Senyai (Sydney)

I happened to be in the city on a Thursday night and decided to dine at Senyai in the bottom of the Regent Place building. We judge a Thai restaurant from the duck red curry and Senyai’s offering was superb – especially the duck skin was not all soggy still when served. The crispy pork belly stir fried was also a delight with its intense savory flavour.

Details:
Senyai Sydney
486 Kent Street
Sydney
http://www.senyai.com.au/

Your Place Dining (North Sydney)

Catching up with friends on a Friday night, we decided to stay local and went to Your Place Dining. The restaurant operates as a café during the day and a fine dining Thai restaurant at night.

We always judge our Thai restaurant by the duck red curry. This particular one did not disappoint offering a generous portion of duck with nice, thick gravy. Do try the salmon soufflé for entrée which gives an interesting texture for a fish dish – I liken it to an hybrid of fish ball and marshmallow.

Details:
Your Place Dining
182 Blues Point Rd
Corner Blues Point Road and Victoria Street
McMahons Point
http://yourplacedining.com.au

Silk & Spice (Abu Dhabi)

Other than dining at the buffet while staying at the Sofitel Abu Dhabi, my other ‘go-to’ restaurant was the Silk & Spice Thai restaurant.

I found the dishes serviced at Silk & Spice to be very authentic. The prawn pad thai and salmon red curry were my favorites. From my conversation with the chef, the ice-cream served in the desserts were all homemade – something worth trying if you are still peckish at the end of the meal.

Details:
Silk & Spice
Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche
Corniche Road East Capital Plaza, Abu Dhabi
http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-7507-sofitel-abu-dhabi-corniche/index.shtml#./restaurant.shtml

Moo Chow Chow (Auckland New Zealand)

During my business trip in New Zealand, the client took the team to Moo Chow Chow – a modern Asian restaurant in the hip Ponsonby district.

The group shared close to a dozen dishes from the menu. The crispy roll of pork starters kicked (with its well-balanced chilli dipping sauce) things off nicely. My favourite dish was the caramelised pork hock – great combination of gelatinous meat and crispy fried skin. All the curry dishes kept their authenticity and were much welcomed on a cold evening.

Details:
Moo Chow Chow
23 Ponsonby Road
Ponsonby, Auckland
http://moochowchow.co.nz/

Sailors Thai (Sydney)

With (very important) overseas visitors in the office, it is time for a team dinner in the tourist-filled The Rocks. Sailors Thai was chosen for the occasion.

The team ordered a mix of entrees to share: Sydney’s reputed oysters were accompanied by a stimulating chilli and galangal dressing, sweet spanner crab served on crispy rice, and smoked trout on betal leaves. My favourite main course was the deep fried snapper where the fins turned into wonderful crisps full of seafood flavour and the meat was cooked well and nicely balanced by a sweet sauce.

Details:
Sailors Thai
Downstairs, 106 George Street
The Rocks, Sydney
http://www.sailorsthai.com.au/

Crave Sydney Night Noodle Market

We paid a visit to the annual Crave Sydney Noodle Market on an unusually warm evening. It was packed with the after-hour crowd when we arrived. Struggled to get a table, we started the evening off with my favourite pork belly with rice from La Mint. We also sampled a variety of dishes from Pad Thai, fish cakes to mini pan cakes. You will find the big queues at the familiar names such as Din Tai Fung and Mamak despite paying a premium for the food. It is worth going once a year given the atmosphere (I suppose?)

Details:
Crave Sydney Night Noodle Markets
Hyde Park North
For 2013, October 3-5, 8-12, 15-19; 5-10pm
http://cravesydney.com/content/night-noodle-markets/gjoc54

David Jones Noodle Bar (Sydney)

I was brought by work colleagues to the Noodle Bar at David Jones Food Hall for a quick lunch. We got there early to avoid the queue which quickly built up over lunch time.

Menu prices are much higher than the normal food court, but the quality of food was reasonably good. My Thai chicken curry was sufficiently hot and the colleague’s Pad Thai looked appetising. And it was nice looking at the open kitchen to see the dishes being made.

Details:
Noodle Bar at David Jones Food Hall
65-77 Market Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.davidjones.com.au/stores/Market-Street-Sydney

Sugarcane (Sydney)

We visited Sugarcane Restaurant on the edge of Surry Hills on a Friday night for a casual dinner. The dining room was modern and the service (one person!) was attentive.

The menu captured a variety of south-east Asian dishes. While our entrée of prawn dumplings was average, we enjoyed the baby snapper curry with the sauce working well with the whole fish deep fried. The duck leg stir fry was also good with the meat maintained moist and tender.

Details:
Sugarcane Restaurant
40A Reservoir Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.sugarcanerestaurant.com.au

Thanon Khao San Thai Restaurant (Sydney)

We walked past Thanon Khao San around the back packer hostels area near Central Station in Sydney. The décor resembles that of a street food market in Asia, and we were ready for some authentic Thai cuisine.

The duck curry is served inside a coconut, with the skin slightly charred creating the extra flavour – certainly better than most other duck curries we have tasted. The sauce was mopped up with some roti on the side. The bbq chicken wings and pad thai were also excellent.

Details:
Thanon Khao San
413 Pitt St 
Haymarket NSW 2000
http://www.thanonkhaosan.com.au

Longrain (Sydney)

Overseas visitors and gathering of 8 people involving high school friends prompted me to bring them to Longrain in Surry Hills as this Thai restaurant only takes bookings for large group. Large groups were seated in the comfortable oval tables that were great for conversations.

The food was of high quality. The reputed deep fried pork hock was crispy on the outside while still gelatinous inside. The lamb curry was also excellent. And make sure you ordered one of their signature cocktails. Service was rather inconsistent – too rushed in the beginning yet missing in action during the meal.

Details:
Longrain Sydney
85 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills
NSw 2010
Australia
http://www.longrain.com.au/sydney_intro.htm