First off the rank is Spice I Am, a restaurant which has attained a god-like status amongst diners. Spice I Am’s flagship restaurant is located in Surry Hills, literally 2 minutes from Central station; a second store was recently opened in Darlinghurst (a more “upmarket, sophisticated dining experience” according to Spice I Am owner Sujet Saenkham).
Like most Thai restaurants, the premises are small, tables are closer to each other and the patrons are densely packed in – but it’s all part of the charm. The restaurant’s interior has an understated elegance to it, the walls adorned with various accolades and glowing reviews. The phone ringing off the hook and the steady stream of people picking up containers of food told me that they do a roaring take-away trade at Spice I Am.
Sujet Saenkham maintains that, while Sydney’s food landscape is dotted with Thai spot upon Thai spot, there is a distinct difference between “traditional Thai food and Australian Thai food” - I’m not quite sure what he means just yet.
We order Mieng Kuay Teaw, a Thai dumpling of sorts which contains sliced pork, bean sprouts and mint wrapped in a flat rice noodle, and accompanied by a ginger, lemongrass and chilli sauce. The bite-sized pieces are delicious: so soft and so full of flavour.
We ate some Ho Mok, a Phuket style steamed fish curry paste, wrapped in a banana leaf. The flavour was so intense, but in the best way possible: a neat little entree.
Next we ate a Basil Crispy Chicken dish with rice, which was out of this world. The crispy pieces of chicken were so soft and light, but were coated with this crispy glaze. The basil which was hugging the chicken was incredibly fresh, as were the fairly generous slices of chilli.
We then tucked into some Pad Kee Mao, a spicy, stir fried flat rice-noodle dish, with chicken. This dish was great, but holy shit: was it hot. To be fair, if spice is what you signed on for, you can’t really complain about how much chilli there is. We made our way through the dish, exchanging faces of chilli-induced agony but disguised our discomfort in case we looked like amateurs.
Sujet later explains that “Australian Thai food” contains high amounts of sugar and salt, whereas the traditional Thai food which is prepared at Spice I Am is more along traditional lines of spice and chilli.
“We add sugar where it is needed, we add salt where it is needed. But in Thailand, we maintain a balance of all flavours. Some Thai restaurants think that Australians only want the sweet taste, so the sugar can be overpowering,” he says.
The spices and Thai herbs which the Spice I Am chefs – each restaurant has a team of four chefs: two handling the woks, one handling curries and one preparing salads – are produced in Australia, in North Queensland and in Darwin.
We then began on our Massaman beef curry – it was unbelievable, hands down the greatest I’ve ever had. The beef was slow-cooked, it simply fell apart in your mouth, and the potato was just as soft.
To cap it all off, we finished with Pla Lard Prik, a whole fish cooked in Green curry sauce and topped with four different types of eggplants: paw paw, purple, cherry and Thai. I didn’t know there was more than one type of eggplant. The colours of the dish were impressive enough, but the crunchy eggplant and intense flavours of the lime and lemongrass garnish sealed the deal.
The service was fast and friends, the atmosphere was cozy and the food was nothing short of incredible.
I ask Sujet about how he feels about non-Thai people opening Thai restaurants in Sydney. Thai immigration numbers aren’t particularly high whereas the number of Thai restaurants to spring up over the past fifteen years as been astronomical – something doesn’t add up, surely?
“It doesn’t matter, really. The chefs cooking in these restaurants have gained experience, they understand the principles of Thai cooking and I’m sure they can do it. I mean, I can cook some Italian food and have some knowledge of French cuisine. It is all about knowledge,” says Sujet.
Restaurant name: Spice I Am
Address: 90 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills, NSW2010 - (02) 9280 0928
Menu recommendation: Basil Crispy Chicken. And the Massaman.
All You Can Eat Tip: Bring your own carton of milk just in case the chilli and spices are too much for you. They are no joke at this place.
-
tmblrmailfor liked this
-
allyoucaneat posted this
