Martin FrimetAngels from Thailand
March 11th 2007 23:58
Thai Angels, Barkly Street, West Footscray, VIC, 3012
It's pretty hard to find good Thai in Melbourne, well thats what i've found anyway. After visits to some pretty mediochre establishments both within the city and the inner suburbs i decided to stop relying on the 'this looks like a good place' theory and ask around my inner circle. Amongst the head chefs, the ex head chefs, tafe teachers and usual suspects came the predictive 'go to Longrain' response. My penchant for the big food, big money, big chef restaurants has waned over the last year or so though...what i wanted was the little restaurant that could, the family owned business, the place that could do it and go quietely about it's way safe in the knowledge that their customers would come back tomorrow or next week (think supper inn, celestial avenue, chinatown). The search continued and my eyes settled on the quite little man in the corner pushing away on the woks, a wealth of knowledge, only if you ask though, a trait of many asian chefs in my experience. I put it to him and in 2 mins i had the name of a quaint little place in footscray that acoording to ming dealt in the 'real deal', not the sweetened curries and pea overloaded fried rice us Australians have become accustomed to. Thai Angels on Barkley St in Footscray had me at hello...small tables sat close together, a waft of chilli, lemongrass and ginger danced with my senses and my stomach grumbled. Slowly but surely i've come to grips with share dishes, it's not that i didn't get it before it's just that it's not us really is it, small plates of food each offering their own little delight...no we are used to having the plate in front of us, there's no option, just eat it...anyway where was i....so just to be boring i have a few staples when i dine thai, tom yum being the certainty, it always cleanses the inside and sets me up for whats to come and this one didn't dissapoint, a mild selection from the menu hit me with just enough heat to warm my mouth and scatter of thai basil freshened up the palate. Tom Yum bowl empty and back to the kitchen was quickly followed by a panang curry with some fried rice while the better half layed her eyes on a very full plate of pad thai. No complaints with the curry, it went down just as sweet as i thought it would, the pad thai lacked a little substance i thought, maybe just maybe the chef grabbed a little too much sugar but still quite nice all the same. Service could use a little work we thought as our waitress swooped up a quarter full glass of wine and headed to the bar when we asked for another??? friendly and nice enough though, a little understanding here and there goes a long way to enjoying your meal. I'm not looking for another thai restaurant anytime soon, i'll be back, maybe someday i'll check out the bright lights of Longrain but for now i'm sticking with the quaint little place in the suburbs, a winner in my books that had me full belly content!
It's pretty hard to find good Thai in Melbourne, well thats what i've found anyway. After visits to some pretty mediochre establishments both within the city and the inner suburbs i decided to stop relying on the 'this looks like a good place' theory and ask around my inner circle. Amongst the head chefs, the ex head chefs, tafe teachers and usual suspects came the predictive 'go to Longrain' response. My penchant for the big food, big money, big chef restaurants has waned over the last year or so though...what i wanted was the little restaurant that could, the family owned business, the place that could do it and go quietely about it's way safe in the knowledge that their customers would come back tomorrow or next week (think supper inn, celestial avenue, chinatown). The search continued and my eyes settled on the quite little man in the corner pushing away on the woks, a wealth of knowledge, only if you ask though, a trait of many asian chefs in my experience. I put it to him and in 2 mins i had the name of a quaint little place in footscray that acoording to ming dealt in the 'real deal', not the sweetened curries and pea overloaded fried rice us Australians have become accustomed to. Thai Angels on Barkley St in Footscray had me at hello...small tables sat close together, a waft of chilli, lemongrass and ginger danced with my senses and my stomach grumbled. Slowly but surely i've come to grips with share dishes, it's not that i didn't get it before it's just that it's not us really is it, small plates of food each offering their own little delight...no we are used to having the plate in front of us, there's no option, just eat it...anyway where was i....so just to be boring i have a few staples when i dine thai, tom yum being the certainty, it always cleanses the inside and sets me up for whats to come and this one didn't dissapoint, a mild selection from the menu hit me with just enough heat to warm my mouth and scatter of thai basil freshened up the palate. Tom Yum bowl empty and back to the kitchen was quickly followed by a panang curry with some fried rice while the better half layed her eyes on a very full plate of pad thai. No complaints with the curry, it went down just as sweet as i thought it would, the pad thai lacked a little substance i thought, maybe just maybe the chef grabbed a little too much sugar but still quite nice all the same. Service could use a little work we thought as our waitress swooped up a quarter full glass of wine and headed to the bar when we asked for another??? friendly and nice enough though, a little understanding here and there goes a long way to enjoying your meal. I'm not looking for another thai restaurant anytime soon, i'll be back, maybe someday i'll check out the bright lights of Longrain but for now i'm sticking with the quaint little place in the suburbs, a winner in my books that had me full belly content!
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