chicken 
Dried Red Chillies, Mixed Capsicum


 





Soft Shell Crab Salad
Green Mango Salad

It is only when I reviewed the photos that I realised this was meant to be one dish and assumed it was two when served separately. The green mango salad lacked the zest while the soft shell crabs were addictive enough to be eaten on its own.





Prawn Salted Egg Yolk
Curry Leaves

Worth a mention, these crunchy prawns were coated generously in salted egg and fried. These still tasted good when eaten cold.

Tom Yum Potaek
Clear broth, Kaffir Lime, Lemongrass, Sweet Basil, Chilli

Tom Yum Nam Kon
Fresh Milk, Roasted Chilli Paste

Both tomyum versions had its fair share of fans and I liked them both. Just the right level of spiciness and heat. 


Chicken Soup
Glass noodle, Wood Ear Mushroom, Tofu

Only for those seeking a comforting option and averse towards spice.



FOLKS Drumlets
Honey and garlic glaze

These sticky sauce drumlets were on the sweet side.



Matchstick Chicken
Wing tips, fish sauce

This savoury version fared better with me.




Chicken Satay
Sweet peanut dip

On the dry side, these satays lacked the char grilled fragrance. 

Crispy Oyster Mushroom Tempura




Samosa



Truffle Fries

Sweet Potato Fries



Tofu
Chilli dip

The nibbles kept us so full, especially the mushroom tempura and samosa. Especially great with beer.

Green Curry
Pumpkin, basil, aubergine


Massaman
Cumin, cardamom, cloves, potatoes, peanuts




Holy Basil Stir Fry

This is the closest to what Bangkok has to offer, a nose tingling kind of spiciness and paired with white rice, this is already a winning combinations.



Pepper and Garlic Pork


These salty bites fit perfectly with the small bites that go so well with beer.



Vegetable Medley





FOLKS Fried Rice
Egg fried rice, spring onions, peas, sweet corn

This lacked wok hei and was on the bland side.



Pad Thai

Noodles soggy and sweet, like the fried rice this too was missing out on some good ole char.



Ice-cream Kati
Coconut Icecream, sweet glutinous rice, toasted peanuts, palm seeds, jackfruit

Think chatuchak market and coconut icecream comes to mind. Folks Collective serves up a prettier version with jack fruit strips in the bowl filled with creamy coconut icecream, sticky rice, atap chee and peanuts.




Caramelised Tapioca
Pandan syrup, coconut cream 

These tapioca cubes were so addictive, velvety smooth and just the right balance of coconut cream and pandan syrup. Between the two we ordered, I find it hard to pick a favourite.



There was enough food to go round, we ordered just once and was so full. The downside to ala carte buffets is, the waiting time for the seconds and thirds does have an effect on the appetite hence I would still recommend ordering all at once and just enjoy them when they all arrive.

Novel tiffin buffet concept, delicious Thai fare though it was laden with MSG but I am not complaining since we all had a great time. It is a wonder the place is not packed given the value diners are getting, did I just let the cat out of the bag then?

Folks Collective
20 Cross Street. 01-25 China Square Central