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

Yen Ta Fo @ Chat Thai

Might have to consider renaming this blog to Yen Ta Fo Adventures.

Yen Ta Fo! Yen Ta Fo! Yen Ta Fo!

Do love Chat Thai. Sure you have to wait, every-time (and this is at lunch so god only knows what it's like at 8pm), and it's noisy. But there is a reason why it is so popular; the food is great. Pretty simple really.

Did try to shake it up a little and opposed to wet (soup) I went dry. Thinking it would be stir-fried but instead it came as it would as a a soup but with only a very small amount of liquid right at the bottom. Different. Not what I was expecting.

 

Now when I first got onto the YTF bandwagon was careful to ensure that I asked for no pork, happy to take as is without the pig; so just kale, fish balls, squid, tofu, noodles and the soup. Now it comes with two types of tofu, regular and some kind of dark fermented tofu. But it turns out, after 2 years of eating this dish, that the dark, soft, stuff is actually congealed pigs blood. 

Shit. That ain't vegetarian friendly.

Have to ask to hold the pork and blood when I order now. Apart from today, as there was no pork listed on the menu I just asked for 'no blood'. So of course it came with half a pig nestling amongst the noodles.

Thankfully I'm not that fussy and there were no shortage of takes round the table for the pork, had to portion it out in fact. 

Still was excellent a great way to mix up my Yen Ta Fo obsession, will be back for another bowl, just have to remember to hold the pork AND the blood.

Where – Chat Thai

When – 12/03/13

What – Yen Ta Fo

Cost - $10.90

With – Messrs Clarke, Dong, and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 3.5/4

Rat Na @ Muay Thai

Here we go with another first, my first double up in terms of restaurant; so big congrats to Muay Thai.

And if you read (all 5 or you) my glowing review of their Yen Ta Fo then you'll see why I was more than happy to get back down there and even try another dish. And it was not even my call to head back there, and all parties from Thursday were more than happy to head back. Seems I was not the only one impressed with Muay Thai.

Ducked the YTF (despite being sorely tempted) and went with the Rat Na.

And once again Muay Thai delivers.

Have spoken about Rat Na in my first post and it remains a dish I am very found of. This version however was unlike any other Rat Na due to the thickness of the gravy. Never seen suck a thick, dark, flavorsome gravy; strong and funky and rich.

Normally I throw the condiments all over my Rat Na but this did hold off a little this time to allow the dish, specifically the gravy, to speak for itself. Booyah.

Muay Thai is a pretty great place as well, on the block of Pitt between Goulburn and Campbell right in the heart of Thaitown. Dig the boxing gloves on the wall (despite it being a touch predictable) and love the TV's in the gold frames showing Thai shows.

There are a couple of other Thai places that have been on Pitt for a few years and hopefully Muay can carve out a spot for itself long-term. Know I'll be back, can I hold out till next week?

Where – Muay Thai

When – 11/03/13

What – Rat Na

Cost - $10.90

With – Messrs Kim and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 4/4

Pad See Ew @ Mr B's

It was only a matter of time before the exotic stuff took a back seat and I indulged in the chicken schnitzel of Thai food; Pad See Ew. Not even sure how this gets classified as Thai, it could not be any more Chinese. 

Flat rice noodles, oyster sauce and Chinese broccoli. Come on.

Anyway it was Friday and Mr B (that's the bar) or iima (that's the restraunt) does food and a beer for $12. After being in Melboure all day Thursday I deserved the beer. Problem is then you're eating off the $12 meal deal menu where your veggie options are this or Pad Thai. 

How wild and crazy.

Not a lot of point going into this. Everyone's had Pad See Ew and this was neither amazeballs nor terrible. Loads of veggies though but did need a full whack of fish sauce and chilli (Nam-Pla Prik) to get everything happening together.

Wish they had Pad Kee Mao on the deal. Much more of a Pad Kee Mao fan, the chilli is the 'Kee'. Sorry.

Beer was good, manged to pay an extra buck and upgrade to a Cooper Pale Ale. Success. Shame Mr B's is a bit of a dump (and we had to eat on stools on a high table, I'm a standard table man) but beer and noodles for $13 is a deal so we'll be back.

Where – Mr B's

When – 7/03/13

What – Pad See Ew

Cost - $13.00 (with a beer)

With – Messrs Kim and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 2/4

Yen Ta Fo @ Muay Thai

So here's a first. My first double up in terms of dish. 

*fireworks*

Now I said Yen Ta Fo was a favorite of mine and I was not joking. Despite the many, many options available to me and the fact I was on the YTF two days previously, here I was again.

To be fair it didn't start out this way; Muay Thai has a very impressive Issan menu and I tried to get something here but in classic Issan style EVERYTHING had pork mashed into it somehow. When in doubt go back to an old favorite.

Luckily, it was the best Yen Ta Fo I've ever had.

Soup wasn't overly pink colored, stock was spicy (it's so rarely spicy off the bat) and had depth to it, excellent collection of seafood, kale was delicious, plenty of noodles (so often they skimp on the noodles) and the serving size was spot on.

Only concern was the price here, I'm always on or around the ten buck mark so it was a little disappointing to see my cheque come in at $12.90. There is a relevant story here but need to hold back on that one for now.

Feel bad for my YTF two days previously as I've written them both up this weekend and it may have been judged harshly. However this is the whole point of this exercise, a benchmark has been established and I look forward to anyone else stepping up to the plate. Also looking forward to heading back to Muay Thai for another bowl.

Four outta four here.

*additional fireworks*

Where – Muay Thai

When – 5/03/13

What – Yen Ta Fo

Cost - $12.90

With – Messrs Kim and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 4/4

Gang Keaw Warn @ Yok Yor

I hope this place is called Nok Noy, will have to double check (EDIT - It's actually Yok Yor and have updated as such, no idea what/who/where Nok Noy is). It's a new place on Campbell Street but more towards Elizabeth, just on the edge of 'the zone' (I'm cutting Spice I Am a break here as they can do what they want).

It's actually not the first time I've been here, I was here the previous Friday when Rusty and I were directed here by Chilli Cha Cha, who was shutting down for the night (that or they could see we'd had a few beers so they pointed us across the road to Nok Noy). The night is a bit sketchy due to the Illawara Brewing Company tap take over at the Pumphouse, but I will never forget the morning after.

Whatever I ate that night was so spicy that my pee was burning in the morning. For a (very short) while I did wonder how the hell I had managed to catch Gonorrhea but thankfully it was just the redonk amount of chilli that had been in my food moving through my body. Oh the pain. Oh the humanity.

Obviously this time I ordered something else.

Always a pleasure to have something new (even if it wasn't that great). Gang Keaw Warn is a green curry, but as more of a thick soup with beans, tofu, apple eggplant and noodles.

Now call me a Farang but I'm now so used to the 'Australian' version of Thai, where they lay the vegetables on think and fast, a few beans and pieces of eggplant ain't gonna cut it no more. Overall this meal took about 2 days off my life with the lack of veggies and the amount of coconut cream. Not that fastidious as a rule when it comes to food but I could feel the cholesterol build up after this one.

So 0 from 2 here so far (well I actually loved the burning pee dish but can't eat that all the time; it burns!)

Where – Nok Noy

When – 5/03/13

What – Gang Keaw Warn

Cost - $9.90

With – Messrs Calalang and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 1.5/4

Yen Ta Fo @ Thainatown

Keeping a blog apparently is quite hard, am 6 days late with this entry. Gonna have to be better in finding the time for updates.

Now not eating meat is never more ball busting then when it comes to noodle soup, as traditionally there is a lot of animal that has been stewed for stock. Never is that more clear (or should that be dark and funky looking) than with Thai soups, but thankfully there are other options. One of which, and my go to soup, is Yen Ta Fo; which cannot be missed with it's pink colouring. 

As my fellow lunches were on some Boat Noodles (so much meat) I refused to be excluded from the noodles soup fun and games so YTF it was.

We used to hoof down to Thainatown a few times a year from the old office mainly for the fact that it was one of the few places that did a YTF that was dry. That is to say, stir-fried as opposed to a soup. That is my typical order but you got to mix it up (and rest assured there will be a dry YTF review here sooner rather than later).

Not a lot to say on the soup itself, pretty standard fare. Now I do have high expectations as it's on of my favourites and this was very serviceable but nothing to really stand out or crow about. I'll be back to Thainatown, but for the dry YTF.

Where – Thaitown

When – 4/03/13

What – Yen Ta Fo

Cost - $9.50

With – Messrs Clarke and Chongwattanapirom

Rating – 3/4

Pad Kra Prao @ Spice I Am

Spice I Am; I used to eat there before it was cool. When you could get a table in under 10 minutes. Good times.

Last time I waited for 30 mins, and you have to spend the time drinking in Triple Ace bar, possibly the worse bar in this hemisphere. At least they've managed to get Coopers Pale on tap.

Despite this god awful weather today we decided to hoof down to Wentworth Avenue (and whatever you might hear it was my idea) and indulge ourselves in some Spice I Am. Naturally we had to wait for a table.

Been a while since I've been here but not a lot has changed aside from a lick of paint. It's busy, noisy, cramped, and the food is fantastic.

Jumped on a classic and favourite of mine, chill basil stir fry.

That's some impressive presentation. And was matched in taste. A heads up that it was a very spicy dish from the waitress is always a good sign (what's Thai for 'Yo! I rocked 3 years living in Bangkok, bring it') and there sure was a decent bite.

Excellent selection of vegetables here with possibly the best bamboo shoots I've every had. And a pleasure to have tofu that wasn't deep fried, but flash fried in a block and then thinly sliced.

All in all it's fantastic to be heading back to Spice I Am and can't wait to check out some of the other dishes. 

Where – Spice I Am

When – 27/2/13

What – Pad Kra Prao

Cost - $10.90

With – Messrs Kim, Maynard, Chongwattanapirom, Calalang

Rating – 3.5/4