Fi Woodfire Thai at Shaw Centre carves a smoky path for Thai cuisine with a woodfire-driven menu that tempers flame with finesse, bringing bold new heat to familiar flavours.
In a city rather obsessed with Thai food — one where you can find anything from hole-in-the-wall hawker-type stalls to buzzy modern eateries pushing fusion boundaries right across Singapore — the cuisine of our Southeast Asian neighbour is hardly lacking representation. Yet Fi Woodfire Thai dares to take a different path; rather than ride the well-trodden paths down green curry comfort or pad Thai nostalgia, Fi turns up the heat — literally — with a woodfire-centric Thai dining concept.
Originally located at Robertson Walk, Fi Woodfire Thai has now moved to Shaw Centre where it continues its fiery practices in a convivial 60-seater venue that offers both indoor and al fresco dining options. The new restaurant gives off casual vibes with lime-washed walls, raw textures and an open kitchen that is centred around the appliance the restaurant is named after — a woodfire oven. Theirs is fuelled with lychee wood, which is known for being slow-burning and infuses a subtle sweetness to the food cooked with it.
Woodfire cooking, even applied to Thai flavours, is hardly new. But at the experienced hands Chef Arom Eploi? He tames that elemental force to create dishes brimming with soul and precision.
Like Grilled Green Mango Salad. Instead of the usual shredded green mango, Fi leaves the fruit in rather large chunks so they can be charred over woodfire, before being tossed in a familiar mix of cherry tomato, long beans, roasted peanuts and dried shrimp.
The French Poulet is a highlight. This uses 100% organic, free range, hormone-free and antibiotic-free, GG French Poulet from local farm Toh Thye San, slaughtered and delivered daily to ensure uncompromising freshness. At Fi, the chicken is simply roasted in the woodfire oven to showcase its natural flavours and texture, and slathered with a chicken liver sauce for a hit of rich, savoury oomph.
Another must-order? The Signature Moo Ping Pork Rib, which is marinated for many hours and then grilled in the woodfire oven until the meat is tender enough to fall off the bone. It’s accompanied by char-grilled sticky rice cakes glazed in coconut sugar and spicy nam jim jaew — Thai dried chilli dipping sauce — for heat to complement the smokiness of the meat.
It’s not all fire mastery either. There’s also plenty of wok action too, like with Basil Minced Pork on Charred Eggplant where pork is stir-fried with Thai basil leaves to infuse it with wok hei, and then paired with eggplant that’s been charred in the woodfire oven.
Popular Thai staples like Drunken Noodles and Pineapple Rice Stack deliver the same wok hei.
There’s also the Son-in-Law Eggs, a popular Thai street food with a fun back story that’s not easily found in Singapore. These are usually hard-boiled eggs deep fried and served with a tamarind-based caramel sauce; legend has it that the dish is reportedly created by a mother who cooked it as a stern warning to her son-in-law to treat her daughter well, the eggs symbolising what she would do to his testicles otherwise.
A lesson every newly-married man needs to learn, but I digress.
Fi’s version comes as soft and gooey egg yolks, but retain the crisp edges of the street food original, while the tamarind sauce is elevated with the use of strawberries which adds a fruity tang.
Desserts lean more to the classics given twists like Fresh Mango with Butterfly Pea Sticky Rice which pairs two types of mango — Australian mangoes prepared as a compote cooked in mango puree, and sliced fresh Thai mangoes — with sticky rice dyed blue using butterfly pea flowers. Also available are Red Ruby with handmade “rubies”, and Steamed Tapioca with coconut gelato and coconut broth.
Make sure you round off your meal with one of Fi’s Thai-influenced cocktails. Try, for example, the Sabai (Mekong rum, Lemon, basil leaf), Tom Yum Mule (gin, ginger, chilli paste, lemongrass, kaffir leaf, and ginger beer) or Sawasdee Sling (vodka, cherry brandy, angostura bitters, pineapple juice, lychee syrup, soda).
For diners who crave the familiar heat of Thai cuisine but are ready to try a new kind of flame, Fi is worth the pilgrimage.
[Image credits: Fi Woodfire Thai]
Fi Woodfire Thai
Address Shaw Centre, 1 Scotts Rd, #03-14/15 Singapore 228208
Opening Hours 11.30am to 3pm, 5pm to 10pm everyday
Web fi-woodfire.com
Instagram @fi.woodfire
Reservations Call +65 8776 1569 or book here
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