When I started writing my last post about Asian food, All the Asian Food I Ate So Far in Adelaide, it was originally titled All the Asian Food I Ate So Far in Australia. It was supposed to be an epic overview of everywhere I had been across the country across two cities, but when I got to 2000+ words, and I hadn’t even gotten to the part about how Thai Face in Crows Nest “glutenised” me, I knew that the post was spiraling out of control. I decided it had to be sensibly spilt into separate posts, so here we are now.
Adelaide, a city that I am less familiar with, but one with an ever growing food scene, definitely had some super duper Asian dining options, but what about Sydney, a city that I once called home?
If you’ve been to Sydney you’d realise that it doesn’t take a genius to work out that this city should have good Asian food. All you need to do is have a quick at the surroundings. Whereas Adelaide’s Asian population, although growing, is much smaller, Sydney’s is large and long standing.
The third most popular surname is Sydney is Nguyen, a name of Vietnamese origin, and it’s predicted that within 10 years Nguyen will have taken over Smith as the most popular surname in the city.
Walking down some roads in Sydney, not just in suburbs with strong immigrant populations, but some places in Sydney’s CDB, I’m quick to observe restaurants, eateries and supermarkets with a variety of Asian signage almost outnumber other establishments.
And when I briefly visited Singapore a couple of years back, I even commented that I felt like I could’ve been in Sydney, thanks to Singapore’s cosmopolitan feel with all the different cultures living side by side.
So yes, It’s no surprise that Sydney has good offerings when it comes to authentic Asian fare, and although I have many favourite spots to eat at. I’ve managed to squeeze in some new discoveries too.
Here they all are, the Asian restaurants I’ve eaten at in Sydney, in order of appearance.
Thai Palm
It wasn’t long after my mind blowing experience at Little NNQ, that I was boarding a plane to Sydney. As I arrived late in the afternoon, the first port of call was a nearby restaurant for drinks and dinner.
I had eaten at several of the restaurants around Crows Nest in the past, but since we had eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant just a few days earlier, I figured that eating at one of the local Thai places would be a good option.
I was disappointed to learn that Khacha Thai, my old favourite on the Pacific Highway, had closed down, but there was a new Thai restaurant open in it’s place – Thai Palm. And they still had the same indoor waterfall decoration. Excellent.
This time we skipped over the curries and the noodles and tried a whole feast made up of new and different dishes. I was skeptical about branching into such unfamiliar territory without at least one old favourite – I am a sucker for a Thai curry – but you know what they say. You never never know if you never never go.
Under the expert guidance of Papa Nomad, who had already eaten at this restaurant before and knew what dishes would impress a critical palate, it was decided that scallops and tofu would be for starters.
The scallops were, hands down, one of the best things I have ever eaten at a Thai restaurant.
The dish came with four scallops, each grilled and individually served on a betel vine leaf, along with roasted and shredded coconut, lime, red onion, peanuts, ginger, fried shrimps and palm sugar herb relish. The method was to then scoop up a whole leaf, making sure none of the contents dripped out the side, and eat the whole thing as one tasty little parcel.
The mains were executed with similar success, and I even tried, for the first time ever, sticky rice and mango for dessert. Why did no one tell me how good this was earlier?!
The only downside here was that the staff were not very sure about what dishes were gluten-free or not. I had my suspicions that the staff weren’t really sure, and this was confirmed when, upon ordering the rice, my dad jokingly asked the waitress if that was gluten-free.
“No, it’s not, sorry,” she replied, looking crestfallen and shaking her head.
The menu did have on the back page a very small selection of gluten-free dishes, but it looked like many dishes that were not on the list but in the regular menu would be gluten-free. To me, appeared as if any dish containing rice, and non-wheat flours had been put into the “non gluten-free” category. I asked the waitress questions to determine exactly what dishes I could eat, and it turned out that the food was amazing and I didn’t get accidentally “glutenised”. Win!
308A Pacific Highway, Crows Nest
Malaysian Food House
Despite the fact I ate at Thai Palm the night before, I was hanging out to go to Malaysian Food house. After all, this is an old favourite of mine.
If you were to judge by appearances, this place wouldn’t seem like much. It’s in the Hunter Connection, the food court and underpass between Pitt Street and Wynyard station in Sydney’s CBD. I guess the fact it has a modest dining room with several tables and metal chairs upgrades it from “hole in the wall” status, but it’s not much more than that.
There are several dishes available to both eat in and takeaway, but the laksa is, hands down, the best thing on the menu. The laksa here costs around $9 a bowl, with a choice of vegetables, chicken, beef, prawns or seafood, and they are huge. I mean, HUGE. There is no going hungry after you are done with this meal.
I always go for the vegetable laksa, simply because I like to have loads of, well, veggies. In the past when I’ve ordered a seafood laksa, I’ve ended up disappointed as it’s served with only seafood and no vegetables. A laksa typically has a combination of rice and wheat noodles, though the lovely owners are always happy to make the laksa with rice noodles only, making the laksa perfectly gluten-free.
Although the laksa here is not overly spicy, there’s a selection of chilli flakes and chilli sauces available to spice it up – yes please! This was the first laksa I ever ate in my life, and the problem is, I struggle to eat laksa anywhere else. Because this is seriously the best, and best value, lunch in Sydney.
10/7-13 Hunter Street, Sydney
Mama’s Buoi, Crows Nest, Sydney
This is the newest opening on Crows Nest’s increasingly trendy Willoughby Road. At first, I couldn’t help but think that his place might be a poser, deceiving the public with its good looks and rugged charm. Mama’s Buoi, complete with the logo of a little boy’s head (say the name out loud and you’ll get it – Mama’s Boy!) seems like traditional Vietnamese cuisine gone hipster.
I get wary of these kind of places. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover when it comes to food, and the best food can often be found in the daggiest places. But I’d heard that their other restaurant in Surry Hills was quite good, so figured that this place would definitely be worth a try.
The delicate Hoi An-esque cuisine of Little NNQ only weeks earlier was a tough act to follow when we are talking Vietnamese restaurants, but I was happy to find dishes on the menu which transported me back to the streets of Vietnam. To start, we ordered such as Chả giò, or Hanoi style fried spring rolls, which were rolls of vegetables wrapped in rice paper and deep fried.
We couldn’t go past trying one of the dishes marked as a favourite, the aptly named Mama’s Boy’s Buoi. This dish was made up of a combination of two of my favourite things. The first was soft shell crab, a crustacean that, ever since I ate for the first time at Hakkasan in London many years ago, I have been hooked on.
The second, was a salad of green mango and pomelo. Who said that mango doesn’t have a place on the dinner table? I have quite a thing for fruits like mango and citrus fruits served up with savoury items for dinner. Interestingly enough, the Buoi from the name Mama’s Buoi isn’t just a fancy way to write “boy”. It’s the Vietnamese word for pomelo, which the Mama of the co-founder of Mama’s Buoi, Bao Hoang, used to grow in her backyard. I like it.
77 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest
Thai Face
I’ll admit straight up, Thai Face is NOT my favourite Thai restaurant in Sydney. Not even in Crows Nest. But I do love coming here on Thursdays, Fridays or Saturdays. These days they have a $10 lunch special, and each day is a different offering. Friday is the stir fry and curry day, so for $10 you get a choice of vegetarian, chicken or beef stir fry or curry, and a soft drink.
Naturally, I was keen for a curry, so went for a Penang. Thai curries – especially Penang – are famously gluten free, so I didn’t even think to mention my gluten-free requirements to the waiting staff.
However, the first hurdle came, when I ordered my soft drink. I asked for a sparkling water, but was told this is not classified as a soft drink. Not a problem, I soda water would suffice, wouldn’t it? Well, despite the fact that soda water is just the coca cola before the junk is added in, I was told that this is not classified as a soft drink either.
“Well, what can I have then?” I impatiently asked the waitress.
“You can have coca cola, lemonade….” she replied, her voice trailing off.
I declined, as I generally don’t drink those sort of soft drinks, and settled for just food, albeit feeling a little bit ripped off, but only momentarily until I remembered a curry would soon be on its way.
The curry came, and although I thought that it was perhaps a little bit skimpy on the vegetable side, it tasted good anyway. But just as I finished my curry, I started getting stabbing pains in my stomach.
I quickly stood up, and hobbled over to the counter to pay (yes, it was that bad) and ran home, yelling all kinds of extremities out loud to no one in particular, just the passing cars and chirping birds.
I had been accidentally “glutenised”. I spent the next couple of hours lying on the couch, cursing Thai face, but also my own stupidity for not thinking to double check the curry was definitely gluten-free.
9-11 Falcon Street, Crows Nest
Have you eaten at any of these places? Perhaps you know some great Asian restaurants in Sydney that I should try? Tell me all about it in the comments below!
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Deia @ Nomad Wallet says
Chat Thai at the city (near Chinatown) also has great mango sticky rice dessert — and durian, if you’re into it. The basil minced meat dish was great too. I can’t remember other dishes, but I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything there that wasn’t delicious. This was a few years ago so I don’t know if the restaurant is still there, but it used to be crowded every night!
Doreen Pendgracs says
I had no idea there were so many Asians in Australia! Thx for sharing your tasting tour with us. I would definitely love those scallops.
Suze The Luxury Columnist says
Sticky rice and mango for dessert is definitely interesting! I’ve just tasted a gluten free afternoon tea in London, the red velvet cake was made from quinoa!
Will Hatton says
I have traveled through Asia and have tasted a host of amazing food; this is the reason why everywhere I go, I always look for places where I can get delicious and authentic tasting Asian dishes. This post is really helpful!
Jack says
I have been to Thai Palm and it is definitely my favorite. I had Taw Hu Tod, Crispy Squid, and Tom Kah. Yum, yum, and yum..