Tom Yum Noodles @ Muay Thai

Very close to calling Muay Thai the best place in Thaitown, sure Chat Thai and Spice I Am would have something to say about that but Muay is starting to pull out in front. I do need a number of Spice I Am visits to commit to this, but the distance involved in getting down there from the office is not helping their cause.

So when we had an old colleague come to visit the obvious choice was Muay - it also helps that it never busy so the fact is we can snag a table for 7 easily. Having said that that fact it's never really busy at all might be an issue down the line for their business.

Having jumped back on the Tom Yum bandwagon a little while ago was interested to see how Muay Thai would do here; was not disappointing.

Am disappointed by the level of lighting though. Poor photo ahead;

The key here was the lack of the Tom Yum flavour that is everywhere, I assume this is because most places are using the same brand of paste to make their soup. Muay Thai are working from scratch. The biggest clue here is the colour of the soup, more clear than the generic red-orange of tom yum paste.

Lemongrass and lime leaf flavours in the soup but nowhere near as overpowering as they are normally. Plenty of room on the palate to personalise the dish with some condiments. Vegetables were crunchy and there were even wonton sheets here, a very different soup.

With all the wet dark weather this was quite the mood lifter and puts the generic tom yum back in it's box. Muay Thai again putting most of the other stores to shame.

Where – Muay Thai

When – 03/04/13

What – Tom Yum Noodle

Cost - $10.50

With – Messrs Kim, Lim, Toll, Maynard, Calalang and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 3.5/4

Yen Ta Fo (Dry) @ Thainatown

I've crossed blocks for this dish. From Market Street to Golburn; which, by my count, is four. Four whole blocks I used to have to negotiate from the old office to get to Thianatown for a serve of their dry Yen Ta Fo.

Why the Herculean effort? Why the struggle? Cause you can't get this dish anywhere else (that I've seen).

There has been another dry YTF tasted in the fair history of this blog at the ever reliable Chat Thai - here. But there, and most places I've been into to, serve with just a dash of soup and that is the only difference from the regular dish. Less soup.

Thainatown go the whole hog (hold the pig please) with a full on stir fry dish.

We've got the same basic ingredients here, seafood, kale and noodles but it's the different type (vermicelli as opposed to wide flat rice) of noodles that makes the dish stand out and allows it to stay a Yen Ta Fo as opposed to Generic Stir Fry No 12. The vermicelli absorbs most of the sauce so whist there is no soup here the flavor the soup brings to the dish is not missed.

All in all a top dish and unique enough to want me coming back time and time again. Only complainet was that the serve was a touch on the small side so it does lose half a point there. Think I'm still burnt from the disappointment of the Rad Na in my last post. 

Better news is that Thianatown is only a block away now.

Where – Thainatown

When – 02/04/13

What – Yen Ta Fo (Dry)

Cost - $10.50

With – Messrs Clarke, Dong, Mukai, and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 3/4

Rat Na @ Khao San Road

I went to Khao San Road in Bangkok once, had a beer, nosed around for 20 minutes and hoofed back to Sukhumvit as fast as I could.

Looks like this restaurant in the heart of Thaitown on Pitt Street has taken after the notorious backpacker road and gone for the disappointing and kinda shit feel of it's namesake.

And so it is with great regret that I announce; worst lunch ever (well, worse lunch so far). How can you mess up a Rat Na so much. Well I think this speaks for itself;

Where are the noodles? And what's going on with the tofu? No other vegetables? Presentation is not a thing? Did I order off the kids menu? 

Come on.

This is not what I've come to expect from what is fast becoming a favorite dish; this was bland and left me hungry still - so in short it failed on every level as a meal.

Not happy.

Where – Khao San Road

When – 27/03/13

What – Rat Na

Cost -$9.90

With – Messrs Kim, Mukai, Milet, Calalang and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 0.5/4

Paak Boohng Dtai Laow @ Chat Thai

Paak Boohng Dtai Laow? 

WTF?

I'm not sure that this is a thing. Well, I know it exists as a dish, I ate it, but have never heard of anything that sounds like this. And this is post 14.

Global had come to town (CEO, CFO and HR) so we had the customary get together after a few presentations. I did miss the 4am bender on a Monday due to flu. Lucky. But apparently word got out of the quality of Thai food in the area and I was the obvious point man to lead the charge (much to my Thai colleague's dismay, sucker).

So eight of us went to Chat Thai.

New experience here as there was eight people sharing but being the token vegetarian I got the one dish to myself as everything else that was being shared and passed around was with pig or chicken.

Can't really see from the picture here but dish is made up of vermicelli noodles, cucumber, hard boiled egg, and deep fried river prawns served with sweet chilli sauce.

Now I must say that I loathe with a passion sweet chilli sauce, it is disgusting. Only up to the time that I had this dish. Secret is not to have that crap that comes out of a jar who's whole existence is to accompany potato wedges. This was actually made in house and does contain chill (not just sugar), and what a difference that makes.

What I enjoyed most here was the textures; noodles, egg, prawn, and cucumber held together by the sauce was quite the experience. Would have enjoyed a little more heat in the food but there would have been the danger of overpowering what was already in the bowl as the flavors were quite delicate and balanced.

The school prawns we deep fried whole so you're eating brain and tail. Normally I don't go in for that sort of thing but just felt and tasted right here.

Best thing was that Global picked up the tab. Will be back for another bowl, more than happy to pay for this dish with my hard earned.

Where – Chat Thai

When – 25/03/13

What – Paak Boohng Dtai Laow

Cost - Free!

With – Messrs Clarke, Dong, Milet, Crawley, Lee, Noguerol and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 3.5/4

Crab Fried Rice @ Thainatown

Oh right, this place is actually called Thainatown, not just plain old Thaitown. That's a little embarrassing, I've been coming here for years. Lean something new every day I guess.

One of the things that keeps us coming back here is a good old fashion loyalty card, buy ten meals, get your little stamp for each meal, hit ten; free meal. Booyah. Added in the fact that we normally eat in a group of 4 it fills up pretty fast. I'd like to say this is proof that these things work but haven't eaten here since ...(checks post history) ... 18 days ago.

Been down with the flu the last few days but dragged my sorry ass into work Friday (and not just for the Thai food, but the idea of it helped me pour myself out of bed). Needed something carbed up and plain with a chilli punch so I could actually taste anything. When feeling crap go fried rice - it's true for all Asian cuisine. And nothing is better in fried rice than crab.

Who knows what this actually tasted like. I could taste something so mission success. But that was mainly the prik nam pla (which is in shot above, and I just know you are aware that it's birds eye chilli in fish sauce) which I piled on. Fish sauce and egg are one of the best food combinations you can have, added in with the crab and chilli and it's comfort food heaven.

But what's this? Another photo??

Well if your're getting a freebie dish at a Thai place you have to get something to share so you have to get a Som Tum.

Not sure what you can say about Som Tum, it's the greatest salad in the universe. Always has been, always will be. Not quite ripe papaya shredded with carrot and pounded in a pestle and mortar with sour lime, sugar, fish sauce and chilli. 

It is Thai food personified. I've eaten it in high end restaurant at $24 a pop and I've eaten it in the backstreets if Bangkok at $1 a pop. 

It's 10am and I'm drooling thinking about Som Tum.

This one was salted egg added in, didn't do much for me in terms of adding to the dish. But then I have crazy high expectations on salted egg after that salted egg crab dish I tucked into in Penang, but that's a story for another time.

Good news is we filled up our loyalty card so we'll all be back soon. I noticed a catfish Som Tum on the menu which should be next to check out; anything is better then Som Tum Poo (for obvious reasons).

Where – Thainatown

When – 22/03/13

What – Crab Fried Rice

Cost - $10.50

With – Messrs Clarke, Dong, Kim, Mukai, and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 2/4

Tom Yum Noodles @ ChonSiam

ChonSiam has the be the closest thing in Sydney to eating on the streets of Bangkok. It's a hole in the wall, there are only a handful of tables, the menu is limited, serves are quite small and the food is spicy.

Place was packed and I was the only white person. It's all great stuff.

One of my favorite things about this place, and a real sign that it's 'locals' only, is the fact that the set of condiments is on every table, there is not just one or two floating around that you have to ask for before they get whisked away halfway through your meal. One per table - Bangkok street style.

This also ties into the fact that everyone has the $4 boat noodles. $4. That's crazy cheap. Me, I had the Tom Yum Noodle soup (which I've been threatening to have since my Tom Yum fried rice back in post 3)

"No pork or chicken" I said, complaining, as my lunch was presented, that includes minced form. It's still meat you know. But it was ok, it was just some deep fried garlic, which really pushed this dish along by adding a little crunch to the soup.

Stock was good, nice and spicy and without that splash of coconut cream that seems to be a thing in some places. Couldn't tell if it was home made but didn't taste out of a jar so that's half the battle won Eenjoyed the fish balls and fish cake slices - now they were very much out of a packet but that just makes it really authentic.

All in all a real authentic bowl of Tom Yum, only thing missing from the full Bangkok street experience was the smog, backed up traffic, and the weather. I can live without those.

Where – ChonSiam

When – 18/03/13

What – Tom Yum Noodle Soup

Cost - $8.90

With – Messrs Dong, and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 3/4

Pad Cha @ Chilli Cha Cha

Stir fries with sauce are good but sometimes you just can't go past a paste. 

After being told we were off to Chilli Cha Cha's yesterday I was outvoted in the elevator and we ended up at some ramen joint. I do love a good ramen (it's the vegetarian in me that loves ho'ing into the creamy pork bone soup) but; outrage. Obviously I forced through the visit today.

Chilli Cha Cha (CCC) and I go back a fair bit. In the Surry Hills days I used to have lunch here regularly on the weekend, no $10 menu on Sat/Sun I can tell you. Also been a bit of a revival recently as my occasional drinking buddy Rusty is a big fan and have ended up here on the odd Friday for the red curry paste soft shell crab (recommended) after a few pale ales.

Not a lot to the place, very canteen style but still an predominantly Thai clientele and that is really what I'm looking for most of the time.

Went with something new and ender up with a Pad Cha - 

Overall dish was very good, strong flavour from the chilli paste and an good mix of vegetables but lacking anything really standing out (such as the bamboo in my Spice I Am stir fry). Paste really was the star here and dish didn't require any additional seasoning here, flavours were pretty much all in harmony when the plate was presented.

Minor quibbles in that the the serve of rice was pretty hefty and only one strand(?) of peppercorns, young peppercorns being a thing I only discovered via Thai food that are just fantastic.

At $9.90 good value, came with a drink but no sugar water for me so I passed. Water is best drink (that's not booze or coffee). 

One of the things that have come out of the last 10 posts is that the better food in Thaitown seem to require that little extra incentive, nothing under $10 has hit full marks and just the one dish under a ten spot has scored over 3. Something to perhaps keep in mind, if I can be bothered.

Big crowd today. Table for 6 needed.

Where – Chilli Cha Cha

When – 14/03/13

What – Pad Cha

Cost - $9.90

With – Messrs Clarke, Dong, Cooke, Mukai, and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 3/4