Savann Thai-Lao Restaurant, Cabramatta

Many restaurants have tried and failed in this location. Savann has been just about the longest. I don't get it, because the location is pretty good, across the road from the post office and very near to the station.  Savann might have been successful because they have built a very loyal table of customers who seem to be there every night, they're loud, they're funny and they give this place some buzz.

Dara Food Express Restaurant, Thai & Laos, Fairfield

Have you been to a restaurant where the ingredients are fresh, the food relatively authentic, but somehow you feel something is missing?

Dara Food Express is one of many Thai and Laos restaurants in the Fairfield area.  It's a small, humble place that is often not top of mind, especially at night when there is minimal foot traffic in Fairfield CBD.

It does most dishes adequately, but nothing really soars.  The pad thai above contains everything it should and the ingredients are fresh, but lacks that extra oomph.

The massaman curry above is my favourite and actually is really very good.  Beef cooked melt-in-your-mouth tender absorbing the curry flavours, the potato cooked perfectly - sounds simple enough but often you'll find them under-cooked.

The green mango in the thai som tum is fresh, actually very fresh but unevenly sliced and tonight was a bit too green and hard.  It had good fish sauce flavour but, for me, lacked sweetness and sourness.

The relatively plain sauce is the undoing of the lao sausage, which is otherwise fine.

Dara Food Express cooks up authentic Thai and Laos food, the dishes are very competent, but overall struggle compared to quality of other restaurants in the area.

Have you experienced that 'everything looks right' but somehow doesn't all come together?  Have you been to Dara recently and have a different experience?  Would be interested in your feedback.

Dara Food Express
6/20 Spencer Street, Fairfield
02 9755 0449

Spicy Aroma, Thai-Lao, Canley Heights

We're spoilt for choice when it comes to Thai-Lao in the local Fairfield & Cabramatta area and we eat Thai-Lao at least once a week.

Savann Lao-Thai Restaurant, Cabramatta

Pad thai

Savann is opposite Cabramatta post office and has been the place for several thai-lao restaurants in the past. They just didn't seem to last.  Savann has been there for a few years now... a bit of a record for this site.

Yum Sab, Fairfield

Som Tum Thai

Yum Sab has been a favourite Thai-Laos of ours for a while now.  There was a stage there when we were weekly customers.  The food was great, and service, well rather too relaxed sometimes.

But the past few times, it seems like they're acutely short of staff, and service was slow.  Tonight they were struggling with a birthday party of 30 people - I thought we were in for a long wait.

As it turns out our som tum and pad thai came out relatively quickly.  The green mango in the som tum was crisp and fresh the sauce was nice without being too over powering.  Side Chinese cabbage nice and fresh... not a fan of the lettuce provided on the dish, me thinks it should only be Chinese cabbage.

Pad Thai

The pad thai was a little disappointing, noodles were soggy.  And the yum nua we ordered, well it never came.

I don't think this Sydney food blog is being too harsh in saying we've loved this place but the relationship is a little strained right now.

Yum Sab
6 Dale St, Fairfield
(02) 9727 2444

Bank's Thai, Enmore/Newtown

Current lunch special: One dish + Thai tea for $10

We were in Newtown doing a few things on a warm, sunny, spring Sydney day.  Years ago when we were living there, Bank's Thai was a regular haunt, we wanted to see what's changed.

Spicy Aroma, Canley Heights

It's been a while since we were back at this local Thai-Lao eatery.  This is about the second or third attempt at Thai-Lao at this location.  Spicy Aroma is obviously trying to up-market itself, not surprising giving the enormously successful Holy Basil which is just five minutes walk up the road.

Som Tum

We couldn't not order som tum, which was fresh and tart, which is to my liking, it's also sweet and a little mild, which is not to my liking.

Tom Yum with Offal

Thai Spicy, No 1 Shopping Centre, Cabramatta

It's too tempting isn't it? When you're a Thai eatery inside a shopping centre that is called No 1, of course, you're going to call your shop the No 1 Thai Spicy eatery aren't you?

And you wouldn't be alone because you're joined by the No 1 sweets stall and the No 1 grocery shop... you get the point.

I had planned to stroll over to Wat Dhamma Sameaky in Canley Vale for their new year celebration and to eat my mouth off with the gorgeous food that's bound to be there.  When I drove by at 10am the place was packed.  Alas, when I turned up just abit before 2pm, it seemed the party was over, there was just the volunteers removing the stage and banners.

While I was a tad disappointed, I was determined to celebrate the culinary delights of the area anyway and stumbled into Cabramatta to a Thai eatery, the No 1 Thai Spicy eatery no less - why not Songkran and Khmer new year are the same anyway!

I ordered a pad thai because that was the only thing I was familiar with even with the photos.  Pad thai is fried sturdy noodles with chicken, sliced omellette, seafood together with shallots, bean sprouts, etc.  It would be really healthy and fresh if it wasn't for the fried bits.

The four containers of condiments made me long for another Asian holiday.

And the verdict, I'm happy to say the No 1 Thai eatery comes close to that claim in Cabramatta!

Pad Thai in Silom, Bangkok

Last night, we arrived just after midnight in Bangkok from Sydney, checked into our hote and then rushed out for midnight snack.

It was a Thursday night and many food stalls were already closed. And those that weren't were packed!

We finally managed to get the last table at a stall on Surawong Street just past the Pan Pacific. Of course we had no idea what was on the menu, cause there wasn't one, we decided to order Pad Thai (cause it was the only English words on a sign stuck on the stall that was in English).

The photo doesn't do the dish justice, it was cooked in front of us on a flaming stove and was fresh, hot and tasty.  I could taste the soy and fish sauce as well as the fresh prawns, flavours of which were brought out by the tart lime which we squeezed on top.