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/

© Minh for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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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)

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With the cold weather sending us all to chills we decided to go to Chat Thai, a city favourite for Thai. Unfortunately the restaurant was true to form and packed out! I guess we weren’t the only ones with the same idea. Our patience and tolerance for cold only runs so far and we soon found ourselves headed for I-San, situated just around the corner.(...)
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What’s up with Thai restaurants and funny names ? Thai-riffic, Thai-na-town, Thai-tanic and the list goes on. It seems there is an infatuation with this naming convention and it’s almost weird seeing a Thai restaurant with a normal name such as Lao Village. But of course, Lao Village is Lao and not Thai. Yet you often find the food can be quite similar, a bit like Middle eastern food.

'Local' feel in this restaurant

Coconut juice

I’ve been to Lao Village a lot in recent years. It’s a testament to how good it really is if it’s still operating after 15 years. Not much has changed, the food is traditional, it’s cheap and it has the ‘local’ feel to it. You won’t see this place with Ikea furnishings or scented candles that’s for sure. But that’s the beauty of this restaurant and it’s appeal to the Lao and Thai locals of Fairfield and it’s surrounding suburbs such as Cabramatta. You know the food will taste awesome, your more than likely to see a few familiar faces dining there, yet if it was your first time there you wouldn’t feel intimated either.

Complimentary salad

Finding this place is easy for the regular, but it’s actually behind the renovated Fairfield RSL which looks like the Las Vegas of the West. Lao Village is hidden behind a dodgy looking door with a fly screen, but once you walk in to the packed restaurant (on a Saturday night) you know your in the right place.

bbq marinated ox tongue ($7.50)

Grilled ox tongue is one of my favourite thai and lao dishes regardless of which restaurant it is. It is grilled until brown and crispy yet it retains it’s softness inside. There is a slight unique taste, it’s hard to explain in words. You know your not eating ‘meat’ but in fact another organ. First timers should not think about and just eat it because it tastes delicious.

Fried quails ($12)

For $12, we get an extremely generous serving of crispy fried and tender quail. It’s a refreshing scene as these are often dry and tough in a lot Chinese restaurants as they are usually served as part of a discount banquet. The salt and pepper with lemon juice dip gives it a little bit of kick.

Fried rice with seafood ($8.50)

Lao and Thai style fried rice is a bit different to normal fried rice. The usual ingredients are there but it is usually served flat on a plate with the top part crunchy.

Fried noodle with seafood ($8.50)

The thick pieces of rice noodles are a favourite due to the copious amounts of seafood. It isn’t outstanding, as you can only do so much with fried noodles.

paw paw salad thai style ($7.50)

There are two types of paw paw salads. we opt for the Thai as opposed to the Lao. The main difference is that the Lao version is prepared with brined crabs whereas the Thai use more of a fish sauce and shrimp paste base for it’s flavour, that’s from what I can gather anyway from various trips to Thai and Lao restaurants.

The salad is fresh and pungent, with a tasty variety of flavours and textures. You have the paw paw and tomato providing the base elements of a salad, the fish sauce and shrimp paste providing flavour and saltiness and the peanuts and dried shrimp introducing a bit of crunch and texture.

chicken feet salad ($7.50)

The chicken feet salad was gobbled up in no time. Sadly, I can’t find much about it on Google. It’s base ingredients are chicken feet and onion with a spicy sauce. Once again, it’s the contrasting textures of ingredients that win me over.

Sticky rice $2.50

I always go for the sticky rice as it’s perfect for absorbing all the sauces from the various salads. A $2.50 is enough for 1 person, or 1 between 2 if ordering fried rice and noodles.

Lao Village is one of the best bang for buck restaurants you will find. Each dish is enough to be shared between 2 people. The food is traditional, cheap and delicious. They keep the menu small but do it very well. You’ll see families of all walks of life there, young couples, groups of Thai and Lao teens going for a feed as well. If you ever get sick of the modern varieties of Thai food, you should try the Thai and Lao restaurants out in the Suburbs for something a little different. The flavours are less bold, but at least it gives you an indication on what you would get if you visited Lao.

Lao Village

1-3 Anzac Avenue
Fairfield NSW 2165
Opposite Fairfield RSL
Phone (02) 9728 7136

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Anyone else find it hard to find a location which has a decent bar for pre-drinks but also a decent restaurant close by ? When organising a Friday night out, we often have to compromise either the bar or the restaurant as some places are just too far away from each other in the City. Anyway this problem has partially been solved if your in the Darlinghurst area as Rambutan seems to be able to hit two birds with one stone with a funky and modern cocktail bar downstairs coupled with unique modern Thai food. 

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