I can’t recall the very first time I ever had Thai food. What I do know is that B and I have a serious affection for it. The essence of Thai food is all about balance – achieving the perfect harmony between sweet, hot, sour and salty. Thai food manages to retain a unique flavour all of its own.
This from David Thompson’s Thai Food released in 2002: “Thai cooking is at odds with the modern world, where speed and simplicity are paramount. Thai is not an instant cuisine, prepared with the flick of a knife and finished with the toss of a pan. It needs the cook’s attention, it expects time and effort to be spent and it requires honed skills, but it rewards with sensational tastes.”
Thai food is so comforting. It’s the kind of food that makes me happy when I eat it. Alluring tastes of salty fish sauce, sour lime, sweetness from palm sugar and hot chilli. The best kind is as delicious and amazing as it is fiery. You can’t stop eating it – nor do you want to.
I’m sure there’s nothing as good as Thai food in Thailand. Thailand has been on our list of places to visit for forever and we’ll get there one day (it’s a very long list). We’ve had some excellent Thai dishes in Melbourne – and just recently when we visited the city last month.
Melbourne restaurants such as Cookie, Longrain, Rice Paper Scissors and Chin Chin are among our favourite places to satisfy our craving for Thai and Asian food more generally. I find these places don’t ‘dumb down’ their food. They are all about fresh, delicious and authentic food – and not surprisingly, they all have a large fan base.
Cookie {252 Swanston St, Melbourne} – a beer hall with a little kitsch thrown in here and there. We love the salmon, prawn & pomelo salad with ginger and lemongrass as well as the barramundi fillets in banana leaf, red curry with coconut and basil.
Longrain {40-44 Little Bourke St, Melbourne} – brings a little fine dining to the Chinatown precinct. Wonderful freshly shucked oysters, delicious betel leaves with smoked trout, mint and green papaya. The red curry with wild barramundi, ginger and lime is deliciously gutsy with chilli.
Rice Paper Scissors {19 Liverpool St, Melbourne} – a casual funky place serving finger-lickin’ Vietnamese and Thai street food. Five dishes for $55 plus daily specials on the black board. Love the char-grilled beef with spicy citrus dipping sauce and lime cured kingfish salad with mint, chilli and shallots.
Chin Chin {125 Flinders Ln, Melbourne} – a real cheeky, pop culture cool vibe with a buzzing atmosphere. Authentic Asian flavours on offer with exciting twists. Yes, expect some ridiculous queues later at night. The kingfish sashimi is among the best I’ve had.
There is an ever-growing list of food places I love in this city. Thai food being the biggest draw card for us. One thing all these places have in common is that they tempt us to return to try more. And we will. We’re very excited to try David Thompson’s new restaurant – Long Chim – opening in Perth next month.
I lived in Melbourne for years and I miss eating out there! There are certainly some good Thai eateries around. Also, you should definitely visit Thailand, it’s so close to Australia and it’s such an affordable holiday destination!
Fingers crossed I can check Thailand off my travel wish list soon!
We are also big fans of Thai food. Well actually Thai food, Thailand and everything with a bit of Thai-ness! We even got married there. There is something about the cuisine that is so addictively delicious yet light and not overfilling. Looks like this was a wonderful feast!
I love the wide variety of dishes and flavours of Thai food. It’s definitely deliciously addictive!
I love Thai food too. I know that every time I bring out the pink ‘Thai Food’ book, I’m going to be happy. Now I want to go to Melbourne!
I find that whatever Asian cuisine you’re looking for, you’ll be spoiled for choice in Melbourne!
We adore Thai food too! In fact we just had it on Friday night. You can get really bad Thai food though so this is a helpful list :)
Thanks Lorraine. There are a lot of really mediocre Thai food places out there – I usually opt for my tried and true favourites!