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Showing posts with label Thai. Show all posts

Kinn Imm | 226 Queen Street, BRISBANE CBD QLD 4000

Every Wednesday Minibun George goes to kindy which means that I get to have a relaxing day all to myself that usually involves me heading to the city and having lunch with the other travel bunnie. Last Wednesday, we decided to try Kinn Imm as opposed to my usual Thai preference - the Phat Elephant. This new addition to the QueensPlaza food court has a very relaxed vibe to it.

Stepping into the restaurant was like walking through a busy back street in downtown Bangkok - wooden tables and stools closely placed next to one another, one of the walls had been turned into a faux facade of shop fronts with signboards written in Thai, spicy aromas filled the air and the restaurant was loud with people chattering. I liked it - the ambience and the decor were so fitting for what the restaurant had to offer - Thai hawker food.

I ordered a Pad Thai ($15) – the quintessential Thai dish. Made with stir fried rice noodles, chicken, peanuts, tofu, bean sprouts, egg, tamarind and palm sugar, the dish was absolutely delicious! I asked for some fresh chilli to give the dish a kick and finished every single strand of noodles on that plate. Sadly, the other travel bunnie’s BBQ pork & crispy pork with gravy sauce and steamed rice ($15) didn’t arrive until I almost finished my dish. Thirty minutes later, we checked with three waitstaff, two of them never came back to us with an ETA and one eventually came over with the dish. There was no “sorry about the wait” or anything, it was just a drop and go, so I was quite annoyed with that, especially given that the dish was nothing too special.

I think it was an oversight, as my dish and the tables around us all got their food fairly quick. So I’m definitely not writing off Kinn Imm as my Pad Thai was very tasty and I really liked the chilled vibe that place had going on. Oh, make sure that you try their Thai milk tea - I loved every drop of mine, it was silky smooth and super sweet.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $34.50

Phat Elephant | Shop 7, 280 Queen Street, BRISBANE CBD QLD 4000

There’s an animal in town, a Phat Elephant, and by the looks of it, it’s here to stay.

Phat Elephant is the newest Thai eatery and bar, located in the corner of Post Office Square where Hatch & Co used to be. I was in town for a staycation recently and eagerly wanted to try it out. The menu focuses on Thai street food, and true to their word, the dishes here are affordable and authentic.

We started off with some satay chicken skewers ($3 each), they were very tender and the sauce was delicious with a strong peanut flavour. I had a massive craving for green curry, so when I saw green chicken curry ($12.90) on the menu, I had to order it. Surprisingly, it was spicer than I thought it would be, but spicy in a good way. I also tried my mum’s pad thai with chicken ($12.90), which was nice, but not as nice as the other travel bunnie’s crispy pork with chilli and sweet basil ($14.90). It was so good. The skin on the pork was perfectly crispy while the meat was juicy and soft, paired with the mouth-watering spicy, slightly salty yet sweet sauce, it was the bomb!

There are so many dishes on the menu that I want to try, like the crispy fish with chilli & tamarind sauce ($29), the e-sarn cured pork sausage ($14.90) and the tom kha chicken coconut soup ($16.90). Now I better come up with more excuses to go to the city more often. By the way, Phat Elephant also serves a mean Thai iced tea ($4.50) so make sure you don’t miss it.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $54.20

LONgTIME | 610 Ann Street, FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006

“Love you longtime” I thought to myself as I wiped my mouth with a crisp white napkin. I had just finished dinner with the other travel bunnie on our date night (yep, it’s a thing now. We get to ditch Minibun George every Friday to have a few romantic hours together. And by romantic, I mean, being able to eat dinner in a civilised manner, without constantly having to make funny faces to George, or simply being distracted by George’s awesomeness. Parents, you understand how it is).

Our dinner date started with us wandering around the backstreets in the Fortitude Valley, looking for a little alleyway the nests the much talked about drinking house and Thai eatery LONgTIME. The dimly lit space was filled with music, chatter and various sound effects from the kitchen which can be joyfully observed from the bar seats.

After a quick browse of the food menu which is printed on the back of the place-mats, we decided to share the longtime pulled pork hock bao with fried egg & pickled green ($4), soft shell crab bao with apple slaw ($4.50) and the damn son in law eggs with coconut cheese sauce ($4) for entrées. The first time that I had son in law eggs was at Chin Chin in Melbourne, and from then on if it’s on the menu, I've gotta order it. There’s something about that gooey, golden liquid mixed with sweet and spicy sauce that I just can’t seem to get enough of. The baos arrived one after the other and both were quite tasty albeit not mind-blowing. The heavyweight was the whole crispy fish with pork belly, cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs and red nahm jim($47). It’s an impressive dish to look at, so much so that the table next to us immediately changed their order when they saw the dish arriving at our table. The fish looked hard to tackle at first, but after we started digging, chunks of fish fillets were just there waiting to be devoured and every now and then, we got pieces of crispy pork belly and we sunk us into a world of utter deliciousness. The dish on its own was slightly dry and thankfully we had a side of egg net filled with fried soft shell crab, bay prawns, squid and smoked sriracha ($17). It was fittingly served on a plate in the shape of a fish, and it stole some of the limelight from the crispy fish which in my opinion made it my favourite of the night.

As I swallowed the second last piece of the fish, I was so full that I couldn't possibly eat any more food. But as they say, my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I decided to order a dessert. Yep - What was I thinking? The coffee panna cotta with dehydrated berries arrived and I proceeded to signal the other travel bunnie for help but he immediately threw his hands up in the air (shaking his head at the same time). I finished the dessert on my own. It was a nice, creamy dessert which I would've definitely enjoyed more, hadn't I been so full.

Until next time, LONgTIME.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $114.00

Cookie | Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

We weren’t feeling particularly hungry after the James Bond exhibition, but due to my busy food schedule, Cookie was a must eat venue and the next venue on the list. A light lunch is always preferable to no lunch, in my opinion.

Cookie is not a bakery nor is it a café (the name somehow reminds me of David Chang’s Momofuku Milk Bar). It’s actually a funky beer hall that serves Thai food.

Cookie is located on the first level of Curtin House, a six storey building on Swanson street that was built in 1922. It is well hidden from unsuspecting eyes and if it wasn't for the other travel bunnie leading me up the dimly lit staircase and though the restaurant doors I may have never even tried this place.

The tables at Cookie are closely positioned thought the room but the décor is quirky mix of modern art and country classic. After having a friendly chat with our waiter we ordered the deep fried snapper with bok choi tamarind & crispy shallots ($25.50) and roasted duck salad with pineapple, tomato & basil ($24.50). The fish was simply flavoured (perhaps it was a little too simple) but the other travel bunnie tells me that the duck was a very pleasant light summer meal.

We didn't stay for dessert as we had a tram to catch to St Kilda but we left after our short lunch affair feeling that Cookie provided a solid lunch option but was well short of the flavour benchmark set by ChinChin.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $58

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Chin Chin | Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

As soon as we dropped off our luggage at our hotel, we rushed out the door and headed to Chin Chin.

For those of you who have been to Melbourne before, I trust that you’ll need very little if any background information on this extremely popular eating-house located on Flinders Lane that serves what I’d like to think of as, kick ass Thai cuisine with a modern twist.

The demand for Chin Chin’s food is overwhelming to say the least, with the waiting queue normally spilling out onto the street during peak hour. Truth be told, I was prepared to wait for up to an hour (but I never told the other travel bunnie). Luckily our flight arrived early into Melbourne so we were able to arrive at the restaurant just before 12pm and scored the last available table at the time.

I literally had butterflies in my stomach as I was skimming through the menu. Every single dish sounded delicious and as usual, my eyes were prepared to eat a lot more than my stomach could hold.

I settled on the crispy barramundi & green apple salad with caramelised pork, peanuts, chilli & lemongrass ($27) while the other travel bunnie ordered a barbecue pork satay with cucumber, pineapple, crushed peanuts & a three flavour sauce ($23). Both turned out to be oh-so-delicious. The dishes presented with many layers of flavour that kept our palates entertained, but it was the “Son in Law” eggs with chilli jam ($8) that really caught my attention. It was the unusual texture and the combination of sweet and spicy that made me one selfish eater, for the first time, I refused to share with the other travel bunnie.

We wanted to sit at the restaurant for a long time to sample the dishes and enjoy the tastes, but before we knew it, our plates were empty. We were charmed by Chin Chin. Big Time. We just got so carried away by the ambiance, the amazing smell of the restaurant and of course, the friendly hospitality of our waitress who spent some time talking to us about our plans in Melbourne.

I could only leave Chin Chin on a sweet note and trust me, it was a struggle to make a decision from a selection of South-East Asian desserts. So we ordered the first one off the list – coconut sago w' sweet corn ice cream, praline and puffed wild rice ($14). I swear I was experiencing food-climax after the first spoonful. Enough said.

If we didn’t have a big dinner planned on that very night, we would’ve had more dishes, and definitely more desserts. Chin Chin, like its (ahem) unique name has left an unique impression with us. It was more than just another meal for us, it represented something monumental. It marked the great start to our culinary journey in Melbourne.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $79.50 (plus tips)

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