Having been in operation for more than two decades, Thanying ranks as one of the old guards of Thai restaurants in Singapore. The establishment, located on the second floor of Amara Singapore, has been dishing up royal Thai cuisine longer than many of us can remember. Despite being only half full when arriving for lunch on a weekday, there was still a wait at the entrance before being attended to.

First to arrive on the table was a platter of stuffed chicken wings, each beautifully and evenly deep-fried to a crisp, deep brown, with juicy and tender meat that was rich in flavour. The fact that the sizable wings were deboned also made them easy to devour in two bites.

The tom yum goong with prawns was clean and sharp, with a wave of intense heat that comes seconds after the initial sip. But the flavours were also quick to dissipate, leaving a hollow and nearly unbearable spiciness on the finish. The green mango salad sprinkled with heaps of crushed nuts was very enjoyable however the flavours were, well, green and piquant, without much depth.

Green curry with beef sat well with us. The flavours were balanced, with no single flavour overpowering another. We were happy to eat it over a bowl of plain rice, with some fried omelette with crabmeat on the side. The omelette was tasty but a little greasy with a decidedly trim helping of crabmeat. More crabmeat would have made all the difference.

The pork hor fun - rat na or lad na as the Thais call it - was excellent. Cooked like the local dry hor fun, the thin broad rice noodles were smooth and delicately charred with a nuanced sweetness. The deep-fried garoupa, however, was a huge letdown. It was served as thin fillets that were dry, tough and completely unpalatable, even when dressed in chilli-soy sauce.

We finished our meal with a serving of red ruby - diced chestnut coated in funky coloured jelly and served in sweetened coconut milk; and mango sticky rice, all washed down with a glass of Thai iced tea, to which you could add sugar syrup to a level of your liking.

We were, on the whole, generally satisfied with our meal at Thanying, although we had expected a little more from one of our country's veteran bulwarks of Thai restaurants.

Thanying Restaurant, 165 Tanjong Pagar Road, 2/F Amara Hotel, 6222 4688

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