Spice I Am, Surry Hills
Yes, I know for a ridiculously low chilli tolerant person Spice I Am is not somewhere I would (should?) normally eat at, but J had a craving for it (despite living mere minutes away) and I gamely thought I should try it.
Although it was 6.30pm when we arrived, there was already a line of patient people waiting for a table… on a Wednesday no less! It didn’t take long to catch one of the wait staff’s attention to put our names down, when we were then advised that it would roughly be a 15-minute wait.
The Refreshing Beer
We found out that while Spice I Am doesn’t serve any alcoholic beverages, they were fine with BYO. J all but slapped his head. They should have brought some beers down, he explained on seeing R’s puzzled expression. They stared at each other and promptly asked me if it was okay if they went to grab some cans. I sighed, urged them to be quick and settled down for some Kindle reading time.
Crazy Spicy Hot Salad (at the cost of your tastebuds) and Mini Curry Puffs (6pcs, $7.90)
My friend makes the best curry puffs (no bias or anything!) and most puffs I’ve had at restaurants don’t really come close to hers… except maybe for these. I loved how they were super crunchy initially then super soft when you get to its delicious filling; its flavour packs a punch, as do the accompanying sweet chilli sauce (which was actually quite spicy).
The Crazy Spicy Hot Salad, which I think is actually Nam Khao Tod (crispy rice salad with Thai pork sausages, chilli powder and ground peanut for $17.90), was… well… a crazy, spicy, hot salad. I think it burnt my tastebuds to a cinder before I could taste it. Mind you, we had ordered this as mild, but it tasted more atomic! R liked its spiciness, but not so much the pork bits (then again, it’s not surprising since she’s practically a pescatarian). So it was left to J to happily finish the salad off.
Red Duck Curry ($25.90)
I loved how the red duck curry came out… in a coconut! The curry was spicy, but in light with the other dishes, it was bearable (thank goodness) even though I had to eat it with a lot of rice. I quite liked it – it had a nice balance between spicy and creamy. R didn’t realise what we ordered and thought that the “chicken” was a bit rubbery. Sad to say, she wasn’t a fan, but she did like the curry soup part.
Deep Fried Snapper with Green Mango Salad ($25.90)
This dish was a hit with its fresh salad, green mango slivers and perfectly cooked fish. It also hit my tastebuds in several different ways.
The fish was very nice, but it became quite obvious that it really should be eaten with the salad. It was rich in the right amount of tartness, acidity and brightness, but its spicy dressing brought tears to my eyes… and also to the conclusion that most of the salad had been briefly soaked in some vat filled with pickled chillis.
Spice I Am
Spice I Am proved to be an awfully popular place, despite it being midweek, and even though most of the food was a bit too spicy for me I can see why. The food is pretty decent, came out quickly and was quite value for money.
By the time we had finished, the line was even longer than when we were seated. We belatedly realised we had lingered just a bit too long, much to the wait staff’s impatience (oops), and headed back to J’s place.
I definitely will be back, though perhaps I think I’ll stick with the chicken Pad See Ew next time.
Spice I Am
90 Wentworth Ave
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
Ph: (02) 9280 0928
Web: www.spiceiam.com/Spiceiam/
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By squishies
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This article was written on 17 Jan 2011, and is filed under Dinner, Sydney, CBD, Thai.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by FoodBlogs, Denyse Skipper – RSS. Denyse Skipper – RSS said: Spice I Am, Surry Hills: Yes, I know for a ridiculously low chilli tolerant person Spice I Am is not somewhere I… http://bit.ly/fNdMfj [...]
I’m not very tolerant of spicy foods either, but have enjoyed Spice I Am, but maybe because we ordered everything mild! LOL. Duck curry in a coconut? Strange but looks great! Does coconut milk counteract capsaicin like ordinary milk? I don’t know but perhaps traces of it in the coconut does a little? The curry puffs look great too!
The coconut milk doesn’t fully counteract the chilliness, but I think it does help somewhat? Surely?
Ahhh, haven’t eaten here for a while now and am being lulled by the gimmick of duck curry in a coconut!
OMG I looove Spicy Food and has been meaning to go to Spice I Am for aggges.
Will definately be checking in soon!
Mmmm I so have to go bak to Spice I am! How come no messina for dessert
?
We were at the Surry Hills one – too far to go to Darlinghurst at that point for us =P Unfortunately. Though we did end going to Messina after Boca the other day
Nom nom nom
Oh I loooove spicy – bring it on ! I hadn’t even heard of this place, will definitely pop by, the food looks amazing
I love this place. I don’t recall the food being that spicy though. The Som Tum we had was wonderful and reminded me of the ones you get on the streets of Thailand. Without the after effects of course…
Hehe… quite possibly you’ve got a better chilli tolerance than I =) I wouldn’t be surprised – the EST team tease me constantly for my wimpiness!
Food looks really good and authentic. Pretty much like the stuff we get here in Malaysia, closer to Thai and Malay cuisine. But I’ve yet to try a good curry puff in a proper restaurant. The best are still out there on the street corners
Love how the duck curry was presented too! Love the food here, especially for its spiciness.
Just out of curiousity, the last photo of the sign wasn’t shot at eye level, right? You were kneeling or held the camera at a low angle? Nice photo either way
I was sitting down, looked up to take the photo =)
[...] it just seems right that we started out the year by visiting a couple of old favourites, they’re classic restaurants for a reason and always among the fist few restaurant [...]