Sukhothai Noodles at Soi 38

he says:

Great news Thai noodle lovers! Soi 38 is back! We had a great time at the Spring Fling introducing Melbourne to Boat Noodles. A belated thankyou to Kenny from Consider the Sauce, Temasek, and Bazza from Wildcat Wanderer for coming down to try our wares and writing such kind reviews! It isn't the best footage but if you have a spare 3 minutes check out this youtube video of us in action!

So if you loved our Boat Noodles at the Spring Fling or if you're one of the poor unfortunate who missed out then get down to the Queen Victoria Market this Sunday 28 April for the Indonesian Street Festival. Yes I know what you're thinking, but Soi 38 is Thai not Indonesian! Yes that's right but the organisers of the Indonesia Festival loved our noodles at the Spring Fling and approached us to join them. At Soi 38 (and krapow) we're always looking for the opportunity to introduce Melbourne to new Thai dishes so of course we said yes!

We are continuing our tour of Thai Noodles with another all time Thai favourite Sukhothai Noodles. This time the Soi 38 crew will be joined by our friends from the (sadly) now closed Tidlom Thai.

So what exactly are these exotic sounding Sukhothai noodles? Sukhothai is a province in the central area of Thailand whose residents unsurprisingly claim these delicious noodles as their own.  Sukhothai is generally accepted as the original independent Thai kingdom. Eventually Sukhothai was usurped by the new and probably now more famous southern kingdom of Ayutthaya which coincidentally is the home of Boat Noodles. After several centuries of war and conflict the current Thai capital of Bangkok was settled by Rama I, the descendent of the reigning King of Thailand Rama IX King Bhumibol.

Like all Thai food Sukhothai noodles are subject to many different interpretations but the basic structure is generally consistent. That being a light pork and garlic flavoured broth, various proteins including fish balls, sliced pork, pork balls and dried shrimp served over sen lek rice noodles and topped with sliced snake beans, fried pork crackling and crushed peanuts. They are not easily located in Melbourne (especially in the CBD) however I have heard rumours of delicious versions available in the Eastern suburbs. I think the closest cousin to Sukhothai noodles is Tom Yam Moo (pork) which I absolutely love. Krua Thai 2 serve a version that I have previously raved about. It is not to be confused with Tom Yum Goong (prawn) which is the more commonly available variant with a bright red broth seasoned with galangal and also available by the jar as a paste concentrate.

A lot of Thai like to have their soup noodles served 'Haeng' or dry which obviously means without broth. Having tried many Thai noodles served both ways I typically steer towards the Nahm or wet version but that isn't to say that dry noodles are without their charm, and they are no doubt healthier! If you hadn't already realised I'm just a sucker for a beautifully constructed broth. Having spent many many hours trying to perfect my own broths I am in no doubt that this is truly an art de cuisine of the highest order!

Well that's the end of my rave about Sukhothai noodles. If I've whet your appetite then get down to the Queen Victoria Market this Sunday 28 April and look for the Thai noodle cart and the guy in the blue motosai vest. You won't be disappointed. Aroy Mak!

Check out this mouthwatering youtube video of  Sukhothai noodles served at Som Som Pochana in BKK!

krapow Top 5 Melbourne Thai Restaurants

he says:

This is a guest post I wrote a while back for the Melbology blog which I recently discovered that seems to have been converted to a different blog called  Melbournism and any links to my original post are now directed to a 'Tell us your favourite Thai restaurant' comment page. I really have no idea what has happened here and I only recently found out about it by chance. Given that this means my original post is now not published anywhere I thought it would be only fair that I republish it here at krapow.  This post was originally written about 6 months ago so obviously I have since discovered a pile of new favourite Thai restaurants however after rereading my thoughts from last year I am happy to stand by them and can confidently say that while these may no longer be my Top 5 they are still some of my favourites!

I have previously speculated that there must be around 300 Thai restaurants in Melbourne. I now reckon it could be closer to 500. That’s the great thing about guessing, it really doesn't matter whether you’re right or not. Although I would have sampled less than 10% of my estimated 500 Melbourne Thai restaurants I feel confident that I can give a pretty good Top 5. Not only will I list my Top 5 favourite Thai restaurants but I will also include my favourite meal from each.

Before I start, I prefer my Thai food as authentic as possible so that means hot, not sweet curries, no cashew chicken and definitely no chicken pad Thai! If this doesn't work for you and you want ‘Aussie’ Thai fare I’ll list a couple of the more popular ones at the end of this post but I really encourage you to broaden your horizons and go try a few of these dishes, all of them are wonderful examples of delicious Thai cuisine.

So here goes, my Top 5 Melbourne Thai restaurants and meals…

1. Le Bangkok, 195 Lonsdale Street Melbourne

I recently discovered this gem of a restaurant in the CBD and it has firmly become my go to place for good authentic Thai food. The secret here is that they actually have two menus, one for westerners and one for Thai. The second menu is tactfully referred to as the ‘spicy’ menu. This is the one you need to ask for as it contains some really special and very authentic offerings. What keeps me coming back again and again is the Yum Pak Boong Krob, which I describe as deep fried morning glory with a pork and prawn tom yum curry sauce. The crispy fried morning glory is truly glorious and combines perfectly with the highly addictive tom yum curry sauce.  You have been warned…

2. Tom Toon 241Victoria St Abbotsford

Tom Toon have an extensive menu but I can’t really tell you much about it as the first time I visited I ordered the Kuay Tiau noodle soup and I've never ordered anything different since. You can order either rice or egg noodles with pork, beef or chicken. My personal recommendation is chicken with egg noodles. For me, Thai noodle soup leaves Pho in its dust. It’s so much richer and more powerfully flavoured, a definite must try for all noodle soup lovers. I personally think Kuay Tiau is one of the most underrated Thai dishes and I really can’t understand why. Get to Tom Toon and see for yourself, I’m betting you’ll be back for a second and third taste of their amazing Kuay Tiau.

3. Yim Yam 40 Ballarat St, Yarraville & 76 Smith St Collingwood

Yim Yam has been around for ages, which is usually a good sign that they’re doing something right. The recent successful expansion into Smith St Collingwood is also testament to the quality of food available at Yim Yam. Two dishes that Yim Yam do very, very right are the Toasted Rice & Coconut Salad and the Yum Yim Yam, both are amazing. The crunchy toasted rice is texturally sublime and the dressing on the Yum Yim Yam always leaves me scratching my head in wonderment, how do they do that?

4. Me Dee Springvale 1/1-3 St Johns Ave Springvale

Me Dee advertises as having the most authentic Thai food in Melbourne, and I’m certainly not going to dispute this claim. The menu is extensive and choosing is difficult but for me the easy choice is the Hoy Tod. Hoy Tod is a fried mussel omelette with sprouts and Sriracha chilli sauce. It sounds a bit confronting but the combination of the salty mussels, crunchy sprouts and spicy Sriracha is a taste sensation. Apparently it’s also great hangover cure for those tough enough to face up to a bowl of mussels and chilli sauce while hungover. Springvale is a decent journey for most, but for anyone who takes their Thai food seriously the trip is more than worth it.

5. Sweet Rice 102 Millers Rd Altona North

Sweet Rice is a bit of a random addition to this list but I really couldn't exclude them. I spent a good part of the past 12 months heading out to Altona just to get a taste of their Green Mango Fish or the super cheap and super delicious deep-fried soft shell crab to name just two favourites. I tried a lot of the Sweet Rice menu during the intense phase of my obsession and can comfortably say that I never had a bad meal.

So that’s my personal favourite Top 5 Melbourne Thai restaurants. I doubt very much that anyone will agree with me but before you shout me down I urge you to get to at least one of my recommendations and broaden your Thai food experiences. I'm sure you love Massaman curry, hey I do too but there is so much more out there. You don’t even have to search for it. I've done that for you. 

As promised above, if authenticity isn't your thing here are a few ‘Aussie’ Thai recommendations. Try Thaila Thai, at 82 Lygon St, Brunswick East or Ying Thai at 235 Victoria St, Abbotsford or Ying Thai 2 at 110 Lygon St, Carlton. While both Ying Thai outlets also sell some very authentic and delicious Thai dishes I found that they have adjusted the levels of heat and sweetness in some of the dishes that are more popular with the western clientèle such as Green and Red curries. 

ZabVers

he says:

I was recently invited over to Victoria Street Richmond to check out the latest addition to the ever increasing array of Thai restaurants that populate the previously Vietnamese dominated strip. With its modern interior design and comprehensive menu of authentic Thai classics ZabVers is a certainly a most welcome addition to the area.

The name ZabVers is an interesting one which essentially is Thai slang for super delicious. 'Zab' is an Issan word for delicious and the addition of 'Vers' is a sort of young persons' slang for extra or super. What's interesting is that 'Vers' is actually a shortening of the English word 'Over' and is used as a suffix to enhance the importance of the word that precedes it. I quite like the way the Thai sometimes use shortened English words in a colloquial kind of slang. It's a bit of an insight into how western minded the young Thai are these days. 

It was a pretty warm evening so I was delighted to be brought a glass of my favourite Thai drink, Cha Yen which is Thai milk tea sweetened with both evaporated and condensed milk. It's super sweet but also very refreshingly cooling on a hot day.

The next dish, Khao Soy is one you don't often see so course I was automatically impressed. Khao Soy is a Chang Mai specialty of chicken in a creamy mild coconut curry. It is served with crispy egg noodles, raw vegetables and nam prik pow as accompaniments. With its mild heat levels I could see this dish becoming quite popular with those 'Aussie' customers who often struggle with the spicyness of many Thai dishes.

ZabVers specialises in Isan and Northern Thai regional dishes so it's only natural that they offered their version of Tom Zap for me to try. The delicately thin but spicy broth was actually perfect to reset my palate after the cream curry. A disarmingly complex dish, Tom Zap is predominantly flavoured by galangal and lemongrass however the Thai basil adds a little kick of aniseed to complement the slightly bigger kick of chilli!

The array of Thai grilled meat salads seems to be almost never ending and I'm yet to find one that I don't absolutely love. This one was Moo Tok Krok which is bit like Som Tum without the papaya. Beautifully in its simplicity, the smoky grilled pork, acidic tomatoes, earthy snake beans and zesty lime chilli fish sauce dressing are a glorious combination. This is a dish I will certainly be making at home.

Nam Tok Moo is another delicious Thai grilled meat salad. Similar to Larp, this is another Northern Thai classic so that means it is very tasty but also very spicy. Ideally the pork would be grilled over charcoal to achieve the gorgeous smoky flavour however this is often difficult to achieve in a commercial kitchen (and at home). I really don't know whether the chef at ZabVers uses a charcoal grill but I certainly enjoyed the flavour of this grilled pork and the jim jaew dressing was a wonderfully tangy and spicy accompaniment. 

This last dish was very Thai and not for those with an aversion to offal. Num Ngeow Kanom Jeen is yet another Northern Thai specialty that combines a spicy tomato broth with tender pieces of pork and liver served with Kanom Jeen noodles which are made from fermented rice. David Thompson devotes an entire chapter to these special noodles in his literary culinary masterpiece 'Thai Street Food'. Anyone who has drooled over this book as much as I have will certainly have developed a desire to learn more about these Kanom Jeen noodles. Interestingly Kanom Jeen noodles are traditionally associated with religious rituals and because Thai monks must abstain from eating after midday the noodles have become accepted as a morning meal. Mmmm offal for breakfast... To see some great photos and learn how Kanom Jeen noodles are made check this great post from Austin Bush. 

Gluay Ping (Deep Fried Bananas) are a favourite sweet treat for many Thai and one that I'm a bit partial too myself. In Australia we pretty much have two varieties of banana available (Cavendish and Lady Finger) unless you go looking at the asian markets that is. In Thailand there are over 100 varieties of banana available which is incredible really. This link has some fantastic pictures of some of the Thai banana varieties.

So if you're into Issan food or just interested in trying some new Thai dishes then I highly recommend checking ZabVers out. The meals are very reasonable priced and the flavours are authentically Thai.

This review was conducted in my capacity as restaurant reviewer for ‘Thailiciouz’. I dined as a guest of the restaurant who knew in advance that I would be dining there, and selected the dishes they wanted to showcase. Please visit the ‘Thailiciouz’ website www.thailiciouz.com.au for information on how you can receive hot deals from various Thai eateries, massage parlours and other contemporary Thai businesses.

The Thai on Chapel

he says:

These days I don't get over to Chapel Street as much as I used to, sadly (or not) the days of partying at Revolver until the wee hours are well and truly behind me. On this occasion I was quite excited to be invited over to the Windsor end of Chapel to check out the not so subtly named 'The Thai on Chapel'.

Life has been pretty busy lately so I wasn't able to do much research about what to expect, as is my usual process. With so many great food blogs and Urbanspoon at my disposal it's actually quite rare these days that I don't walk into a restaurant without pretty much knowing exactly what I am going to order before a menu is even placed in front of me. After my excellent experience at 'The Thai on Chapel' I'm starting to question whether taking away the element of surprise actually somewhat diminishes a little part of the dining experience. 

On walking in to the restaurant I was immediately aware of the differences to what I usually encounter when entering the Thai establishments that I normally frequent. The interior is quite dark and warm and rather modern yet rustic in appearance and feel. I really think the restaurant design thing is harder to do well than it might seem. In this aspect (and most others) I would say the folks at 'The Thai on Chapel' have done really well.

Even better, and perhaps my favourite thing about 'The Thai on Chapel' is the open (and very clean looking) kitchen where you can watch the chefs making Kanom Krok and Kao Kiab Pak Moo. Comparisons to the legendary Sydney 'Chat Thai' immediately came to mind. 

On grabbing ourselves a table and a menu I immediately noticed the 'Appetizer' section which contained a list of most of my favourite dishes and I started to worry as I often do when accepting these invitations that the dishes that the proprietors would select for us may not be the same as those I would have selected for myself. I needn't have worried. 'The Thai on Chapel' have a definite focus on Street Food and thankfully this is what they decided to showcase to me on my visit. First up was the always delicious Moo Ping (Grilled Pork Skewers), I love these little guys with their smoky sweet flavour and amazingly zingy Jim Jaew dipping sauce accompaniment. Forget Satay, it's Moo Ping all the way for me! Here is a great recipe for Jim Jaew from the supremely authoritative She Simmers. I just can't wait for her soon to be released cookbook!

Another dish you can observe being made is the deliciously nutty and sweet Kao Kiab Pak Moo (Steamed Pork Dumplings). These consist of a nutty tasting pork and pickled turnip filling wrapped in a delicately steamed rice paper. 

These gorgeous little dumplings were a new one for me and one that I will definitely be returning to enjoy again. The filling tasted very similar to another favourite Thai street food snack Sago Sai Moo.

I have eaten the next dish at a number of Thai establishments both in Thailand and Australia and the beautifully constructed 'The Thai on Chapel' version is up there with the best. Often Sai Krok Issan (Fermented Pork Sausages) can be extremely powerful on the garlic, which is fine at the time of eating but can be difficult for those you come in contact with for the next 12 hours but these had the balance just right. Not too powerful on the garlic but just enough to enjoy the spicy funky blend of fermented pork, garlic and sticky rice. They are eaten wrapped in a crunchy lettuce leaf with a price of spicy ginger and a slice or two of chilli. Perhaps an acquired taste for some but for me these are the kinds of flavours that remind me of so many wonderful meals that I have enjoyed in Thailand. 

If there was only one reason to visit 'The Thai on Chapel' (and there are many) it would have to be the Kanom Krok. These amazing little morsels of sweet coconut goodness are another of the hidden gems of Thai Street Food. Apart from perhaps one or two other restaurants, I don't know of anywhere else in Melbourne that serves them and definitely none that do them as well as 'The Thai on Chapel'. Due to their lack of availability and supreme deliciousness I have previously been forced to make them myself. You can check out my recipe here, it's actually one of my most viewed posts. Kanom Krok are fried in a specially designed pan (see photo above) to achieve a crunchy texture on the bottom that combines perfectly with the sweet creamy coconut filling. The toppings are usually corn or spring onion which are delicious but 'The Thai on Chapel' version with sesame and peanuts was another new one for me and in my opinion one that definitely works. These are listed on the Appetizer section of the menu and are eaten throughout the day in Thailand however for most western palates they would possibly be more appropriately ordered as a dessert.

Once we had happily devoured all the lovely street food snacks our hosts brought out a bowl of 'Guay Jub'. As I've said many times before, when done well Thai noodles soups are absolute masterpieces. It would be hard to find many other dishes with such depth and complexity of flavours. 'The Thai on Chapel' Guay Jub is made from scratch and contains numerous ingredients, soft gelatinous fatty pork belly, braised pork, fried tofu, pork liver, pork crisps and a soft boiled egg. The broth is divine with a richness of anise, salty soy and sweetness that has you spooning mouthful after mouthful of the very special liquid. My Thai dining companion commented that this was the most authentic flavoured Guay Jub he has tasted in Australia (and we've had a few together). 

Yen Ta Four is the Chinese influenced (actually all noodle soups are Chinese influenced) Thai seafood variation of noodle soup. This broth is again made from scratch and in this case it is particularly noticeable as the flavour is quite strong and not something I can even go close to describing. For me the highlights of this dish are the springy fish balls, tender squid, crunchy wontons and of course the complex yet unusual flavoured broth. Yen Ta Four is another dish that isn't very commonly found in Australian Thai restaurants however I highly recommend giving it a try. It's definitely in the acquired taste basket but it does have an addictive sweetness that makes the discovery process a little less challenging.

I was pretty much stuffed by this stage but our lovely hosts obviously knew my weak spot and made me an offer I couldn't refuse, a plate of Durian Sticky Rice. This is one of those desserts that I just can't say no to. If you have never tried it then get down to 'The Thai on Chapel' immediately. The flavour of durian is just wonderful and to me it is the smell of Thailand. I'm not sure how it happens but when I'm in Thailand it seems like the smell of durian is perpetually floating in the air. The funky earthiness of the durian combined with the sweet coconut cream and mushy glutinous rice is something to behold. 

Tub Tim Krob is another classic Thai dessert. It's pretty simple in construction, you just colour some water chestnuts with red food colouring then toss them in tapioca flour and boil them until the red colour comes through, then add the red rubies to some crushed ice and sweeten it with a few squirts of Hale's Blue Boy Sala (Red) cordial. Simple, light and deliciously refreshing.

I couldn't help spot this conspicuous little display case filled with beautiful looking Macarons with flavours like Cream Cheese Banana, Chocolate Orange, Cookies and Cream, Salted Caramel and Durian! Sadly I didn't get to try any of them that night but I will definitely be looking for an excuse to drop by again and grab a box or two. 

Overall I have to say that I really enjoyed my meal at 'The Thai on Chapel'. Even more exciting is the many other items on the menu that sounded fantastic that I didn't get the chance to to try that night. Other dishes on my hit list are Patongko (Thai Donuts with Pandan Custard), Pad Prik Khing, Noodle Tom Yum and the Gai Yang to name just a few. I really like what the owners of 'The Thai on Chapel' have achieved with this restaurant. They fill that nice spot in between the high end Thai establishments like Longrain and the more cafe/eatery style places like Tidlom or iSpicy, all while maintaining a high degree of authenticity. I really think there is a big market for authentic Thai food served in a modern environment while not being too expensive. It might seem like I'm asking for a lot but the proprietors of "The Thai on Chapel' have shown that it's possible. I'm very sure that if they were located in the CBD they would be attracting queues not unlike those you will experience if you ever try and get a table at Sydney's Chat Thai. 

This review was conducted in my capacity as restaurant reviewer for ‘Thailiciouz’. I dined as a guest of the restaurant who knew in advance that I would be dining there, and selected the dishes they wanted to showcase. Please visit the ‘Thailiciouz’ website www.thailiciouz.com.au for information on how you can receive hot deals from various Thai eateries, massage parlours and other contemporary Thai businesses.

Soi 38 at the North Melbourne Spring Fling

he says:

After lots of research and even more practice we are very excited to announce the launch of our new Thai Street Food venture 'Soi 38'. This Sunday 21st October we will be premiering Soi 38 at the North Melbourne Spring Fling. Regular readers will already be aware of my dream of launching a Thai Boat Noodle Pop Up Street Food Cart in Melbourne. It's a bit of a crazy dream but I have a passion for Thai Street Food and a passion for Melbourne so somehow in my mind it fits perfectly. It's really all about the love of Thai Street Food and hopefully having a bit of fun (or as the Thai say sanuk).

Thai Boat noodles (kwaytiao reua) are a delicious and intensely flavoured but little known traditional Thai dish. They are associated with central Thailand, and are so called because they used to be sold from small boats along the canals and rivers. These days the vendors have moved onshore and the most famous boat noodle restaurants are found in 'boat noodle' alley near the Victory Monument in Bangkok. We visited 'boat noodle' alley when we were in Thailand last year and that's where my infatuation began…

With a cart fully imported from Thailand and a recipe refined over the past 6 months the plan is to bring a little bit of Thai Street Food authenticity to Melbourne. A huge thanks goes to my good friend Khun Top from Tidlom Thai Antique for his help with the recipe and for patiently answering all of my many questions.

A big part of Thai noodle soups is the seasonings - fish sauce, white sugar, crushed roasted chillies and chillies in vinegar. These are added at the customers discretion to create a personalised taste combination of the four pillars of Thai food - salty, sweet, sour and of course spicy!

Soi 38 is synonymous with street food in Bangkok as it is one of the most famous and most popular locations where some of the best street food can be found. Soi means side street in Thai and rather than naming all the side streets off a major road they are simply numbered, hence Soi 38. At night Soi 38 literally transforms into an open air food court crowded with stalls, tables and customers while at the same time the street is still open to cars who use it as a kind of drive through as they order take away through their car windows.  

Eating Thai soup noodles is a little bit of a skill, albeit one that is quite easily obtained. Unlike many of their South East Asian neighbours the Thai don't use chopsticks on a regular basis. Chopsticks are pretty much reserved for eating soup noodles. The method is to use the chopsticks in the right hand to pluck out some noodles and other special bits while simultaneously using a spoon in the left hand held just under the chopsticks to ensure that the mouthful of noodles is quickly followed by a slurp of the delicious broth.

So if you have an interest in Thai food (which I assume you do as you are reading this blog) do yourself a favour and get down to Errol Street this Sunday and try what I hope will be some of the best soup noodles you've ever tasted! In my opinion Boat Noodles leave Vietnamese Pho in their wake. Unfortunately Boat Noodles are just not very well known in Australia, it is my hope that Soi 38 will be one of the first small steps in changing that.

she says:

After slurping up a few bowls of boat noodles and rubbing your very satisfied tummies - roll on over to the smaller street food cart for the final sweet touch - Khanom Dorayaki.  I do believe this treat originated in Japan (with a savoury red bean filling) - but the Thai style in my opinion is far superior as it contains a variety of sweet fillings.  At the Spring Fling we will be serving Custard, Pandan Custard, Sweet Taro, Sala Custard and Creaming Soda Custard Dorayaki.

Our adventures with Thai food were (in the beginning) very heavy on lunch/dinner meals and light on desserts.  As a huge fan of sweets this needed to be amended and slowly we happily worked our way through many Thai desserts.

Although we have many favourites - Khanom Dorayaki is up there with the best!  I remember our first experience with Dorayaki so clearly - we were walking along at a market in Silom and spied this lovely Thai lady making these circle shaped pancake like sandwiches.  Purchased straight off the cooker we took our first bite and while the runny warm custard was dribbling down our chins we looked at each other and smiled with happiness!

A year down the track we decided that this treat needed to be bought to Melbourne to serve along with Boat Noodles and after tracking down that lovely Thai lady 'Lucky' - she showed us how to cook this very delicious dessert and gave us her secret recipe.  We can't wait to share these with you - I am fairly confident you won't be able to stop at one!

You can read more about our Boat Noodle adventures here, here and here. And here is a little bit on Sukhumvit Soi 38.

Nai Peng

he says:

I have to apologise for being a bit slack lately when it comes to posting. Actually this seems to be a pretty standard opening for most of my posts lately and I'm running out of excuses other that just being plain slack... I still have a lot of meals from our not so recent visit to Bangkok to catch up on and I am determined to get them all completed. It was such an amazing holiday with so many wonderful meals that I have to admit that I don't mind having to revisit the photos as they bring back some great memories.

This time I'm writing about Nai Peng which is a chicken noodle shop near Chulalongkorn University in Hualampong. Once again I learned about this place from my trusty Bangkok's Top 50 Food Stalls guidebook. I mention this so aften I should probably add a link to Bangkok Glutton's blog where you can purchase a copy. Even if you're not planing on visiting Bangkok, for around $15 it's worth grabbing a copy as it is a very interesting read and definitely will have you thinking about getting over to Thailand in the near future. It actually made for quite a fun little adventure trying to find some of these stalls. A bit like a treasure hunt really with a real pay off when you actually find the place you're looking for. Some of them are quite a challenge to find as Chow readily admits some of her maps are not quite as good as they could be, clearly her focus is on food rather than maps. Anyway, here's the link if you're interested.

Nai Peng was no exception when it comes to being difficult to find. You'd think that having the address to show to the tuk tuk driver would make it nice and simple but due to the subtle tonal differences in the Thai language you can often end of a long way from where you want to be. This was the case on our first attempt to get to Nai Peng which is located in the Suan Luang market but due to my mispronunciation (a common occurrence) we ended up nowhere near where we intended. Apparently there is another market that is very similarly pronounced to Suan Lunag. You can imagine the 'oh you mean Suan Luang, not Suan Lunang' with both sounding identical to my western ears.

Our second attempt was much more successful and we arrived just before the lunch service and had the opportunity to see them preparing some of the ingredients for service. I'm not sure what these guys were doing with the noodles but it seemed to be some kind of separating process. They took all the lovely looking fresh Sen Yai (wide flat rice noodles) out of the bags, smooshed them around the table and then put them back into the same bags.

This young fellow had the unenviable job of preparing some kind of herb that I couldn't identify. As with most of the Thai vendors at least he got to sit out on the street where he could enjoy all the happenings rather than being hidden away in the kitchen. This is really one of the less considered benefits of street trading from the vendors perspective. The convenience for the customers is pretty obvious but when you talk to the vendors they really have a great sense of community with their fellow stall owners and the whole process is incredibly sociable as they chat and joke to each other constantly. I'm sure this is a major reason they find the energy to get up so early and man their carts and shops day in day out from the early hours of the morning until sometimes late into the evening.

It goes without saying that the noodles were just sublime, beautifully charred with a wok imbued smokiness and a texture unlike anything else. This was a turning point for me and left me wondering why these wide noodles dishes like Pad Eee Eew and Pad Ki Mao are not as popular as the infamous Pad Thai. The little extras are what set the great noodle dishes apart from the god ones and the addition of the little crunchy fried processed squid noodles and lashings of Sriracha sauce took this great dish to that next level. Like most of the noodle dishes in Bangkok the price per bowl of 30 Baht ($1) will have you thinking about consuming a second of possible third bowl.

Krua Thai 2

he says:

Are you mad for Thai noodle soup? No??? Well move along please nothing to see here.

If you're still here I can safely assume that you are like me and love Thai noodle soups or at least are interested in learning more about these amazing creations. Lovers of Thai noodle soup need look no further than Krua Thai 2. I was directed to Krua Thai 2 by Khun Top of Tidlom Thai Antique who credits Krua Thai 2 (and his mother) with teaching him all he knows about Thai food, and that's a lot. As with most times when I talk about food to Thai chefs we invariably end up talking about Thai noodle soups and in particular where the best examples can be found in Melbourne. Most (well pretty much all) Thai restaurants that offer more than the standard Tom Yam Goong use a packet powder or bottle paste base to construct their soups which although often delicious leaves the final product a far cry from what you will taste when in Thailand.

Only on Saturday and Sunday at Krua Thai 2 you can get a great array of traditional Thai noodle soups, all of which are made from scratch. Even better, you can get small size servings for only $6 a bowl which means you can comfortably try out a number of the options available (if not all). We managed 5 bowls and will certainly be back to have them all again and try the rest, including the dry variations. As far as I'm concerned, the list above is pretty much the greatest hits of Thai noodle soups.

First up was the Kuay Tiao Rua Nua (Beef Boat Noodles) with Sen Mee (Rice Vermicelli) noodles. I've read that anyone who knows what they're doing would never order Boat Noodles with anything but Sen Mee so as I like to pretend that I know my stuff that's what I ordered. This dish was just sublime and easily the best version of Boat Noodles I have tried outside of Thailand. I could have ordered a second bowl straight up but wanted to save room for as many of the greatest hits as possible.

Next was the Guay Jub which I have also had previously but again this version was far superior. It's an interesting dish as the noodles are little flattened discs that are rolled into tubes and cooked until beautiful and tender. Unfortunately my photo doesn't quite show them up so you'll just have to get over to Krua Thai 2 to try them for yourself. This dish contained a number of different proteins, some of them gorgeously tender and some not so easily discernible but all of them superb. Once again the broth was sublime, which was actually the case with all the soup noodles we ate at Krua Thai 2.

Being a Boat Noodle tragic I had to try both the pork and the beef variations, I couldn't say which I preferred as they were both just amazing. I'm in the process of refining my own Boat Noodle recipe for our soon to be launched Thai Street Food Cart so while our visit to Krua Thai 2 was about enjoying their amazing noodle soups it was also about research. I have to say I was actually a bit intimidated by the quality of the broths in particular but I'm hoping with a bit more work I can produce something that is at least comparable. It is certainly the level that I aspire to reach.

Standard condiments are provided on all the tables, fish sauce, white sugar, crushed dried chillies and two variations of chillies in vinegar. The Krua Thai 2 broths were all wonderful without any seasoning but the addition of a touch of this and a splash of that can take them to another level. I definitely encourage you to have a bit of an experiment but be careful with the dry chilli as it really packs a punch.

My main reason for visiting Krua Thai 2 was to try their Boat Noodles and while they were excellent I found myself raving most about the Tom Yam. I only recently discovered that the red coloured Tom Yam Goong that we see on so many Thai menus is actually a completely different dish to Tom Yam which uses a clear broth. I don't know where to start when it comes to describing how good this soup was. Let me just say that it made me feel like I was back in Thailand. If you visit only one of the restaurants and try only one of the dishes that I write about then this is the one. Yep, it was that good. Probably the most authentic Thai dish I've eaten in Melbourne, and I've eaten a few...

I don't mind Yen Ta Four and have tried it a few times, it's such a confronting bright pink colour which I believe is produced from some kind of fermented soy bean although more commonly a colouring sauce is used. I couldn't say which approach Krua Thai 2 use but judging by the authenticity of the other dishes we tried I suspect it is probably the former. Another unusual aspect of this dish is that it contains seafood with fish cakes and squid but also pork and blood cubes, not a combination you see very often. Yen Ta Four has an interesting and not particularly confronting taste though so don't be intimidated to give it a go.

As I mentioned above I am currently working on putting the finishing touches on my Boat Noodle Soup recipe and subject to permit applications and other red tape I am very hopeful that we'll be launching our Thai Street Food Cart at the North Melbourne Spring Fling on 21 October. In addition to Boat Noodles, Tina will be making Thai style Dorayaki and judging by the ones she has made so far I reckon they're going to be a hit.  Hope you can make it!