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Raku Inu Bistro: Meet some cute dogs and have Thai food.
Updated: May 19, 2021
Fancy some delicious Thai cuisine while having happy, furry dogs all around you?
There's a new pet café in town and it's right in the heart of Yio Chu Kang.
Visiting a pet cafe is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. You don't even need to own your own pet to visit one!
Why simply do the same thing over and over again during mealtimes, when you can have a delicious meal while being surrounded by cute little doggies.
My wife and I visited the newly opened Raku Inu Bistro and Bar last Saturday afternoon for lunch.
The Bistro was opened by the owners that run a pet shop of the same name - Raku Inu Pet Store, that's also in Yio Chu Kang.
Situated along Yio Chu Kang Road, Raku Inu Bistro and Bar opened its doors just two weeks ago.
It's right next to where the yellow and blue ST Electronics building is.
Just like other pet cafes, they allow dog owners to bring their dogs to chill out along side with them while having a meal.
We brought our two dogs, Soba the Shiba and Mandu the Corgi, down to check out this new bistro with us.
Here's a picture of them getting settled in.
We were kiasu and got there early around 1130 to make sure we had a place to sit.
It was empty.
But very quickly, people (and their dogs) started filling in around 1145.
Do make a reservation if you're planning to go down!
We were greeted by another couple with two big and handsome golden retrievers.
The great thing about visiting pet cafes is that dog owners are usually the friendliest people you meet in the world.
They are very happy to tell you more about their dogs, or even learn more about your dogs too.
As a dog owner myself, do feel free to pat the doggies as they walk by. You can even ask them to sit or give you a paw or handshake, that is if they know the commands.
Definitely do not pick them up off the ground and cradle them like a baby, nor feed them food off your plate.
ESPECIALLY NOT THAI FOOD.
Raku Inu Bistro serves up delicious authentic Thai Food.
Unlike other Pet cafes they serve up the usual fare of western gourmet food like pasta or meats, Raku Inu decided to offer pet owners something a little bit different.
From the people shouting orders in Thai back in the kitchen, we could instantly tell that the food was going to be authentic.
My wife and I were starving so we started with an order of Thai Style Grilled-Skewers (Moo Ping).
It was incredible. The marinade was savoury and we could taste a hint of coconut brushed over the top. The meat was moist and soft and each bite felt like porky heaven.
They cost $7.50 for three skewers.
For our mains, we had Basil Beef (Gra Pow) and a Tom Yum Seafood soup with rice on the side.
The Basil beef was a generous serving for just $12. We expected this to be the usual minced meat style, but Raku Inu Bistro serves this dish with actual slices of meat.
What a delight! It was just the right amount of spicy and the long beans in the fish sauce gave the dish a lovely extra crunch.
The Tom Yum Soup was pretty good too for $10.
We had the clear version but you could always get the thick, red version if you wanted to at the same price.
The soup came with prawns, fried fish, as well as sotongs. We loved the hot and sour taste of the soup, and the spice of the garlicky, lemon grass filled our nostrils with joy.
Even our dog, Soba, couldn't resist too!
Everything we ordered tasted great and authentic. No regrets there.
Except when we came across a picture of the Pork Jowl ($17) someone posted, which we didn't order.
Well, we'll get that the next time lah!
For dessert, you can even get some ice-cream if you wanted to.
They have a large selection of flavours to choose from.
Note for the pet owners!
The place itself isn't that big, so there isn't too much space for your dogs to run around and go into their zoomie modes.
But it's a cozy and colourful little place if you want to grab some delicious food and don't mind keeping your dogs next to you. You can definitely feel free to bring them around to socialise with the other dogs.
When we went, we didn't see any pee-pads either.
So you might have to take your dogs outside where there's a big grass patch 5 meters from the door to go potty.
So do check out Raku Inu Bistro and Bar when you have the time and come make some new furry friends (or even human friends).
Right now, they've got a promotion on beer towers, so you can even come in for a beer or five with your friends.
Thanks for reading and checking out their full menu below!
