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Thursday May 17, 2012

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Ela takes the Thai Road

Posted by: Ela Carte | 30 September, 2011 - 2:22 PM
Thai

Paladarr Thai Issan – 7 Rowe St Alphington  www.paladarr.com.au

A one hatted suburban Thai restaurant, with sommelier and top notch staff – yes, it really does exist, and it’s been wowing Alphington locals since it opened in 2005. Set in a pretty secluded location just next to the train line, it certainly looks like a bit of an oasis – and once inside it’s pretty obvious this isn’t your run-of-the-mill standard Thai eatery. From the elaborate lamps to luxurious leather seats and efficient and polite staff, it’s clear immediately that this is more fine-diner than street food purveyor.

First visit to the table is from Sommelier Stuart Quinn, who helpfully talks you through the 100+ wines on the list, and encouraged us to taste the two Rieslings available by the glass before making the big decision.

The a’la carte food menu can be equally confounding if you’re a fan of Thai cuisine – there’s a huge number of mouth watering dishes on offer so I think it’s worth saying the larger the group you manage to visit with the more fabulous flavours you’ll get to savour.

Northern Thai sliced pork sausage tasted beautiful and light, thanks to lashings of lemongrass, chilli and coriander, and came with sliced ginger and cashew nuts to add texture and flavour.

Creamy crumbled pork could almost be described as a meaty satay dip - flavoured with peanut butter and topped with coriander, it was folded into squares of roti and eaten with crispy vegetable matchsticks.

Among the mains, traditional ingredients like whole fish, pork belly and duck contrasted with more unusual additions like venison and flake. The venison was a great option to put with a traditional kaprow sauce, that spicy dish infused with hot thai basil and plenty of chilli. The meat was divine, sliced thin and cooked medium rare, it was terrifically tender.

Diced lamb was slow cooked in a sweet Penang curry, the sweet potato and pumpkin worked perfectly in the creamy, coconut braise.

Hard to say no to some tasty Thai sides, so Son in Law eggs were dutifully ordered, as was a crisp, spicy, fishy green papaya salad.

These aren’t the dishes you’ll get on Victoria Street for under $10, but then the quality of food, the unflappable service and the stylish surrounds surely justify the substantially higher price tag. You’re looking at around $14 for entrees and generally under $30 for mains, we had two entrees, two mains, two sides and two glasses of wine each for $140 which is really quite impressive value for a restaurant deemed worthy of a Good Food Guide hat.

Some may find the servings small, and certainly it’s a fair call in contrast to the over-laden bowls you might find in some of the aforementioned cheap and cheerful Victoria St staples, but we had more than enough food, so I’d definitely caution that looks can be deceiving.

That wine list is quite a tome, wines by the glass aren’t cheap at $11 - $23, but a lot of thought has gone into the drinks selection and they are quality drops that on the whole work well with those South East Asian flavours. .

Paladarr also run cooking classes Wednesdays to Sunday from 8.45am to noon, and if participants go close to replicating the stunning dishes offered on the menu, it’d be well worth the investment.

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