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)

Mango Coco, Haymarket

Why choose between savoury and dessert when you can have it all?  From decadent desserts to mouthwatering meals, they've got it all!!!  At first, we were quite sceptical to try savoury dishes in a dessert shop.  This shop was originally a full-on dessert shop.  But because their menus are too good to be missed.  At the end, we were gobsmacked by how delicious their savoury dishes were.  No dodgy, mass-produced food here.  They're all about quality.  And let me tell you, the food was a feast for the eyes and taste buds.

Kor moo yang $19.95 (grilled pork neck)

 

Tom yum mama soup $26.95

This tom yum dish was remarkable, characterised by a thick and pungent broth.  Not so spicy, just a gentle whisper.  The roast pork was crispy goodness, whereas the squid, though tender, exhibited a distinct fishy flavour.  

Pineapple fried rice with prawn $22.95

Pandan creme brulee $21.95

Their pandan brulee was visually stunning and its flavour was incredible.  The creme brulee had a pleasingly creamy and smooth texture.  It went very well with coconut ice cream and fresh berries.

Creamy mango bingsu $23.95

Their bingsu were the perfect balance of sweet and not-so-sweet, making them a crowd-pleasing treat. 

Thai tea bingsu $23.95

Thai tea latte $7.90

Mango Coco

421 Pitt Street, Haymarket, Sydney

Ph: 02 80657034

Spoonful Thai Restaurant, Epping

Recently, we uncovered a Hidden Gem of a Thai restaurant in a suburb. The place is called Spoonful on the north shore of Sydney, Epping.  Although, I won't say that they serve authentic Thai food here, because they adjusted their taste to mild levels and their menus are pretty modern.  Despite the fact that the restaurant was slammed on Friday evening, Thai people were rarely seen dining there.  As someone familiar with the authentic taste of Thai cuisine after eight years I had been living there, the food here not Thai traditional kinda dishes but I can confidently say that this restaurant does a great job in producing modern Thai food and capturing its essence.  The foods here are well presented too.  

 

Fish cake $10.90 for 4 pieces

Chili basil soft shell crab $29.90

Beef salad $22.90

Cinnamon duck $26.90

Massamun lamb shank $27.90

Overall, their foods were all spot on.  The lamb meat was so tender to the bite and not so gamey.  The salad was fresh.  That deep-fried soft-shell crabs were crisp and well-seasoned.  In terms of flavour, they were delectable.  

Their dessert menus were creative as well.  We had their deep-fried ice cream and mango gelato.  Let me tell you!!  That mango gelato was absolutely a crowd-pleaser.  Gelato was encased inside a mango shaped white chocolate then drizzled with more mango sauce and whipped cream served on the side.  It is gone in a flash!!

Then, we ended this lovely evening with some fancy cocktails.  I ordered a milo martini for myself, and it was amazing.  If only I knew the recipe, I'll be making this and indulge in this deliciousness every night.

Mango delight gelato wrapped in white chocolate shell $10.90

Deep fried ice cream comes with chocolate/caramel sauce $15.90

Cocktails - pina colada and milo martini $16.90 each

Spoonful Thai

1B, 6 Chambers court, Epping 

Ground floor of The Langston tower Epping

Ph: 02 9128 9898

Lunch: Monday - Sunday 11am - 3pm

Dinner: Monday - Saturday 5pm - 10pm (Sunday until 9pm)

Old School Kafey, Haymarket

Craving of something like cafe food and something fancy last weekend.  So, we landed at this quirky looking cafe owned by Thai.  This place used to serve sweet and dessert only but now they also have savoury dishes in the house.  We tried their toast and also spaghetti. 

Curry chicken toast $19

This toast looks amazing.  The bread was smeared with good amount of butter then toasted to golden brown yet inside was still soft.  Also, the toast came with katsu chicken pieces lying on the bed of creamy omelette and some curry sauce flows on top of them.  It is accompanied with baby spinach leaves and cherry tomatoes dressed with Japanese sesame salad dressing.  This dish tasted pretty good actually.

Beef with pepper sauce toast $28

We also tried their black pepper beef toast.  It was similar with the curry toast earlier, only the different was the meat and sauce.  I still prefer the chicken curry one for taste and flavour wise.  Somehow, chicken curry and toast blended much better together.

Aglio olio spaghetti with grilled sirloin $29

They cooked the spaghetti to al-dente.  This wasn't just a simple aglio alio dish.  It got a little bit Thai influenced.  They added some basil and chili into this spaghetti.  It was delicious and I also like the fact that they cooked the wagyu to medium-rare just what I like. 

Boscaiola fettuccine with salmon $27

I found that their fettuccine was a little too sweet.  Otherwise, it would be perfect. 

Iceberg bingsu (L) $24.90

This cute-looking ice-shaved was so refreshing.  Lychee flavoured ice with some fresh rock melon and watermelon.  It was sweet and fresh at the same time.  For the drinks, I think they were slightly too sweet, especially their butterfly pea coffee. 

Milo volcano $16.90

Croffle with nutella

Matcha orange $9.90 and strawberry velvet soda $9.90

Ice latte butterfly pea and mango yogurt $9.90 each

Old School Kafey

459 Pitt Street, Haymarket

Open: Monday - Thursday 1pm - 11pm and Friday - Sunday 1pm - 11:30pm

Satang Thai Infinity

Satang Thai takeaway is one of my favourites to go for classic Thai dishes.  I've recently found out that they have rebranded their shop and opened another restaurant inside the World Square, more for an upscale market.  Their menus differ from the original store.  In here, they serve lots of seafood products and more like a dine-in restaurant vibe.

Fresh oysters at market price - We had huge pacific oyster today

This oyster is as huge as my palm.  It was ultra fresh and I could tell that they were just freshly shucked as well.  Although I prefer to have it only with squished lemon, but those Thai condiments like chili jam, seafood dipping sauce and deep-fried onions made a nice compliment to this fresh oyster.

Kon Pee Talay $44.90

This kon pee talay dish has variety of seafood from blue swimmer crab, prawn, calamari, mussel and salmon.  They were bathing in a Thai spicy fermented fish dressing.  For garden-fresh, they also added some sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, sliced red onions, chillies and carrot.  The portion was generously big.  With such a big portion, it is good for sharing between 2-4 people.  

Prawn cake $15.90

Duck salad $24.90

This duck salad dish was not that bad but not good either.  Flavour-wise, it was pretty standard but the duck meat itself wasn't that soft and tender to what it supposed to be.

Pad macaroni with prawn $22.90

This macaroni is a simple dish yet taste so good.  My kids love it.

Grilled beef rump $22.90

I am a fan of beef and am a big beef eater as well.  I always take beef seriously.  Unfortunately, they let me down with this dish.  The meat was overcooked, so it was quite tough and chewy.  

Satang Thai Infinity

Word Square, 15/91 Liverpool Street, Sydney

Ph: 0410 922 695