Co Thu Quan

10 Droop Street

Footscray

Vic

3011

Replacing the fairly short lived Thai restaurant Issan Thai Street Food, Cô Thư Quán (pronounced 'Go Tu Quan' or 'Miss Thu's Restaurant') has a menu with a diverse range of street food and cuisine from across Vietnam. In December 2016 the first incarnation of the restaurant had to close after the fire in the Little Saigon Market.

Inside little had changed since the previous occupants in terms of the fit out, we ended up seated in the back section.

We kicked off with some prawn spring rolls, which were on the skinny side but had the expected crunch and flavours.

Th Bun Mam or Fermented fish noodle soup had a murky brown broth flavoured with fermented anchovies and fish sauce along with cat fish, pork, eggplant, fishcake, prawns and a topping of chives. The combination of flavours was full on and I mixed in condiments to get something I enjoyed.

The Bang da cua Haiphong or Haiphong red rice noodle crab soup was also packed with a variety of ingredients and flavours.

The bill came to $37 and the service was friendly and fairly quick. I'd be happy to try some more of the dishes on the extensive menu on another visit.

Star of Siam, Launceston

111 Charles Street
Launceston
Tasmania 7250

We decided to try the Star of Siam on the corner of Charles and Peterson streets when we got to Launceston.We had a window seat, and were able to watch cars and utes seemingly doing laps of the town. Inside there were a few Thai touches. We visited on a Friday evening and it was pretty busy when we arrived.

I had the chicken green curry which was served in an interestingly shaped bowl. The flavours were all there, the chicken tender and plentiful and the veggies fresh.

The chicken pad thai also tocked the boxes .

The service was fine and the bill came in at $59.30 including a couple of drinks. Overall our meal was enjoyable, without being particularly memorable, but the Star of Siam is a reasonable option if you are in Launceston and looking for Thai food.

Thai Riffic Randwick

46 Parouse Road
Randwick
NSW 2031

BYO

We'd been to Thai Riffic in Randwick a few years ago when visiting the in-laws and decided to try it again on a Saturday while staying down the road in Coogee. It was pretty packed when we got there with our BYO beers from around the corner.

We kicked off by sharing the tofu satay, which was fresh out of the fryer and super hot. The exterior chewy rather than crisp, with a tender and soft interior. The satay sauce was suitably peanutty.

The veggie and tofu green curry was good without being exceptional.

The better half had the Chicken Pad Thai which came with some unusually large slices of meat and more veggies than I'd normally expect.

The bill for our food came in came in around $45. The service was OK given how busy it was. Our table did have a whiff of having been cleaned with dirty water which was a bit off putting. Overall the experience wasn't amazing and I don't think we will be rushing back.

Issan Thai Street Food

10 Droop Street
Footscray
Victoria 3011

Occupying apart of the Westville Shopping Centre facing onto Droop Street, Issan Thai Street Food opened in January. It is named for the northeastern region of Thailand, bordering Laos and Cambodia, the original home of Noi one of the owners. It is a large, agricultural area of rice fields and small villages, influenced language, food and culture of Lao.

The look is modern with lots of bare wood and a some modern Thai themed graphics, eschewing the standard some the standard Thai eatery cliches. Our first attempt it give it a try on a weekday evening didn't workout as the only tables left were in the back section which opens onto the mall and has more of a food court vibe. We returned on a Sunday lunch time and were able to find a table in the front section.

After taking our seats we perused the lunchtime menus, which feature a smaller portions and lower prices than the full evening version.

Many of the Issan specialities were new to me and we ended up sticking to some favourites.

The prawn Pad Thai looked the part and went down well.

I had a green curry, and was able to get the veggie version despite it not being on the menu. The vegetables and tofu were well prepared and the curry sauce carried plenty of kick.

The notice for a liquor licence is up on the window...

Our bill came to $23.80, very comparable to other options in the 'scray. The service was friendly and pretty prompt. It is great to have a Thai eatery back in central Footscray and I'm sure we'll be back to try some other options on the menu.

The Piano, Richmond

18 Bridge Road
Richmond
Victoria 3121

The Piano was lively and busy when we visited on a warm spring evening. The open doors and windows on to the street built a connection to the street. We'd booked one of the few remaining tables and were soon perusing the menu which was packed with Thai favourites.

The modern fit out eschewed south east Asian influences, with plenty of wood and concrete and a bar at the back.

We skipped starters due to a shortage of time and I went for the veggie version of the slow cooked Massaman curry, which featured puffed tofu in place of lamb, along with potato, comfit onion and roasted peanut. It was a rich and creamy rendition of one of my favourites and it even won over the normally sceptical better half...

The Pad Thai with roasted peanuts in a tamarind sauce featured some tasty prawns which don't seem too obvious in the picture. The flavours hit the mark with lots of smoky wok in there!

The side of roti started disappearing before I could even get a snap.

The bill came in at $65 including rice and a shared jug of Singha, which seemed like good value, as we were both fully sated. The staff were friendly and we didn't have to wait too long for our dishes to arrive especially given how busy the Piano was. I'd certainly be happy to head back.

Paperboy Kitchen

320 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
VIC 3000

It had been a while since I'd had lunch with Brendan and we've both moved offices since we last caught up. We met at Paperboy Kitchen Little Lonsdale Street.

The interior has a minimal industrial feel with an open kitchen. It is fairly small with a few shared high tables with stools and a bench tops against the windows. We found somewhere to perch, made our selection from the short menu of dishes that either come with noodles or in a bread roll, and then ordered at the counter...

...instead of the table number we got a plastic lion, there were other miniature animals on offer too.

Brendan went for the BBQ Chicken Bowl, starring marinated free range chook on rice noodles with Asian 'slaw, carrot-daikon pickle, sriracha mayo and coriander which he really rated.

I went for the red curry cauliflower bowl. The house spicy curry sauce packed a punch and combined well with the slaw, pickle, Sriracha mayo and coriander, atop the well prepared noodles.

The dishes were $12 and $13 respectively and were well worth the price. The service suited the casual but busy vibe, with the staff keeping up pretty well with the rapid turnover of punters in the small space. We were both happy with our meals and would be happy to return.

Siam Square, Waikiki

408 Lewers St

Waikiki, Honolulu

HI 96815


The first time we had walked past, we'd found Siam Square closed. On our second night in town it was open so we decided to give it a try. It is up some stairs on and entered off Lewers street, near the corner with Kuhio.

Inside there was a bit of a Thai vibe with the décor, and the lit up menu downstairs certainly highlighted the countries architecture.

It was pretty busy when we showed up, and we waited a little while for our meals. The seafood with ginger and chilli paste was fine.

The Massaman chicken was good too without being a standout.

The service seemed a little haphazard, maybe just because it was busy. The bill came to $53 with a couple of beers, and our overall impression was of a competent Thai restaurant without going beyond that.

Thai @ Toorak

517 Toorak Road
Toorak
Victoria 3142

We were across town in Toorak for a gig, and wanted dinner before and Thai @ Toorak was conveniently located with a good score on Urbanspoon, so we decided to check it out. We found the entrance and headed up the stairs from ground level into glitzy and ground dining room, we certainly weren't in Footscray anymore!

The menu featured plenty of Thai standards, along with a few less regularly spotted options. We stuck with the fish cakes for entree, which were generously sized, nicely flavoured and had the distinctive texture one expects.

The roti was light and flaky and not too oily.

The stir fried duck with basil also featured plenty of veggies and chilli! The combination of ingredients was a winner.

I ordered the vegetarian red curry which had a great combination of spice and less potent flavours.

The bill came to $84 including a couple of beers, which seemed a little expensive to our westsider wallets, but the meal was flavour packed and satisfying. the service was a little haphazard but friendly all the same. We don't head out this way often so I doubt we will be re-tracing our steps soon, but I wouldn't rule that out either.

Thai House, Apollo Bay

18 Pascoe Street
Apollo Bay
VIC 3233

On previous visits to Apollo Bay, we either hadn't been in the mood for Thai dining or had found the restaurant closed. This time it ended up being the first eatery we visited. We sat outside under a Singha parasol.

After selecting a couple of Thai beers and perusing the menu, we ended up going with two old favourites... I wouldn't normally bother with a shot of the rice, but the presentation was pretty special, and it was a generous 'small' sized serve.

The roti light and not too greasy.

The prawn pad Thai contained all the key main ingredients, but the flavours in the were a little off, perhaps sweet chilli sauce had been added? Unfortunately this pushed the overall impression of the dish into average territory.

The green curry chicken however was fantastic, with great authentic flavours complimenting the fresh veggies and chunks of chook.

The bill came to just over $70,generous the service was efficient, given it was a busy summer Saturday. We'd probably head back if we fancied some Thai while down on the Great Ocean Road, but might try and stray further on the menu...