Chat Thai, Thai, Sydney

Chat Thai

Level 6

Sydney Westfield Pitt St Mall

9221 0600

http://www.chatthai.com.au/

Bookings Recommended

So. There is another Chat Thai in Sydney.. I bet the question in your mind is- is the line as long as the Haymarket Chat Thai? Sadly.. Yes. We arrived a little before 7pm but there was already a decent line of people waiting for a table.

Is the food as good? Well.. I think I should leave that up to you guys to decide for yourself..

The menu has improved in the sense that it now offers more than the standard thai fare. Anyways. Still worth trying but I think I like the original better.

Fried de-boned chicken wings sauteed with in smoked chilli jam sauce

De-boned chicken! I love it. No need to awkwardly eat this with your hands. Or a knife/fork. I think people who eat chicken wings with knives & forks are hilarious.

Stir Fried crisp pork belly and wild ginger with red curry paste

Hmmmm.. the pork belly wasn't crispy or crunchy.

Spicy char grilled beef salad

This was very flavoursome..

Crisp whole snapper in roasted chilli and garlic sauce

This was really good! Quite spicy but if you enjoy chilli this is really yummy. This and the chicken wings were my 2 favourite dishes of the night.

Red curry of roasted duck with pineapple and holy basil

Overall? It was okay. I guess you get what you pay for.. All up the bill worked out to be $25 each which was quite reasonable since we ordered 5 mains. Not much to say honestly as the experience was quite average.

The Good: The location, price

The Bad: the lines..

Longrain, Thai, Sydney

Longrain Restaurant & Bar

85 Commonwealth Street Sydney

9280 2888

http://www.longrain.com.au/

Thank you to the lovely J for dinner tonight :) I am very lucky to have such an amazing friend.

Longrain is a modern Thai restaurant that serves authentic Thai food with a fine dining twist. I never used to think that the words 'authentic", thai' and 'fine dining' would ever go hand in hand but tonight has definitely changed all that. Longrain is chic (I mean.. come on, it sits inside an old converted warehouse) and the food is absolutely spectacular.

Eggnet with pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts & sweet vinegar ($31)

This dish blew me away. There was just so much flavour.. I would love to learn how to match flavours together like this. The prawns, pork, peanuts, bean sprouts etc.. everything complemented each other perfectly. The only thing that I couldn't taste was the egg (haha).

Caramelised Pork hock with five spice and chilli vinegar ($33.50)

J recommended this and it was delicious. The pork hock was crunchy - not crispy like the way pork belly is. The problem with pork belly is that its just crispy fat which is really really unhealthy. At least with crunchy pork hock its crispy meat and not crispy fat. Anyways .. I think this is slightly healthier than pork belly. It tastes better than pork belly too :)

We couldn't finish the pork hock or the egg nett and we were so full. But we ordered dessert anyways!

After much debate we decided on the Thai Chaos, coconut jelly, black sticky rice, tapoica and custard apple ($16.50)

How good does that look? Its like triple layer happiness. Whoever said love, fame and fortune makes you happy was wrong. I think the real answer is food..

Spice I am, Thai, Darlinghurst

Spice I am

300 Victoria St Darlinghurst

I've heard alot of good things about Spice I am so was very eager when a friend suggested to catch up over dinner at Spice I am. There are three locations- there are two casual Spice I am in Surry Hills and the more up market restaurant is on Victoria Street in Darlinghurst. So of course we went to the Darlinghurst one. It was definitely a nice change to get out of the CBD for dinner.

Spice I am was impossible to find, it looks nothing like a thai restaurant from the outside, more like a swanky wine bar. So it was really embarrassing using google maps to find the place when we were literally standing outside the restaurant. The sign doesn't grab your attention (I think they should have done the name in red rather than silver) but eventually we found it :)

The menu was a little pricey but the portions were quite good.

We ordered firstly the Stir fried crispy pork belly wok tossed with red curry paste, green beans, chilli and kaffir lime

The pork belly was nice and crispy and the flavours were good. Not too spicy either.

Yum Hua Plee

Shredded banana flower salad with king prawns, roasted coconut, shallots, chilli, coriander and nam pik pao dressing

The prawns were juicy and tender but I found that the salad was a little too strong. There were just too many different flavours which confused my taste buds.

Massamam Curry

Rich aromatic curry of slow cooked beef eschallot and potato

The massamam curry was good, beef extremely tender and the curry delicious.

Overall the experience was good. I enjoyed the nice surroundings, the swanky chairs and the fancy toilets (with bath towels and even hand lotion) and its a great place to sit around and have a chat. But personally I think the food was lacking that 'ooomph' and didn't really offer anything different to reach the calibre of an up market thai restaurant. Comparing it to Rambutan, the food at rambutan was just so much better and also more creative (ie rambutan in the stir fry) and I think Spice I am was just missing that. The food is good but a little too expensive for what you're getting. Try the Surry Hills restaurant which is on average $10-$15 cheaper for the same dish.

Home Thai, Sydney, Thai

Home Thai

299 Sussex Street Sydney

9261 5058

www.homethai.com.au

Every night from 630pm long queues form outside Home Thai. This Thai restaurant opened up around March and has been a hit with Sydneysiders ever since. In fact most of the customers seem to be Thai people, and if the Thai people recommend it, then it must be good right?

I usually get takeaway from Home Thai and eat it at home because the restaurant gets very crowded. Expect to wait up to half an hour during the dinner rush.. and if they try to 'squeeze' your table into a smaller table - ie fit 3 people onto a 2 people table- say no! Its uncomfortable and you'd much rather wait another 10 minutes for a proper table. Otherwise do the right thing and book!

Tom Yum Goong

Spicy Prawn Soup with Mushrooms and Herbs

So spicy. So sour! I did about three spoons of soup before giving up and just eating the prawns and mushrooms.

Look Chin Ping

Grilled skewered chicken balls served with fresh vegetables and spicy sauce

This was $1.50 for 2 skewers. Unbelievable hey?

Pak Ka Na Moo Grob

Stir fried crispy pork belly, fresh chilli, chinese brocolli, green beans and oyster sauce.

This dish almost makes me think that Thai food is healthy. Lots of crunchy greens and barely a hint of chilli. I think the pork belly is deep fried though.. which would explain why its deliciously crispy. But not very good for you.

Pad Nue Nam Mun Hoi

Stir fried marinated topside with shallot, mushroom and oyster sauce served with steamed

brocolli.

This was very tasty and the beef topside was nice and tender.

Pad Pik Khing

Stir fried crispy pork belly with chilli, lime leaf, green bean and pik khing sauce

This dish was surprisingly spicy. The pik khing sauce really kicks a punch.

Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab with Mango Salad

This my friends, is no the 'mango salad' you would expect. The mango is actually green mango, which is a sour stringy version and not the sweet juicy mango you would pick up from the supermarket. The salad is quite good and if you like thai salads, definitely try number 20 beef salad, superb.

Dear readers, I apologise for the lack of frequent updates. Lately I've been a little preoccupied. Mostly because its just so friggin damn cold and I cbf going outside to eat. Tonight my lovely sister cooked chicken and swiss mushroom risotto, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and poached pears for dinner. Seriously, why would I go out to eat? Anyways I do have a few more posts that I need to upload, including J's 24th at Red Chili Sichuan Restaurant. With a menu that includes:

- Chef's special lamb spices with spciy cummin

- Hot Pot Venerupis with hot and spicy sauce

- Stewed Beef and vermicelli in special cour soup

- Country style stewed fish fillets with chinese chive juice

(exact spelling of the menu), it was definitely an experience to remember.

By the way, how awesome is the new level 5 Westfield food court? I was so excited! I had lunch there today and also last Friday. It has a Din Tai Fung and the 'stalls' look like proper restaurants. I cannot wait to try Ragu Wine Bar. So excited! Who wants to have lunch?

So until then (B.L can you please upload photos!) toodles :)

Rambutan, Modern Thai, Darlinghurst

Rambutan

Modern Thai

96 Oxford Street Darlinghurst

9360 7772

Tonight I had a lovely dinner at Rambutan with my four best friends. The service was excellent, the food was delicious and the drinks were amazing. Definitely recommended for an group dinner, but it may be a little too loud for a intimate dinner.

This is the restaurant at 630pm before the dinner rush. At 7pm, this place becomes insanely packed and lively. I apologise in advance to the random guy in my photo, sorry dude I dont know how to cut you out of my photo.

The restaurant was a bit dark so I only managed to take one good photo of the cocktails. But I recommend the baked apple martini, the Bellini and the ladykiller cocktails.

Dr Phil's Famous Flaming Rum Punch.

This sweet and flavorsome Appleton VX rum based drink is 5 parts holiday, 3 parts insanity & all the knowledge of an encyclopedia.

Hectic. This was pretty strong, I think the alcohol content was 50%.

Pla laht prik, hot, sweet & sour crispy whole snapper w bamboo shoot & kaffir lime leaf.

I was really surprised when they said the market price of this was only $36. Also very yummy for anyone that likes crispy skinned fish.

The photos from here are all taken with flash because the lighting was quite dim.

Wok fried King prawns w pong gari, coconut cream, baby corn & curry leaf

These prawns were so tender. One bite was like an explosion of flavours.. the prawns were ridiculously fresh. Its like they were caught in the morning and peeled right before they were cooked. Delicious!

Stir fried wild mushrooms w ginger, tofu, cashew nut & mushroom soy

Its always good to get a vegetarian dish to complement the meal.

Dry red curry, roasted pork belly w snake beans, grachi & holy basil

This was nice but I will be honest and say that the $13.90 version from Home Thai is better. Enjoyable nevertheless.

Crispy duck w sweet rambutan, eschallot, garlic & tamarind sauce

The portion size was really good, about three quarters of a duck. The duck was tender and juicy but the skin crispy. Very nice. The rambutan is a bit strange addition though and one of my friends actually mistook it for a scallop. Sigh I wish it was a scallop... yummm..

Verdict- thoroughly enjoyed and would return.