Muay Thai Cafe, Haymarket Sydney

There is this one restaurant located in the heart of Thai Town in Sydney, inside Capitol Square that is always be our go-to place.  What makes this place stand out is its beautiful spread of regional Thai dishes.  From the bold and fiery flavours of Eastern Thailand to the comforting classic of the Central region, the menu feels like a delicious cross-country journey.

From aromatic soups to perfectly seasoned stir-fries, the central Thai dishes are comforting and familiar.  But the best of all from me is something much more humble: plain rice congee (khao tom) accompanied with your choice of condiments.  It's light, warm and soothing.  It's exactly what you need on a chilly night or for a gentle reset meal.

Fish sausage

Stir fried Chinese broccoli with salted fish

Pork mince omelette

Stir fried squid with salted egg

Stir fried minced pork with nam liep

Chinese sausage salad

Plain rice congee

Another highlight is their rice congee set menu.  When you order it, you get unlimited, self-serve congee.  That means you can enjoy as much as you'd like, adding condiments and toppings to your heart's content.  There are two set menus $19 and $36, where with $19, you can choose four dishes from nine choices while another one, still you can only pick four but from 16 options.  

In the set menu, of course dishes come in a smaller portion.  But, you can also get them in the original size dish which cost around $15 to $20 each.

Grilled meatballs

The cafe also offers all the iconic dishes you'd expect from Thailand's northeast.  Their salad is tangy, spicy, and perfectly balanced.  Their grilled chicken (gai yang) and grilled sour pork (naem) pair wonderfully with sticky rice, giving you that rustic street-food feel right in the heart of Sydney.  It's simple, flavourful and incredibly satisfying.

My favourite dish is the unusual tum dish (salad dish) called tum moo yor or the Vietnamese style sausage salad.  It is a full on moo yor with some snake beans and tomato with the same sauce for som tum pla ra (fermented fish).  

Yum moo yor

Grilled naem (fermented pork)

Grilled chicked (kai yang)

Spicy pork bone soup

Crispy chicken skin

If you're craving authentic Thai flavours in Sydney - not just the usual pad thai and green curry, but the real home-style dishes loved across Thailand - Malila or Muay Thai Cafe is a hidden gem you'll want to bookmark.

Muay Thai Cafe (Ma Li La)

Shop G12, 730-742 George St, Haymarket

Inside Capitol Square Building (behind the Chinatown tram stop)