Rens Club Cafe

From the outside, Rens Club Cafe does not really give any hints to what cuisine lies within.  I mean it is a bit difficult with the existing facade that originally belonged to La Villetta many years ago.  Then the restaurant became Eat for Good where minimal renovations were made.  Upon entering Rens, the real change starts to appear with a brightened interior with plenty of natural light.  New tables and chairs adorn the dining room as well as a coffee robot at the centre of it all.  We still didn't get a sense of what they served until we took a look at the menu.  Oh, they are a Thai restaurant!

Well, then let's start with the Bangkok Street Platter with pork spring roll, deep fried tofu, chicken satay and papaya salad.  I thought the spring roll was quite good with a crispy exterior and a not-overly-dense pork filling with wood ear, onions and carrots.  I particularly liked how they were not greasy.  The fried tofu was pretty typical, but I ended up dipping that in sweet & sour tamarind sauce which made things come alive with lots of impact.  Tender and well-marinated, the satay ate particularly well with the thick and aromatic peanut sauce.  Interestingly, I couldn't stop eating the fried taro sticks.  So crispy!

We ended up trying 2 soups including the Tom Yum and Tom Kha.  These were fairly large portions meant for sharing.  I found the Tom Yum to be decent with a good amount of aromatics, tanginess and the unmistakable taste of lemongrass and galangal.  I thought the spice level was pretty mild while the amount of palm sugar quite high.  As for the Tom Kha, it was also aromatic, but with coconut milk being prominent, it was certainly creamier and more mild.  Once again, it was on the sweeter side.

Of course we were going to get the Pad Thai (default Thai dish right?) and it was pretty decent.  The noodles were al dente and not clumpy, but then again, it was probably due to the greasiness too.  The tamarind sauce was more sweet than tangy but it still was fine.  I would've liked to see a bit more sour and even more spiciness too as the flavour was quite one note.  However, the caramelization was present, so the smoky sweetness was definitely there.  Also present was the egg, bean sprouts, chives fried tofu and peanuts.  Would've liked to see some pickled turnip though.

Next, we tried the Beef Yellow Curry with potato, carrot and onion.  I thought by appearances alone, this looked quite appealing.  It was indeed not bad where there was plenty of beef that was tender and exhibiting natural texture.  The veggies were cooked through, but were still vibrant and had a firm texture.  The curry itself was a bit too sweet in my opinion.  Maybe reduce the amount of palm sugar and increase the spice level and the curry would be on point in my opinion.

Next, we had the Chicken Red Curry that was the sweetest dish we had so far in the meal.  In addition to the palm sugar, the sweetness of the grapes, lychees and pineapple made this taste more like a dessert than a curry.  Possibly, if there was more spice to the dish, it could've balanced off all of the sweet components.  However, it would be best that they didn't add the fruit and stuck to the peppers, tomato and basil.  Chicken was tender though.

To complete the trifecta of curries, we had the Tiger Prawn Green Curry with eggplant, peppers and Thai Basil.  I thought this was the best curry of the bunch where the prawns were perfectly cooked with a sweet snap.  Eggplant was excellent too where the Thai eggplant was especially appealing in texture.  The curry itself was sweet like the others, but a little less so.  I got the creaminess from the coconut milk, but would've liked more fermented shrimp flavour.

One of the better items we had was the Khao Soi Gai.  Although once again sweet, I found the creaminess of the curry broth to be fragrant and aromatic.  I would've liked to see more of the crispy noodles as there was just not enough of it.  The egg noodles were prepared properly being al dente, but a touch clumpy. The chicken was tender and fell-off-the-bone.  There was enough pickled mustard greens to break up the heaviness of the coconut curry broth.

We ended off with 2 desserts to share including the Housemade Coconut Ice Cream and the Mango Sticky Rice. A little melty and not particularly smooth, the coconut ice cream was actually decent.  Flavour was good and just sweet enough. Definitely homemade as there was no stabilizers used. As for the sticky rice, it was also good being soft and chewy while lightly sweet and coconutty.  Not sure about the jelly flowers.  Weird texture. Overall, the food at Ren's is a bit confusing.  Nowhere in the name or the restaurant screams Thai food.  Furthermore, they have to ease up on the palm sugar.  With that being said, the food here is better than the nearby H&P Noodle House, but not as authentic as Chad Thai.  It certainly cannot compete against Siam Le Bien further East on Hastings.  But really, who are they catering to?  If it is for the casual diner that doesn't care about authenticity and would rather have sweeter than spicier, then maybe they have an audience.  But with the constant lineups at Siam Le Bien, maybe the neighbourhood does prefers authentic Thai food?

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Fairly decent portions
- Nice decor
- Serviceable eats

The Bad:
- Far too sweet
- Doesn't taste all that authentic