CocoNine

On a cold and foggy night my friend and I ventured down to the foreshore to pick a Thai place for dinner – Coconine seemed welcoming and cozy, so in we went. The staff were so friendly and happily let us peruse the very long menu. We decided on two dishes to share – the Roast Duck Curry and the Siam Gem on Fire, a stir fry with beef and a tom yum sauce. Our coconut rice arrived with the mains – fluffy and with a distinct coconut flavour, this is my go-to accompaniment whenever it’s on offer. I started with the beef stir fry – there was plenty of beef on the plate and it was sliced really thinly for maximum tenderness. The sauce was packed with flavour and I definitely got the ‘tom yum’ vibe, even though the dish didn’t have mushrooms. I loved the lemongrass flavour and crunched happily on the giant snow peas (yum!). The duck curry had a lot more of a kick to it – the pairing of duck, lychee and tomato with red curry really can’t go wrong, and this version had very tender duck and extra sweetness from pineapple pieces. We left with very happy tummies.

CocoNine, 132/2 Trevillian Quay, Kingston ACT                            http://coconinekingston.com.au/

Chat Thai

I met a couple of friends in Sydney for dinner and asked them to decide where to eat. I was super excited when they took me to Chat Thai, somewhere I hadn’t tried in the Pitt St Westfield. Chat Thai’s menu is well-designed with modern graphics and plenty of choices, and the interior of the restaurant is dimly lit with several large, share tables running down the middle. We sat at the end of one, and spent quite some time studying the menu. In the end I decided against the noodle soups, spicy salads and the curries, and went for the crab omelette on the specials menu. The omelette was massive when it came out and in the end I couldn’t finish the whole thing. It appeared to have been deep fried on the outside, leaving a golden, slightly crispy outer with a fluffy, creamy inner that had fabulous textural contrast. The fresh corriander really brought the whole thing to life, and I would have loved more of the spicy dipping sauce to go with it. By the end I did feel like it was a bit rich and oily, but the crabmeat was tender and tasty. I will be back!

Chat Thai, Westfield Sydney, Level 6, 188 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW           http://www.chatthai.com.au/

Kinn Thai

It’s always lovely to catch up with friends who have been overseas – deprived of good South-East Asian food in Europe, they asked to have Thai for lunch so we agreed to meet at Kinn Thai. I was very excited to see a red duck curry on the menu (it’s one of my favourites) so we ordered that along with the crispy pork belly and chicken pad thai to share. The pork belly came out first and I think it was my pick of the three – I loved the crispy skin and tomato on the top. All the flavours, including the added dressing, just worked, and I probably ate more than my share of the plate! Next was the red curry – this was the favourite for most of the table. There was a perfect balance of spiciness and flavour, with tender duck, pieces of lychee and good helpings of tomato and chilli. I would recommend this as hearty comfort food without hesitation. Finally we shared the large plate of pad thai, which had plenty of chicken and bean sprouts, and was perfect with a drizzle of lemon on top. Thai cravings very well satisfied!

Kinn Thai, 125 Bunda Street, Canberra ACT                                                    http://kinnrestaurant.com.au/

Home Thai

Dining alone can be a strange experience. Some people find it very uncomfortable – I find that if I have something to do (book to read, notes to write etc.), I can eat out alone comfortably at dinnertime. This is what I ended up doing after arriving quite late in Sydney one night for a conference in Darling Harbour. Not much was open, but a quick google threw up Home Thai as a trendy option that was open at 9:30pm for dinner. I waited a while for a table, but was excited to see how much the place was buzzing – always a good sign. I am a sucker for dumplings, and on a cool evening I wanted something warming, so opted for steamed dim sum and a bowl of tom yum goong soup. The plate of dumplings came out with a mound of corriander and drizzled with black vinegar, which suited the pork and prawn mix. The tom yum was fresh but unbelieveably spicy – sadly, but it was a bit too much for me and I needed some rice to be able to eat it – I’d recommend asking for a mild version. Home Thai gets a tick in the solo traveller box!

Home Thai, Shop 1-2, 299 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW http://www.homethaisussex.com.au

Golden Boy

I was reluctant to eat to Golden Boy. Botanic Bar was one of my favourite places to have cheap pizza and good sangria, and I have many fond memories of hanging out in the right-wing of the bar. When I heard it had been converted into, of all things, a Thai restaurant, my soul died a bit inside. But on my last trip to Adelaide, my friends had already planned dinner there and it was the easiest way to see them all at once. So I relented. Reluctantly, I entered the once-hallowed corridor, to discover that it had been covered in quite a nice palm-leaf wallpaper. So far so good. I was greeted warmly by staff, and shown into the renovated space, which has hand-written scrawl artistically scattered on the walls (somehow it works). We went for the Tuk Tuk banquet, and they just brought courses and courses of fresh, spicy and delicious Thai food. Particular highlights were the satay skewers with the best peanut sauce I’ve ever had, hulled-out cucumber shells full of some kind of melt-in-your-mouth beef and a papaya salad. Only disappointment was the elderflower cocktail, which was watery and tasted like detergent. So I’m pretty much a convert. Anywhere else in town upgrading?

Golden Boy, 309 North Terrace, Adelaide           http://goldenboyrestaurant.com/#