Absinthe Salon and House (Northeast Thai Street Food) - Surry Hills

I've been wanting to go to the Absinthe Salon ever since I heard about it. I've only had it once before, as a shot...after about 8 shots of other stuff. So my memory is errrr....slightly clouded....

I finally managed to organise a night out with the girls and agreed to meet at the Salon. It was a freezing cold, rainy dark night when we went. Trudging up Albion St in the rain, we eventually find ourselves outside a dimly lit building with bars on the doors and windows. The only way to enter, is to ring a doorbell so someone can let you in. It felt like I was attending a secret society meeting and only the most elite may enter.






Walking in, you find yourself in a quaint little front room, displaying various "absinthe equipment". Through the room, you're led into a small and cosy salon, where each table had an absinthe fountain on it.





We're seated whilst we wait for our other friends and given an absinthe menu. Hmmmm.....ok..... I have idea what I was meant to do. Maybe its the surrounding, or maybe its just be a long week. But I stared and stared at the menu, and I didn't understand a word it was saying! All I noticed was random numbers indicating the alcoholic level. 45%, 65%.....holy crapola! 72%!? Isn't that like.....hospital grade disinfectant!? Is it going to burn a hell hole through my stomach?!

When the rest of my friends arrived, the waitress kindly came over and gave us an explaination of the different type of absinthes. And since it was our first time, she would not recommend us jumping straight into the 70%+ type absinthes. Dang, I was looking forward to seeing if I could breath fire after drinking it! In the end, we each chose our absinthe.......based on the look of the bottle! haha luckily, they were all fairly low in alcohol content. I think I ended up with the highest one around 60%.

My blue bottle

The Absinthe fountain is filled with water and heaps of ice. TO prepare the drink the proper way (And no, apparently downing it as a shot is NOT the way to drink it..), you place their funky spoon/sieve thing over your glass of absinthe and then place a cube of sugar ontop. You then turn on the absinthe fountain and let the now ice cold water, slowly drip onto the sugar cube. The sugar cube will slowly dissolve into your drink. You can add as much water and sugar to taste, but the waitress told us what the recommended water to ratio was for each drink and we stuck to that.




I was expecting a burning taste when you drink absinthe and half expected to have to scull the whole glass. But what we had was smooth, mellow, and tasted of liquorice choc bullets! However, don't be fooled! After about 15mins, my face started to go slightly funny, as if I've just gone to the dentist! Luckily my friends confirmed that no, I'm not drooling haha

We slowly sipped our drinks as we waited for the rain to subside outside. We opted to have just 1 drink each since most of my friends are light weights anyway. The plan was to go to House, just a few blocks away for dinner.

House is the new Spice I am. Unlike other typical Thai restaurants, House specialises in Northeast Thai Street food, which resembles Laos food. Despite the rain, its packed to the rafters. We put our name down on the waiting list, and ducked into the Triple Ace bar to wait for that call. We eventually get a table before we start to chew our arms off.

Nua daed deaw - Dried beef

Hmmm...not sure how to describe this dish. Partly like jerky, partly like overcooked beef (In a nice way). I could've done with a big plate of this and an ice cold beer, especially when you dip it into their spicy sauce.

Tom Yum Powng Kai Embryo Soup

Wow.....I didn't know what to expect. When my friend suggested we try this, I thought it was going to be similar to Balut (Fertilised duck egg). But the "embryo" actually looked like cooked egg yolks, but had a bouncy texture of egg whites. Even my freaked out friend enjoyed it and went back for seconds. The soup was hot and sour and vibrant, albeit a bit too salty for our liking. I reckon a little bit more water would've been perfect!

Gai Yang - Chargrilled chicken

Oh my.....who knew a simple chargrilled chicken could be so moist and flavoursome! Sticky smokey skin, moist chicken paired with their various chilli sauces made this one of my favourite dishes of the night! Now where is the other half of the chicken.....?

Deep fried snapper

Hmmmmmm.....absinthe affected my memory....but I do remember the fish being incredibly moist and flakey on the inside, and crispy and crunchy on the outside. I didn't even bother with cutlery and grabbed a deep fried crispy fish fin and started crunching on it like they were chips!

Larb Ped - Duck Salad

Another must have whenever we go Thai, is a duck salad. Usually you would expect slices of roast duck in a salad. In this case, it aws more like minced duck meat. But it was fresh, salty and gave a really good spicey kick to waken me from my absinthe induced stupor! They even provide a tumbler full of cold raw veggies to help ease the burn of chilli.


Oh, and did I mention how cute the basket the sticky rice came in was?!

Whilst their food was great and on par with the quality churned our by Spice I am, we were there for one thing only. BTS. Or as the waitress shyly explained, Better Than Sex. On almost every table around us, you can see people sharing plates of this dessert. Not us. I ain't sharing this with nobody!

BTS

OMG......they're right. It is BTS! A big cold creamy scoop of thick Pandan and coconut ice cream, sits ontop of a cripsy, buttery fried piece of brioche. This was then drizzled with palm sugar syrup and topped with black seasame seeds. OH MY FRIGGIN GOSH!!!! My friend took one bite, and physically slammed the table with her fist because it was so good! The outside of the brioche was incredibly buttery and crunchy. Take a mouthful of that with the creamy ice cream and you're in heaven! I actually ate the entire outside ring of the BTS, before tackling the centre of the brioche, which was crispy on the outside, but airy and light in the middle. I knew I was going to slip into a food induced orgamsic coma, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop! Lord help me I couldn't stop!!!! Next thing you know, I'm slumped on the couch clutching my belly with a sugar glazed grin on my face. Yes my friends, that was BTS.

Absinthe Salon
87 Albion St
Surry Hills
Ph: (02) 9211 6632
Bookings at least a week in advance is advised

House
(Northeast Thai Street Food)
202-210 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills
Ph: (02) 9280 0364


View Larger Map

Trumps Tavern - Wynyard

One thing about working around the Martin Place end of town, is the severe lack of Thai food. Sometimes, a girl just needs a good healthy dose of Tom Yum, Pad Thai and thai salads. I heard that Trumps Tavern actually serves decent Thai food, which surprised me. The only time I've ever heard of Trumps Tavern, is usually in the same sentence that contains the phrase "Hangover". Although one story involved a Russian Bouncer at 4:30am?! Long story.

Anyway, I dragged a friend with me to get a Thai fix. Being a Monday lunch time, and the fact that we were there before 12, meant the place was empty. This was a bit of a worry since I'm always weary of empty places in the city during lunch hours. But less than 15mins after sitting down, people started streaming in, and by the time we left, the whole place was packed with a huge line running across the room with people trying to place their orders.

The place is simple in decoractions. A small bar to the left and plenty of tables and chairs with a few couches and stools. To the left of the bar is a set of stair cases taking you downstairs to the pokies area. You can order food and eat down there as well, but it severly lacks any form of ambience. Basically a few tables and chairs tucked into the rows of pokies.

The menu is available at the bar and you line up to place your order at a seperate counter. They also have meal deals now where you can pay an extra few dollars and get a drink i.e. soft drink, wine or beer.

Now, onto the food!

Chicken Pad Kee Mao

The Pad Kee Mao isn't actually on the menu. But seriously, what Thai place doesn't have the ingredients to whip up a Pad Kee Mao? The girl behind the counter was more than happy to place my order and my friend had food envy as she didn't know she could order that! The serve is pretty decent and will satisfy even the big hungry boys around.

Thai Beef Salad

My friend had a Thai Beef salad and gave it a thumbs up.

Chicken Cashew Nut

I came back and tried the Chicken Cashew the next time around it was pretty darn good! Sweet and spicy, with a good selection of crunchy veggies, plump chicken a huge mound of rice. However, on this occassion I was hoping the serves will be smaller. Why? My manager was buying drinks for everyone! I couldn't drink as much as I was so full from all the food! hehe dang! You can never win!

Chicken Tom Yum Goong

This was exactly what I needed. The Chicken Tom Yum Goong was sour and spicy and so so refreshing. The bowl was huge, full of chunky chicken, vermicelli noodles and crunchy bean sprouts. This is probably a good dish to get if you don't intend to drink because the soup is sooooo good! Too much soup = no room for beers.

Trumps Tavern
50 King St
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9299 2929


View Larger Map

Thai No. 1 Ashfield - Revisited

We were so impressed by the Thai No.1 food during our last visit, that we had to schedule another pig out. Being summer this time round, they opened the entire front wall to let in the fresh summer night air. There is also a court yard if you want to sit alfresco or just need the extra tables for a large party.

We were both starving and decided to be greedy and order 3 dishes. I knew this would spell trouble because whenever I have curry, I also have heaps of rice. HEAPS. I'm the type that would be content with a big bowl of rice and ladels of curry sauce all over it. I don't need any meat or veggies on it, just the curry sauce.

Massaman Beef

This time round, we had to order another serve of the Massaman Beef. Flakey melting hunks of beef swimming in a creamy curry and soft potatoes. Add in a handful of crunchy peanuts and I'm in heaven.

Chicken Cashew Nut

My must have at any Thai restaurant....Chicken Cashew Nut. I can't believe how many years went by with me refusing to order this dish. For some reason, I imagine the dish to be like the Cantonese version. Chicken and veggie stir fry with soy and oyster sauce, then a handful of nuts thrown ontop. "I can cook that at home!" Thank goodness I eventually tried it and have fallen in love with the dish ever since then. I no longer use a Pad Thai to judge a Thai Restaurant. This is my benchmark dish and Thai No.1 does a fantastic version.



We wanted to try a new dish and ordered a Penang Chicken. For some reason I thought the dish would have less curry sauce than this. This was going to be a problem. Two types of curry competing for stomach space! Luckily this curry is much thicker and spicer than the Massaman Beef, meaning I couldn't eat as much sauce + rice as I normally could! More space for everything else instead of filling up on rice! hehe

Thai No 1
12 Charlotte Street
Ashfield
(Ph) 02 9797 7900


View Larger Map

Thai No. 1 - Ashfield

I was so happy when I finally got into Year 12, because that meant we were allowed to go out of school grounds to buy lunch! Most of the time we would go to the local chicken shop for some of the best chips and gravy in the world, maybe a piece of fried chicken, a viet pork roll or even some KFC. But every now and then, for a treat, we'll go to Thai No. 1 for a Thai fried rice. But since it was always cooked fresh to order, we spent most of our lunchtime waiting for the food and then scoffing down the searingly hot fried rice.

Since high school, I have rarely ever visited Thai No. 1 again. I was seriously craving Thai food in Ashfield one night and decided to go back, hoping the food was still the same.

The restaurant is small and simple in layout. You order and pay at the counter before they bring the food out to you. There are jugs of water and glasses you help yourself to, something I don't mind especially if it means cheaper food!

Speaking of food......

Marinated BBQ Chicken

I love the Thai marinated bbq meats. Thai No. 1's version tastes similar to a satay/curry rub on the meat. Moist, suculent and absolutely delicious! Especially if you dip it in the sweet chilli dressing.

Massaman Beef Curry

Massaman Beef is beautiful when done right. But there's been quite a few places I've been to that serves hunks of dry stringy beef thrown into a hastily made sauce. Thai No.1's version is nothing like that. Moist tender chunks of beef that you can break apart and mix into the sauce. Tender chunks of potatoes and a scattering of peanuts makes this a beautiful dish. I just wish there was more potatoes!

Chicken Cashew Nuts

My absolute favourite stir fry Thai dish. I always ask for extra sauce to ladel across my rice. They do a pretty good version of this! But I think my favourite will still have to Sumalee's version! hehe

Thai No 1
12 Charlotte Street
Ashfield
(Ph) 02 9797 7900

Omelette Thai

Omelette Thai is a Thai restaurant situated across the road from Xin Jiang Noodle Restaurant. Too lazy to walk to the other side of the train station, we ducked into Omelette Thai for a quick meal.

Chicken Red Curry

The main reason I always order red curry is purely for the sauce. I don't even really care what meat or veggies is in it as long as I get the sauce! hehe Omelette Thai's sauce is mild and creamy. I loved the thinly sliced Kaffir lime leaves they scattered over the top. Once you mix it in, you get a lovely citrusy aroma that just added to the taste.

Chicken Cashew Nut

My all time favourite Thai dish. I love the sweet and spicey flavours of this dish. Omelette Thai's version is quite nice. But I'm not sure if it was my request for extra sauce that made it quite runny. It didn't seem to have that thick sticky consistency I love in this dish. It didn't stop me pouring all the sauce over the rice though!

Omelette Thai seems to be a simple local restaurant suitable for a quick bite. My only gripe with the restaurant is that it is one of those Thai Restaurants that likes to serve you your rice. Whilst some people really like that extra level of service. I prefer to have a big bowl/pot of rice on the table to help yourself. But that's cos I feel greedy when I keep asking for more and more rice! hehe

Omelette Thai
190 Liverpool Road
Ashfield NSW 2131
(Ph) 02 9716 0360

Recipe: Po Tak Soup

There was a while back when I was sick, and all I ate was Thai Po Tak soup with boiled rice. Po Tak is a hot and sour soup very similar to Tom Yum Gong,. The main different is Tom Yum Gong uses Nam Prik Pow, a thai chilli paste/oil, which gives it the lovely red hot chilli glow.

Ingredients

- 1 Stalk of lemon grass (Only use the bottom white part)
- 3-4 slices of galangal
- 1-2 birds eye chillis
- 3-4 Kaffir lime leaves
- shelled prawns
- white fish cut into chunks
- Coriander
- Mushrooms
- Fish sauce
- Lime

In a pot of boiling water, add a few slices of galangal, torn kaffir lime leaves, the roots of the coriander, lemon grass and the chilli. You can throw the chillis in whole, or take a knife and make a small incision on one side. This lets out more heat, but isn't a blow your head off type heat.

Let this simmer for 10-15mins until the broth is fragrant. If you bought prawns with the shell on, you can opt to add the shells into the broth for extra flavour. Just remember to strain the shells and that it'll also turn the soup slightly orangey. Otherwise, add the prawns, fish and mushrooms into the pot. Season with fish sauce, sugar and a very generous squeeze of lime. Serve in a bowl with coriander sprinkled ontop and extra lime.

The resulting flavour should be hot, salty, sour and sweet. To control the heat, serve with or without the chilli. If the person likes it hotter, ask them to squish the chilli with the back of their spoon. This means the one pot can cater for people who don't like chilli and those that live for it. I love this soup and it goes so well with a bowl of boiled rice or some vermicelli added to it.

To turn this into a Tom Yum Gong, add a few spoonfuls of Nam Prik Pow and some tomato (optional).

Thai Garn - Summer Hill

I'm always on the look for great local restaurants. Something cosy with great food, and hopefully at a reasonable price. I've walked past Thai Garn at Summer Hill quite a few times at night, and they're always packed out. I made a date with a friend to go there for dinner one night to check out what the fuss was about.

The minute we sat down, they presented us with a plate of complimentry prawn crackers. Except these weren't your standard coloured prawn crackers you get at the local chinese restaurants. They were crunchy, prawny and plenty of chilli! These crackers told you that they're PRAWN crackers. Prawn crackers with a kick! I actually wanted to take the rest of the crackers home at the end of the night......

One thing I liked about Thai Garn is that it doesn't have your bog standard thai menu. They have a standard menu and a chef speciality menu which gets updated frequently. This means there's always something new to try!

One of my favourite thai dishes is Chicken Cashew Nuts, which along with a Pad Thai and a Tom Yum Goong is used to judge how good a Thai restaurant is!

Chicken stir fry with chilli jam and cashew nuts

This was really really good. I loved the broccoli in this dish, its soaks up all the sauce! (Which happens to be spicy with a touch of sweet caramelised flavour). I scooped as much sauce as I could onto my plate to mix with my rice. The rice, which by the way, is always served by the waitress. You'll usually see them roaming through the restaurant with a huge silver pot offering more boiled rice.

Roast duck stir fried with red curry, pineapples and vegetables

I was really hoping to get a roast duck curry, but a curry stir fry was the next best thing. And this was actually really good as you don't have a huge bowl of curry sauce at the end of the night. not that it's a bad thing, but I love my sauce! Which means I usually eat so much rice and sauce, that I feel sick at the end of the night! lol I am just too greedy :P

Combination seafood tamarine curry with spinach and morning glory

I was actually a bit worried that this curry will be too sour. I am actually not a fan of anything sour combined with coconut milk. One of the main reasons that I am against lime juice in laksas. Surprisingly, this was really nice. It had a slight tang that went well with the seafood, but it never once screamed "SOUR!!!" to me. It really helped to lightened the curry up and went really well with the green leafy veggies. Probably why I was practically drinking the sauce!

Total cost was $55 for 3 dishes and rice. The restaurant was dark and cosy, making it extremely easy just to sit there all night chatting away. My only complaint would be that the tables can be quite small if you're unlucky. In the first 10mins we were there, 2 seperate groups of peoples had requested to move to a bigger table. If you're to go, try to get there early to score a table for 4, for 2 people. You'll be a lot more comfortable! Trust me! Besides, you'll want to order more and more dishes, and you'll need the room for it! hehe

Thai Garn
14 Lackey St
Summer Hill NSW 2130
Phone (02) 9716 7012

Hitting the markets and then Thai

One of the reasons I always look forward to my sister coming back from Singapore is because we both share a love for gourmet food. We love walking through organic markets and looking at home made jams and pies. Even though the prices are sometimes double what you would pay at the Flemington Markets, we don't mind paying a bit extra for the decadence. So the first thing she wanted to do on her trip back to Sydney this time, was to hit the local market at the Orange Grove public school. We didn't end up buying much (Well, 3 full size pies, infused oils and vinegars amongst other things....) , but we had a fantastic time which found us at Toby's Estate at Broadway enjoying the best coffee we've ever had.

Beautiful fresh organic tomatoes

Toby's Latte

Toby's Cappuccino

Whenever family comes from overseas to visit, the one who suffers the most is my mum. She spends the entire cooking and cleaning nonstop. She ends up catering for 17 people at a time. So to give her a break, we decided to eat out at our favourite Thai restaurant Chedi.

Chicken and Cashew with Chilli Jam

My nephew's all time favourite - Massamum Beef

Chicken Pad Thai

Salt and pepper squid

Red Duck Curry

Pork Pad See Ew

Grilled BBQ Pork

Grilled BBQ Chicken

Thai duck salad

After dinner, we decided to put up the xmas tree where the kids got to hang their own xmas ornament. And by "their own", I had their photos printed onto ceramic ornaments. One for each kid. They absolutely loved it! And I think this is a tradition that I'm going to try and keep it going each year. My sister has requested that I get ornaments done for each of the adults. I guess that will become our family tree.