Holy Basil, Canley Heights
Having grown up in one of the Surrounding suburbs of Cabramatta, I’ve seen many restaurants come and go in the area. The locals are attracted to the cheap and cheerful restaurants, where you can walk in and out with a $10 note and still have change left.
When I saw Holy Basil open on Canley Vale Road, I wasn’t sure how well it would do. Here we have a fully decked out restaurant which wouldn’t look out-of-place on Crown St in Surry Hills. The decor is modern and moody with wood furnishings,warm lighting, shiny statues and an open kitchen. They even serve Toby’s Estate coffee which is unheard of in this neck of the woods. With such an authentic variety of Thai and Lao food in Fairfield,You’ve got to give them credit for having a crack at trying something different.
This evening I am dining with six good friends of mine, who’ve been around the traps in terms of trying Sydney food. Overall, we ordered just the right amount for six people and the bill came to about $30 per person with a drink each. It’s definitely on the more expensive side for the area, but you’d be hard pressed to find contemporary Thai anywhere else in the Fairfield/Liverpool/Cabramatta area.
Chicken feet salad - Yum Lab Meau Nan ($9.90)
To some people, chicken feet is an acquired taste. I think it is more to do with the mental images which are invoked when you have a foot staring at you, which has spent most its life walking around on dirt. I think I’ll stop there.
If you are a frequent yum cha eater, you would notice that chicken feet is usually served with the foot still intact. Thankfully in this salad, the bones are removed and you are left with just the lovely textures of the skin. Flavours were spot on with flashes of herbs and fish sauce, with the chicken feet skin being slightly chewy yet with a subtle crunch. If it wasn’t for the overload of spring onions, this dish would have been executed perfectly.
Lao papaya salad - Tam Mak Hoong ($9.90)
Waitress : ” How how would you like your chilli ? ”
Me : ” Hot please, no wait , wait … medium please ”
Our order comes and after my first bite, the different definitions of “medium” were apparent. Let’s just say I was burning in two places after I was finished with this dish. Despite the spicy kick the salad is great, and is predominately made with shaved papaya chili, garlic, fish sauce, crabs, tomato and shrimp paste to name a few. All these ingredients and possibly more are ground together in a pestle and mortar to create a refreshing salad which packs a mean punch in flavour and hotness. If you order this, no matter what restaurant it is, try it with some sticky rice.
Deep fried coral trout w/ tamarind & sweet basil sauce ($ market price)
The Coral trout is based on the market price of $36. The fish was fresh and falling off bone, a good sign on how well it is cooked. The bed of vegetables was incredibly generous as was the sauce, but I felt that the flavours lacked a bit of depth and it was quite tasteless. On the flip side, it allows you to appreciate the freshness of the fish, but only if it’s cooked right. There is a nice touch of fried basil, gives it a bit of texture and aroma.
Roast duck red curry ($14.90)
,
Very creamy and flavoursom but seriously lacked duck. The Duck was shredded, instead of whole pieces and sadly there was more skin than duck meat. I felt that along with the curry, the duck should have been the main ingredient of the dish. To their credit, the curry itself redeemed itself. A good balance of spices and coconut milk with hints kaffir lime and basil, the balance was just right. Each spoonful of curry will return an abundance of vegetables, I can recall bits of pumpkin, eggplant and green beans.
Deep fried Soft shell crab ($14.90)
Soft shell crab is one if those dishes which seems to be ordered off every menu when we go out. There is an aura that surrounds it, it’s like a poor mans foi gras or wagyu beef. The thing with me is, I can’t tell whether it is fresh or frozen, all tastes the same to me. If anyone has any tips, send them my way. As for the crab, it’s the usual soft shell crab you will find at any Japanese or fusion restaurant. The shredded carrots and radish on the side are disappointing, they are too soft and damp and spoils the crunchiness of the crab.
Ox tongue - Luoi Bo ($8.90)
One of my favourite dishes at any Thai/Lao restaurant is marinated grilled ox tongue. Here, it is cooked a bit more well done than most restaurants, resulting in a texture which is not as chewy and a taste which does not leave a dull “gamey” aftertaste. Once again, the shredded carrot and radish was a disappointment. I think it was shredded too finely, resulting in a bit of bruising which results in it not being crunchy and fresh by the time it makes it to the diner.
Thai pineapple fried rice - Khao Pad Sapparot ($12.90)
This is your classic Thai fried rice, which is a bit different to normal Chinese fried rice due to the type of rice used which I believe is Thai Jasmin. It has all the good aspects of restaurant fried rice, with an amalgamation of all types of ingredients, too many to list. My mate Jason said it tasted like “Chinese wedding fried rice”, very aromatic and tasting a bit “charcoaley”. One thing to note, don’t be fooled by the pineapple it is served in on the menu, it’s there for purely presentation purposes.
Judging by the crowds on a Tuesday night, the guys at Holy Basil might have carved their very own niche in a very competitive area of Sydney when it comes to Asian food. In terms of the food, it’s only early days so they might be fine tuning a few things. It was good, but not outstanding. But considering its locality, it’s a breath of fresh air for the locals who appreciate contemporary Thai food.
Canley Vale Road in Canley Heights (where the restaurant is situated on) is undergoing a bit of a make over too. Gloria Jeans is set to open soon and a Wood Fired Pizza restaurant is in the works. I got a feeling it’s going to be the new cool ‘hangout’ spot for Gen Y’s of the South West in the near future.
Holy Basil
233 Canley Vale Road
Canley Heights, 2166
ph : 02 9727 7585
web : www.holybasil.com.au
Author
By Howard
We started eatshowandtell in 2008, it was meant to be just a journal of where we ate. The first thing I usually do when I'm looking for a restaurant is check out eatability and the restaurant website. But what is usually missing is pictures of the food, how do I know I'm getting what I expect? This blog hopefully plugs that gap.
Follow howardtInformation
This article was written on 31 Oct 2009, and is filed under Dinner, Sydney, West, Thai.
Recent articles
- Different Drummer, Glebe09 Feb 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 303 Feb 2012
- Wasabi Bistro, Surry Hills31 Jan 2012
- Albee’s Kitchen, Cabramatta27 Jan 2012
- The Montpellier Public House, Randwick24 Jan 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 220 Jan 2012
- Bar H, Surry Hills17 Jan 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 113 Jan 2012
- The Everest Kitchen, Marrickville10 Jan 2012
- Mexican Pool Party05 Jan 2012
Recent comments
Who Are We?
Search eatshowandtell
Share
Sponsors
Categories
Creative Commons
Eat Show & Tell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License.
hey where’s the grilled chicken?
and booo to no coffee and dessert.
maybe they’ll have it now after being opened for a little bit.
Actually had dinner there again last night – we are becoming regulars to holy basil. Salt and Pepper Squid and Fried Ice Cream to die for…. Totally love Holy Basil.
Will have to check out the transformation of Canley Heights!
And everything looks so good, especially the nice fitout of the restaurant
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Great time for online shopping =-.
I believe it is impossible to get ‘fresh’ soft shell crab in Sydney, as it is all flash frozen and imported from Vietnam or Thailand. So in a sense, you are always eating frozen soft shell crab at restaurants. Flash freezing stops their shells from calcifying and the crabs are still bloody excellent anyway, so just because it is frozen does not mean that it isn’t fresh.
@Jason : Not sure where the chicken went! I’m looking forward to the coffee.
@Karen : Yes! Check it out, the strip has alot of good restaurants.
@BoombaBoy : Thanks for the clarification, I guess it is the same as sashimi which is always flash frozen! Still tastes good.
I wonder if they’ve found a new market or picked a bad location – maybe only time will tell. I like the sound of charcoaly fried rice, but it would look cuter in a pineapple!
.-= Arwen from Hoglet K´s last blog ..Easy Rhubarb in the Oven =-.
The coral trout with tamarind looks delish. Anything with Tamarind usually drives me positively insane
Great post.
.-= Adrian @ Food Rehab´s last blog ..Recipe Time: Frenchy Filipino Toast =-.
ive been here twice. i loved the papaya salad, king prawn padthai and the laos sausages. The thai beef salad was normal. I agree with you on the pricing for this area usually everything is under $10. this restaurant definitely looks like something from newtown. but its definitely a nice change.
didnt like their avocado shakes. too much milk it was very runny. i asked for dessert the 2 times i went. disappointed they havent perfected the dish yet.
ooh i havent tried the coral trout yet. on my next visit i will.
you’re making me think twice abt the curry. love alot of veggies but i want some meat also.
ps 2nd time i went they brought out the wrong salad twice! wasnt that busy that day either just a sunday lunch. the 1st time i went on a wednesday night at 9.30pm they were still packed.
@Arwen : I reckon it’s a new Market, it means people don’t need to travel as far for a non local ‘experience’!
@Adrian : Tamarind is great, love it stir fried with mud crabs!
@Maria : I’ve been back and also dissapointed they don;t have the dessert, they said they purchased the wrong mangoes! The curry is good, but the meat is lacking. I will have to ask for it again the next time I go there to see whether it was just a one off or not/
Authentic Lao/thai food. . . My friends and I love it and will definately go back there!!
There are so many variety of drinks which is suitable to the food menu and I seriously think coffee does not go well with the food. I don’t know what Jason was complaining about?
@maggie
Authentic Lao/Thai food? Are you kidding? You’ve obviously never had authentic Lao/Thai food before.
Also, what is wrong with having coffee and dessert at the end of the meal? Are you saying that every bottom, middle and top end restaurants who asks if you want or serves you coffee and dessert at the end of the meal doesn’t know what they’re on about?
FYI, I wasn’t the one asking for the coffee, but if you’re going to advertise that you sell something, make sure you have it.
Jason you are begining to sound like an unsophisticated tosser…what we termed bogan…or are you just whinging Viet? You being Vietnamese know nothing about Laos/Thai food – you can’t get any more authentic than the food they have served up… unless ofcourse by “authentic” you mean being struck with diarrhoea at the end of the meal..if that’s the case best to stick with those dirrrrrrrrrrty joints dotted around Cabra/fairfield etc…
I’ve been there 4 times – could never get a table..managed to get one last Tuesday lunch time when it wasn’t as busy so the owners had time to talk to us. The Thai chef they used are ex- 1 hat in the city, the Laos chefs are actually family members and having worked at most Laos restaurant they know their stuff.
I’m voting with my feet so will definitely get back there again whenever I can get a table.
OK.Being of Vietnamese origin I’m not going to get in the race debate but I will give credit where credit is due. The food is great – can’t fault it and in comparison I don’t even notice the price difference. I’m told the Fairfield Mayor actually did their opening so they must be doing something right. We have been waiting each week until it gets quiet so we can try the place but find that it’s actually getting busier and busier. We ended up going on a Wednesday night and waited only for 10 mins. It is definitely aimed at the hip and trendy…a place to spot the hotties dare I say… that is if you are lucky enough to get a table. Go at 6pm – guaranteed to get the first round of seats or 8…From 7 to 8 you are likely to get into a few fights with other hungry diners for a table and as we’ve witnessed it could get very heated with “i was here first..” although the new ticketing system has resolved this BUT still expect to queue.
The best thing about this place is its LICENSED – that is no “under the table” alcohol. Don’t bother with BYO as they’ve got a good range of wines as well as the wine of the month special; the mocktails are delightful but don’t go nuts with mixing all different fruits even though they offer it (durian and lychee?ewww), and I believe they may have exclusive rights to the famous Beer LAO in Sydney so why not just try it (you don’t have to get on the plane to try this one)…but I like Singha more…its sweeter and go better with their food.
All in all if you want to satistfy the Laos/Thai craving and be seen in a trendy & clean environment and don’t mind the wait, this restaurant is the place to be and judging by the queues, I’m not the only one who’s saying this.
Haha… don’t worry about Jason. He is what “we” term as a BANANA!
Suzanne – I thought this blog exists to allow everyone to have an opinion and judge the food. I think everyone has the right to be disappointed in a restaurant that does not serve the food they have advertised AND everyone has the right to voice his/her disappointment without being judged by someone who thinks he/she knows it all. Yes, this is me judging you based the poor impression you give yourself from your comment but I won’t go as low as judging an entire race like you obviously did.
haha if the food is good, who has the right to complain how authentic something is? Doesn’t one mother cook the same dish (eg: Laksa) different from someoone else’s mother, even if they are of the same descent?
Authentic or not, I want me some grilled ox tongue and chicken feet salad! haha
Suzanne, I’m not sure which restaurants you have been to, but not once have I been struck with diarrhoea at the end of a meal from a restaurant in Cabramatta/Fairfield. If you’ve been struck down with diarrhoea from a restaurant or two in those areas, maybe it should be those restaurants that you leave ill-mannered comments about, rather than ill-mannered comments about someone’s race? Oh and before I go on, though this is totally irrelevant, I am not Vietnamese.
Might we also remember that Canley Heights is a neighbour to these two suburbs, so be mindful that what you tarnish with one stroke of the brush, may tarnish all restaurants within the region in general.
I’ve eaten at many Laos/Thai restaurants and have had a fair share of home-cooked Laos/Thai meals. I’ve been there once and in comparison, I was not greatly impressed by their food, except maybe for their charcoal/grilled chicken. This may improve, time will only tell.
Yes, the owners and staff are really nice people, but it doesn’t change the fact that the food is only ‘okay’.
Firstly, Nick Lalich is only in it for the freebies. True story. At the grand opening he called the restaurant “Royal Basil”, and he also thought Canley Heights was Fairfield Heights, so….as you can see, our local mayor doesnt really care that much.
So Susan, for people to appreciate/and understand authentic Thai/Laos food we need to bleed Thai/Laos blood? PLEASE!
And lastly, Susan, when you want to attack someone by calling them a tosser and a bogan because your clutching at straws trying desperately to win the argument, don’t fall on your bum and sound like one yourself.
I’m not vietnamese myself, hek, that’s not even the point of the matter, but what Jason said is justified.
Suzanne – highly offended by your Vietnamese comment and the “best to stick with those dirrrrrrrrrrty joints dotted around Cabra/fairfield etc…” comment. I don’t think race has any place in an amateur food forum, we’re all here to share our experiences and thoughts without the fear of being criticised for being a certain race.*Jason* may be viet/thai/laos for all we know. Stick to commenting about the food and the service and leave your racist personal remarks for another forum and stop spoiling it for the rest of us.
Suzanne Inthavong…any relation to the owner, Tony Inthavong?
or just pure co-incidence????
hmmmm
@ Suzanne Inthavong
I can see that you are a big fan of this eatery.
However as this forum is established to share our opinion and experience of the food presented at each of the restaurant, these opinions of others should be respected.
Whether or not you agree with them.
Resorting to name calling and racist comments show a lack of maturity. And to imply that this Loas/Thai eatery is better or cleaner than all the restaurants within the Cabramatta and Fairfield also suggest ignorance.
Next time you may find it more products and constructive if you keep your comments on the food and the experience you have as Howard has done. Namely be more specific on what you did enjoy and what you didn’t enjoy as simply blogging about the staff does not provide a reader with anything information to form an opinion on whether to try the restaurant.
I had hopes to eventually try Holy Basil, however should you be the representation of the clientele that eats there regularly, I do not believe it is a place that I will be looking to dine at anytime in the near future.
dayum thats one interesting string of comments!
i’ve been here a few times and it can be hit and miss with food/customer service/waiting time. It all depends on what you’ve ordered, what time you went, its like a science experiment having many variables.
can’t believe Suzanne started throwing names around and sort of being racist..
we’re all here to talk about our experiences, whether it be bad or good, why get so defensive for?
i have to agree with howard, although the place looks good, the food isnt entirely outstanding. Most dishes lack that certain “kick” or “spark”.
@jason and tee: im actually a big fan of toby’s estate coffee so the first time i went in was to have the coffee (t/a)….so to me it was misleading. ive been twice now (to eat) and still no coffee…even though the umbrella’s say so???
I love coming to canley heights now. The other shops on the strip are just as exciting…..Lazars (great woodfired pizza and pasta), Fat Panda (freshest salmon and cool bento boxes) and Santo’s (just a great chill out/ hang out cafe). Not just vietnamese anymore *hoorah*
@The owner’s relative or what we have termed as Suzanne Inthavong,
From your comments, I was going to ask you if you worked at ‘Holy Basil’, but our friend ‘coffeeaddict’ has already cleared that up. (I also find it humourous that our friend’s nickname is ‘coffeeaddict’ because this all started over coffee and dessert haha)
Wow, I can’t believe you had to resort to calling me an “unsophisticated tosser”, “bogan” and “whinging viet”. Who said I was vietnamese? I had to read your comments a few times before I could understand it, and it isn’t because I’m unsophisticated, more so that your english and grammar is poor.
Now look suzie, how can you go and insult every Thai/Laos restaurant in Cabramatta and Fairfield? Have you been to all of them? I haven’t, but my friends and I have been to many, and not once have we ever had a problem with diarrhoea from them. Also, I’ve experienced very good Authentic Thai/Laos food from them, and found it to be a lot better than “Holy Basil’. So do my friends, however, that is a matter of opinion.
Susan, you do realise that labelling all the other Thai/Laos restaurants in the Cabramatta and Fairfield area “dirrrrrrrrrrty joints”, whereby you end up with “diarrhoea” is actually defamation? Although I can’t blame you for your attempt at defaming the other restaurants in a bid to steer customers to yours.
Nice try (Sarcasm was implied there).
By the way, I’ll be nice and give you some advice (that rhymes!); since no one else seems to be having diarrhoea issues at the other Thai/Laos restaurants in the surrounding area, maybe you should wash your hands before you eat. =)
Suz, maybe you should have approached your comments in a more constructive way, like Lex did. If you like the food, no one is stopping you and your feet from going back, hell your family owns the place so go ahead!
If you were to read the very first comment on this blog, I said “hey where’s the grilled chicken? and booo to no coffee and dessert. maybe they’ll have it now after being opened for a little bit.”. I was actually being nice about the place despite the bad experience I had there and I wanted to give it a chance. However, you have inspired me to speak out about my experience here and what I thought about the food and service.
We had made a booking at 7.45pm for 6 people yet we were seated on a table for 4. It was very cramp and we ordered a lot of food, there wasn’t not enough room at all. It was very crowded inside the restaurant as it seemed that the owners wanted to fit everyone in regardless of the comfortability of patrons. Inside, the decor seemed nice though and very mod-thai. The drinks we ordered WHICH WERE NOT COFFEE came out very quick which was pleasant, the food on the other hand took a VERY LONG TIME. The chicken feet salad was a nice start, nothing special but it was good. The pawpaw salad was very hot and good. Once again not bad but nothing to boast about. The same could be said for the ox-tongue, I found it to be cooked well. The deep fried coral trout was nice to eat, a nice flavoured sauce, and it came with vegetables. A LOT OF VEGETABLES. It seemed as if we had ordered a large plate of vegetables with a side of fish, as there did not seem to be much meat on the fish. The deep fried basil on top was nice but unfortunately the only good thing about the dish and I’m not the biggest fan of basil either.
The roast duck red curry was very creamy, a little too creamy, and was more curry than duck. The duck seemed to be more skin than meat. Disappointing to say the least. The soft-shelled crab was ok, it was like a lot of soft-shelled crab i’ve eaten before, so it wasn’t something I’d brag about. The grilled chicken was over-cooked and quite tough. There wasn’t much flavour through the chicken and like the soft-shelled crab and ox-tongue, it was served with a side of grated carrots and radish which were terrible. Most other asian places, whether it be chinese, vietnamese or thai/laos, usually serve this pickled. Then it seemed like an eternity before our pineapple fried rice came out. We ordered because in the photo it was served in a pineapple which, seems to be misleading when it was brought out to us (as you can see from Howard’s photos). The rice like most things we ordered wasn’t anything special, its seemed to remind me of fried rice you get at asian weddings but it wasn’t bad.
We then ordered dessert and Howard is a big fan of Toby’s Estate Coffee, SO HE ORDERED IT (NOT ME) and we waited for about 10 minutes before being told there was no coffee or dessert. How dissappointing =(.
Throughout the night, due to the over-crowding of the restaurant we were constantly being bumped by waiters and waitresses with plates of food almost hitting our heads. It took ages for our food to come out yet we were being delivered food by mistake that was meant for other tables, this wouldn’t have bothered us much if we got our food instead of everyone else’s.
Overall, the food was good and edible. It wasn’t fantastic but the people who worked there seemed nice enough and the place looked really cool! The food could’ve came out better and it would have been nice if the waiter had told us at the start of the evening what was not available on the menu, its false advertising really.
So sue, I think I’ll also vote with my feet and not return to Holy Basil, ever. You’ve done the worst thing that you could’ve possibly done for this restaurant by making the comments you did, because I’ll also vote via word of mouth and ensure my friends know about this place. Not to eat here of course, but to avoid this place at all cost. There are many other Thai/Laos restaurants in the area, all cheaper, better and more ‘Authentic’. That or we could just walk straight pass the joint and eat at Fat Panda, where the service and food is great.
ohhh and Suzes, you said “The Thai chef they used are ex- 1 hat in the city”. What restaurant did this 1-hat Chef come from? What’s his name? I’m curious … Also, “used” ? So does that mean they don’t have that chef anymore?
Pete, you’re a soft boiled egg =P
(apologies for it being so long hahaha)
Man this is a mad read. This $HIT is like a gossip column…..entertaining = )
LOL @ suzanne for ‘unsophisticated tosser’ comment. You sure made yourself sound like one.
Guess you didn’t think that comment would backfire on you hey?
(okay let’s not get this whole thing started again haha)
I actually thought the place wasn’t that bad, DESPITE waiting one hour (no jokes) for our first dish to come out (the green curry). My bf and i got seated straight away though, and there were people waiting before us. The place looked nice and we were really excited to try the difference flavours and compare them to other places. Not bad at all. The waiting was the worst, hopefully it has improved by now. The second dish (a stir fried dish) came out maybe 15-20mins after the first dish. We were seated right in front of the kitchen so we kept checking to see where our order was and how long it might take for our food to come out. One of the workers realised that we had been waiting a while so he did offer us a free drink but we declined. He did end up giving us a free plate of fried chicken though, which i thought was very nice of him (the chicken…well the pieces were quite small and not what i expected). No one else had paid attention to how long other customers were waiting for. We waited a good 10mins or so just for the bill alone. Best of luck to them though, i’d definitely go back. Also it’s close to home =)
Hi Everyone. When I wrote this post I didn’t expect such a big response. Despite a few e-punches flying back forth between different readers and customers, While everyone has expressed their points of view, whether right or wrong they are entitled to their opinion based on Holy Basil. That is the purpose of this blog, to facilitate discussion based on different experiences at restaurants.
Just to clarify, my blog post was based on only one visit to Holy Basil. If I ever go back (which is likely, I live in the area), I’ll be sure to go in with an open mind and try a few other dishes so I can get a better picture of what the food is like.
There are obviously some minor issues floating around in regards to waiting times and the claims of the food being not authentic Lao/Thai is debatable no matter what restaurant it is. For anyone curious on comparing, please check out a few restaurants in Fairfield for a different Thai/Lao food experience. I’ll be posting a few of my experiences in the next few weeks.
Holy Basil is new, I’ll give them that, hopefully they sort out the issues regarding coffee and dessert because to be honest the first thing that attracted me to this place was the Toby’s Estate flags!
Anyway to sum up, thanks for the active discussions. If anything, it has given Holy Basil a bit of exposure and I encourage everyone to visit them and form their own opinion on the restaurant.
PS : The comment about the Mayor Nick Lalich calling the restaurant the wrong name at the opening was hilarious, though … we expect these slip ups from Politicians don’t we ? George Bush anyone?
I can’t believe I spent ALL morning trying to call the number that you gave us for this restaurant! It’s the WRONG number by the way…
Ít’s 9727 7585
I was thinking “how can there be no one attending to the phones at this popular restaurant!?”
Grr
@Liane : Sorry Liane! Thanks for the heads up, will double check my information next time. Hopefully you still got a table.
fat panda is better
The Newtown/Surry like fitout did create a buzz unforeseen in suburbs South West of Sydney. Been here twice already and it falls short on substance. Food is very average and they need to work on their coordination. Rather go to Fairfield for the real deal.
Whilst people are nice, the timing of delivery is very poor. Stir fries coming out before appetisers, rice coming out well after the mains (what do we eat the savouries with?) and drinks at the end? Good to see a licensed restaurant in the area though.
Eric I agree with you
I reckon this restaurant has a very good potential to grow!
I went to the restaurant yesterday absolutly love it
but I wanna clarify about the one Chef hat thing
two Thai restaurants that got a one chef hat are long grain and sailor Thai and there are contempary thAi so I guess that’s y this place got a bit of fusion touch to it
psi love the paw paw salad and i will be back
Had a fantastic time, enjoyed the entrees (mixed plate) then had a Pad Thai (beef) and ofcourse the wine selection was delightful..so having finised our meals we embarked to try some ‘original’ drinks..Tona and his Team sure can host..so we’re taking some friends over tomorrow nite as the experience should be shared by ALL…looking forward to this indeed…this place is classy, has an amotsphere that will keep you going back for more..and the customer service is simply ‘fantastic’..no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this Restaurant to those who’d like to experience Thai food with a difference!!!
@Amisone : Great to hear! They still look pretty busy when I drive past, they must be doing good things.
I love this place, the food are authentic as my mother’s cooking.
I recently went to this much talked about Thai Lao restaurant and was completely disappointed. The food is not ‘authentic’ at all! It’s very westernised. If I wanted westernised Thai food i’d head to Newtown, at least the prices are justified there! Although the shop fitting looks great it’s definitely NOT worth the wait. We waited such a long time for a table then when we finally sat down, we waited a further 15 minutes to be served. When our dishes finally came out I was surprised to see the size of the food, where was it?! I must admit that it all looks pretty but the portions and the taste is 100% not authentic! I’ve eaten at so many other authentic Lao Thai joints before and this is definitely not one of them. The service was only ok but considering how many staff they have on hand, they weren’t very attentetive. It seems as though they ignore you and just talk amongst themselves. Anyways, after eating our dinner there was still people waiting for a table and the staff werent shy about pointing their fingers towards us to let it be known that they needed our table (I didnt like that one bit!) For the price of the food and what you get, I will never go back again! I’d rather eat real, authentic Lao Thai food at somewhere like Tweleve Spices or something.
We tried this place on the weekend and I give it a few months before it goes belly up. One word – Disgraceful
i dont think it matters whether the food is “authentic” or not….if its good, its good….if its bad, its bad. we live in such a multicultural society where there are Asian barista’s, westerner’s making noodles, Thai people cooking italian food…..
We should not judge the “authenticity” of a place, we should judge the food quality….And their food aint good quality.
I tend to agree with MaryTran, they have so many staff on that no one knows whats going on. On my first visit we asked 3 different staff members for the bill and no one noticed that we were finished and ready to go.
A great looking place, food tastes great but the service it shocking!!!!! Mains were bought out before the entrees, we had to ask for dirty plates to be cleared, plates we ordered were missed and we had to ask for them – twice. Had to ask for water twice too. I still can’t find a place that can beat Lucky Thai in St Jons Park for quality and service
Hmmm…I did love Holy Basil…but after yesterday’s experience, I dont know if I will be returning to sit in. Id probably take away…but they’d probably stuff that up too.
So after much raving about this place, my boyfriend and I took his mate to Holy Basil last night. We sat down and it took 10 minutes for someone to bring us a menu. After we ordered (food and wine), we waited for another 20 minutes. No wine….oh still no wine… we asked the waitress and she just looked dumbfounded…hello?? So the first thing they brought to us was one of our main. Where are our entrees? So after telling the waiters, they apologised and went to look for our entrees. He returned after some time and apologised again and said that they can take our main away and reheat it. Hello??? No sorry. Wrong. You shouldnt reheat food…but even if you do, you dont tell them!!! Anyways we ordered 2 servings of quails..only 1 came out…we also ordered 2 servings of satay chicken…only 1 came out. How does that work? Wouldnt they come out together? Finally our wine arrived…the waiter…put it on our table, unopened and unserved…I do believe it is the waiter’s job to open the wine and pour???!!! So i opened it and poured it but it was the wrong wine. We asked for the one we wanted and they brought it out and said ‘is it this one? But its not cold, is that okay?’ Not for a white wine love….so we got cokes instead…. ahhhh…not happy. BTW, saw some customers waiting for 10 mins for a table without being approached and acknowledged.
alright hi 5 to fat panda.Service is tops there.
My girlfriend and myself have been coming to this place at least 3-5 times a month.We love Thai food.Weve had Thai in Parramatta,Fairfield and the city and she loves the panang curry here.Other dishes I’ve tried and loved are chicken feet salad,ox tounge +++++,oh I’m not a big fan of chilli basil chicken but its not that bad at this place.Not a big fan of the pad thai here.Only negative feedback I can say would be that we were almost done and it seemed like they wanted us out but then again there was a long queue waiting outside.Omg getting some tonight.