Papaya Thai and a Ben & Jerry’s Stopover, Neutral Bay
minh
30 November 2009
Dessert, Dinner, Sydney, North, Thai
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On a balmy 30c Saturday, what else is there to do in Sydney but go to the beach! Unfortunately as I woke up around midday I missed meeting up with chocolatesuze and a few other foodbloggers who had the intention of going to Manly to check out the launch of Ben & Jerry’s in Australia. Undeterred I roped up P for a leisurely dinner with a stopover at Manly to check out what all the fuss was about.
There’s a distinctly Asian vibe to the Neutral Bay scene, more often than not I’ll find myself at yet another Thai or Japanese restaurant for dinner. As friend P actually works in the area I decided to let her decide and we ended up wandering inside Papaya Thai, a rather lush looking Thai restaurant.
Dripping Chandeliers inside Papaya Thai
The decor of the restaurant was a rather dark velvet look, with wooden tables, hidden alcoves with couches and chandeliers dripping from the ceiling. As the night was early the restaurant was relatively empty and we were quickly seated and handed a set of menus. When eating with P I somehow always manage to over order, and the spread we eventually ended up with could have easily fed another person, between the pair of us we ended up with an appetiser, a soup, a salad, a curry and a stir fry! Never say that I do things in moderation…
Tom Yum Koong - $7.90
Despite the weather (or should I because of the weather?) we ordered a starter of Tom Yum soup. I think it’s a very Asian attitude that you should eat hot food to combat hot weather, the sweating is somehow supposed to be beneficial. Or maybe, I just really like eating soup. The chilli sour kick of the soup is the perfect way to kick off the meal and I adore that there are whole cherry tomatoes in the soup, giving us a burst of tomato goodness.
Po Piah Koong Ped Tod - Parcel of golden crispy pastry filled with chopped prawns and roasted duck, served with plum sauce - $6.90
Our appetiser is described as a parcel of golden crispy pastry and I’m expecting a Wonton and am a little surprised when what looks like cheese sticks arrive at the table. They’re a great starter with a wonderful crunch with little to no oil residue left on our fingers, the accompanying Plum sauce is actually clear and has a texture and taste much more similar to Honey than the plum sauce I’m used to with chinese cooking. I enjoy the dish but can’t help but wish for a little bit more filling to compliment the pastry.
Som Tum - Shredded Green Papaya tossed with dried shrimps, cherry tomatoes. Pounded in mortar served with sticky rice - $16.90
There’s no way that we could go to a Thai restaurant called ‘Papaya Thai’ without ordering a version of its namesake. The Som Tum salad comes with a choice of meats, and knowing that we have chosen a Chicken Curry I opt for Beef as P is sadly allergic to Crab. The salad comes out with each of the components separated on the plate, although when I see the cabbage leaf holding the salad I just think that George from Masterchef would have removed the offending vegetable immediately. The salad comes with a serving of sticky rice and I’m gleefully eating mouthfuls of the glutinous rice with the tart sour Papaya. The serving size is generous and I could easily see eating the salad as a main.
Kaeng Kari Kai - Whole chicken leg coasted with tumeric curry then slow cooked with whole onions and baby potatoes, served with cucumber dipping sauce
Shocking at this point we’re already struggling to continue, a theory someone told me about sticky rice was that it continues to expand in your stomach making you even fuller… Whatever the case we were in more than a little despair when our mains come out, but I’m immediately taken by the simple plating of the Curry. The entire leg is clearly visible in the bowl and I’m more than a little curious by the whole bulb of garlic sitting in the dipping sauce.
The chicken simply falls apart when we stab with our forks and I’m rather enamoured of the rich coconutty tumeric base. My stomach protests but I can’t stop myself from eating mouthful after mouthful! On the menu the dipping sauce is simply listed as ‘Cucumber dipping sauce’ but comes out as a clear honey-like syrup, and when poured over the chicken it helps brings out the natural sweetness of the meat and coconut milk without being cloying.
Sweet Coconut Milk Chilli Basil Sauce Stir Fry with Prawns - $15.90
The stir fry comes out soon after the curry and at this point we are in literal pain but persevere! On the menu the stir fry list consists of 8 different choice of sauces with our choice of meat, we decide on the Sweet Coconut Milk base simply as I’m curious as to how the sweet would work in a stir fry. In hindsight knowing that we’d ordered a Coconut based curry we would have been better off with a Peppery base to cut through all the fat. The stir fry is probably the biggest disappointment as the various vegetables simply seemed drowned in the sauce and the crispy (almost burnt in some cases) basil leaves aren’t as appealing as you would think.
Papaya Thai Table Settings
We’ve decided against dessert knowing that we’re headed towards Manly and it’s all for the best as we roll ourselves out of the doorways! It’s about 7:30pm at this point and the restaurant is getting busy with waitresses rushing about. Despite this the service was quick and efficient and our glasses of water barely reached the halfway mark before being topped up by our ever vigilant wait staff. As a restaurant Papaya Thai is definitely within the ‘Trendy Restaurant’ genre oh so common to this area, but it’s backed with some good dishes and quick service.
The weather has thankfully cooled down at this point but it hasn’t kept the punters away from the Ben & Jerry’s launch, the lure of free ice-cream too strong for anyone to ignore. I’m not sure what the line must have been like in the middle of the day but the line is well organised, going across the street to the next block! The line is kept entertained by staff members popping by the line passing out wrist bands, pens and ice-cream menus and we find ourselves inside within 10 minutes.
Ben & Jerry's ice-cream choices
I’m rather torn as to the choice in flavours and settle on ‘Chunky Monkey’ having a strange affinity to Banana Ice-cream, P is set on the ‘Peanut Butter Cookie Dough’ but changes her mind at the last moment and ends up with the ‘Chocolate Fudge Brownie’. I have a strange liking for the Black & White cow pattern and find myself lusting for one of the bags that the staff members are carrying… I’ll just have content myself with the ice-cream. The entire shop is done out in a Cow-like theme with my favourite touch being the Milk Bottle lights!
We settle at the beach with our conquests and proceed to tuck in. I’ve known about Ben & Jerry’s for years but never tried it before, the Chunky Monkey has a definite banana flavour to it although after a few bites I find myself wishing that the flavour was a bit more distinctive. It does however live up to its name with a more than generous ratio of Walnut and Fudge chunks to ice-cream! P has the ‘Chocolate Fudge Brownie’ which is decadently rich and I adore the swirls of Fudge Brownie.
Remains of the day
I’ll be honest though, Ididn’treallylikeit! While I have nothing against the actual flavour of the ice-cream, I prefer my ice-cream, chunkless. Towards the end of my serving I found myself pushing aside the rather large chunks in search of more of the elusive banana ice-cream. To the ice-cream fans out there who adore making sundaes drowning in toppings, this is definitely the ice-cream for you.
All in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday at all.
The Ben & Jerry’s Free Ice-cream offer was an opening day special and available only on Saturday, 28th of November 2009.
Papaya Thai
Shop 6-9, 307-309 Military Road
Cremorne, NSW 2090
Ph: (02) 9953 8992
Web: http://www.papayathai.com.au/
Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop
Shops 5 & 6, 25-27 South Steyne
Manly, NSW 2100
Ph: (02) 8966 9219
Web: http://www.benandjerry.com.au/
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), but is probably up there with Chat Thai. 
minh
Refreshing to hear such honesty in confessing you don’t like chunky icecream, neither do I!
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