Thai Market at Jurong Point to offer 2,000 Thai products, halal options included

Jurong residents looking for Thai curry pastes, sauces and toiletries will soon be able to get them at Jurong Point. The owners of Thai Supermarket at Aperia mall in Kallang are spreading their wings by opening a store in the western part of Singapore next week.

Called Thai Market, the new store, says Mr Loh Yuen Seng, 61 - who started the supermarket with his four brothers - is part of an expansion plan. He wants to open stores in the north, east and central parts of Singapore too, adding that he is now looking for a space in the east.

Thai Supermarket opened at Golden Mile Complex in 1987 and was a fixture there, attracting other Thai businesses, such as restaurants and clothing shops, to create a Little Thailand. It moved to Aperia in 2023, when the building was sold in a collective sale for $700 million.

Since then, a mini Thailand has sprung up at Aperia, with restaurants such as Nana Original Thai Food and Im-Em Thai Kitchen opening there. The 10,000 sq ft supermarket includes a dining space, where Thai restaurant operator Folks Collective has a restaurant and a noodle bar.

Mr Loh says that both the Covid-19 pandemic, when the supermarket started offering online shopping, and the supermarket's relocation to Aperia have been instrumental in attracting new customers.

"These are people who had never visited Golden Mile or heard of us, and they can now get their Thai products at Aperia," he says. "Here, we get the family crowd on weekends, when parents sending their kids to the tuition centres here stop to buy groceries and have a meal."

Customers have also asked for stores closer to their homes. He thinks locations in suburban malls with strong footfall are key to making it convenient for customers to get their Thai groceries.

A spokesperson for Link - which manages Jurong Point; AMK Hub in Ang Mo Kio; and Swing By @ Thomson Plaza, an F&B, retail and entertainment enclave in the Thomson Road mall - says Jurong Point attracts more than five million visitors each month.

"Singaporeans are very busy. They go for convenience, especially if they work 9am to 6pm," Mr Loh says, adding that this is why he is also looking to open stores in other parts of Singapore.

What gives him confidence to open them is the success of his in-house brand, Talad Thai Banana, a chain which sells banana, yam and sweet potato fritters. It opened at Aperia together with the supermarket and, soon, mall operators came a-calling.

In short order, stalls opened at AMK Hub and Punggol's Waterway Point in 2023; at Plaza Singapura, City Square Mall and VivoCity in 2024; and in Yishun's Northpoint City and Bishan's Junction 8 in 2025.

More will open at Chinatown Point, Raffles City, Lot One in Choa Chu Kang, Jewel Changi Airport and Ion Orchard.

"It was a combination of opportunity, luck and customers liking the taste of the fritters," he says. "We knew it would work in the supermarket, but weren't sure if it would succeed as standalone stalls."

He adds that sales at the AMK Hub stall were not affected when Talad Thai opened at Junction 8 nearby, bolstering his belief that customers want convenience first.

The new Thai Market in Jurong is about a quarter of the size of the Aperia store - 2,500 sq ft. Mr Loh's daughter Loh Wan Jing, 33, who helps run the supermarket, says it will stock about 2,000 different products.

These include toiletries, snacks, drinks, pastes, sauces, including a range of halal Thai products.

Freshly prepared food such as Thai salads, crispy crepes called kanom buang and drinks will be available from two stalls. Customers can also buy and eat Thai cup porridge and noodles - there is a hot water dispenser for the noodles, and a standing table to enjoy them.

There will also be a chiller for drinks but the store will not, at least in the beginning, carry perishable food such as Thai herbs.

Ms Loh is also looking to bring in frozen products, chilled protein drinks, protein chips, and sugar-free sauces and drinks from Thailand.