Doytao Thai, Newtown

Everything about Doytao Thai screams success: the deep, double fronted restaurant is packed, there's another six Doytao restaurants in Sydney and they have a legion of loyal fans.  But what about the food?

 

Doytao Thai is a place to go when you're in a hurry (and you've booked) because the food comes out lightning fast.  Despite the place being full, our four dishes arrived within minutes.  

The food looks the part, nice colour, fresh ingredients, but I struggled to find flavour or challenge in the food.  My taste buds couldn't find basil in the basil chicken, it lacked fish sauce and despite looking hot, it was very mild.

Tom yum goong soup was a little more to my taste, less coconut and more lime, but still the flavour was toned way down.

Probably the least successful dish in our order was the lamb salad.  The lamb came out in cubes rather than thin slices, which didn't help because the meat was over cooked, making the cubes a tad tough.  Celery instead of cucumber rendered the dish less Thai for me.  Any strong taste also went AWOL.

The grilled chicken was the most successful dish for me.  Well cooked, good strong flesh that was well cooked but not tough.  No complaints about flavour here, because, well the dish is meant to be relatively clean.



It seems to me like Doytao made a conscious decision to tone down their food to make it more accessible to Australians.  Maybe that explains their success in inner, southern and south western Sydney.

Doytao is the place to go for if you want an introduction to Thai or if you're not into strong Thai flavours.  Here you also get very efficient, friendly and fast service.  It's definitely not the place if you've eaten street food in Thailand recently or you feel like a challenge.


Doytao Thai
545 King St, Newtown
(02) 9517 1051

S&P Restaurant, Silom, Bangkok, Thailand

S&P is a Thai food restaurant chain that serves up decent quality food, it's a chain so there are compromises, but the food isn't bad.  The tom yum above was very edible and well presented.

As was the grilled chicken, tender, I especially liked the hot sauce.

The fresh roll, I find challenging because I couldn't help but compare with Vietnamese fresh rolls. The wrapping here was more substantial, hoisin sauce a little too salty.

Grilled fish and wild rice was tasty, but didn't have the punch I was expecting.

Overall, not a bad experience, good food, lovely air-cond, reasonable chain restaurant prices.

Holy Basil, Thai-Laos, Canley Heights

This Thai-Laos restaurant oozes inner city sensibility in the heart of Sydney's south west.  Stunning decor, attentive service, a Maître d', unheard of luxuries in Canley Heights.  And the locals are lapping it up.

Katin Thai, Fairfield

Katin is a new Thai restaurant in a small group of shops on Fairfield Street, near a lawn mower shop and a newsagent.  I've been there once already, but I was alone at that time, which didn't give me much of a chance to sample the menu.

Al-Dhiaffah Al-Iraqi Restaurant, Fairfield

It's a mouthful of a name, but the meat here, and most dishes on the menu involve a lot of meat, is very good.  We had a plate of chicken (above) and beef (below), all grilled/bbq and served with pickles, grilled tomatoes, lettuce and something like homos - all to be eaten with lovely fluffy freshly baked Iraqi bread.

Nice, but you'll need to like your meat.