Chat Thai, Haymarket

Chat Thai on Campbell Street

View from the second floor.
Got to love high ceilings!

Well, if you've read the about Thai Dara, you'd know that I'm really starting to like Thai food. They've got fresh salads mostly hit by sour notes in the form of green mangoes, and on the other hand,  they've also got savoury rich thick curries which I'd love to have on a cold winter day.* There's such a great range of food, and I'm sure you're bound to like something even if it's just dessert. Chat Thai makes awesome ones!

Fresh Spring Rolls $10
Filled with smoked fish sausage, shredded poached chicken,
cucumbers and shallots wrapped in rice paper.
Dressed with a sweet tamarind sauce.

Fresh spring rolls are one of my favorite things. I never skip them whenever I'm in a Vietnamese restaurant. And they had it on the menu, I decided that it was only fitting to give it a try. The Thai version had a flavorful cured fish that imparted great smokiness, there was tofu**, and your usual vermicelli. The rice wrapper had a bite to it! Thank God it wasn't one of those flimsy ones- those are just annoying cause everything just starts popping out after your first bite.

Thai Dara: Bangkok Street Food, Gilmore

That night, there was a lot of fuss that night about where we were eating, I felt like a hearty steak while my sisters argued that they wanted Japanese food, Omakase specifically. We couldn't, in any way, reach a decision, so I told my mum that it's best if she's the one who made the choice. She said she's heard of a small Thai restaurant in Gilmore which is rather pleasant and authentic. I, for one, was never a big fan of Thai food, but since I can't think of any place in particular where I would want to dine, I agreed.*

Dad with the lemongrass iced tea.
HAHA

We all started off with some Lemongrass Iced Tea. It was pleasantly and thoroughly infused with lemongrass leaving just the slightest hum of tea. It was a bit sweet for my taste though.

Pad Thai, Pad Thai, Pad Thai!
Chloe loves Pad Thai.

The Pad Thai had perfectly cooked noodles. It was really nutty and you could obviously taste the hints of tamarind that ultimately gives the dish that depth of flavor. 

Hyde Park Night Noodle Markets

Glorious Hyde Park during Night Noodle Markets

Some of the many stalls in the area

I reckon Hyde Park should be like this for more or less most of the year. Why? It's a ton of fun and you get to meet new people. What's even better is people get to appreciate and bond over the food. Sadly, I only went to the Night Noodle Markets once during the Crave Food Festival. I got too caught up in school and now, I guess there's regret.

Heaps of people, you see?

There were more or less a hundred stalls with all sorts of gorgeous food that you could choose from. It got quite confusing cause it was dark and the place was just overpopulated- much like swarming ants.

The people at Spanthai with their huge pans!

Pad Thai and the Saffron Chicken

I opted for of Spanthai which was the fusion of Spanish and Thai cuisines. It was certainly amusing. Apparently, they used Spanish paella pans to cook their food, the pans were ginormous. I guess I was a tad caught up with the idea of these huge paella pans! Anyhoo, I ordered some Pad Thai and some fried rice. The only time I'm a carb freak is when it comes to noodles. The flavors were right on, but the food was just resting in the pan for quite some time and I guess they got soggy- not al dente at all.

Japanese people in costume serving up some Jap pancakes!

Okonomiyaki

We also had some Okonomiyaki which was greatly salty. I guess the server was "trigger happy" when it came to the sauce squeeze bottles. It was quite disappointing cause the Japanese Pancake itself was tasty despite a bit chewy and doughy.

Scrumptious gozleme!

The gozleme was defiitely a winner! When Turkish food is cooked by the right people, they do their country justice. It was amazing. The slight browness of the dough gave a pleasant crunch before sinking your teeth into the goodness of the spinach, cheese, and chicken filing. I can't tell you how satisfying a perfect gozleme may prove to be.

The guys at Chat Thai

Coconut ice cream which would only be good when it is paired with the fried goodies!

Fried banana and sweet potato balls!  Got to learn how to make the sweet potato balls!

Mango and the sticky rice

Finally, the piece de resistance, dessert! I love Chat Thai for making some epic desserts that just ultimately leave me speechless. I love the fried banana with the sugar crust and sesame seeds, what I loved even more would be the fried sweet potato balls that came with it. They were greatly chewy and yet, they don't give you the slightest impression rawness. Paired with the coconut ice cream, it was the perfect symphony. Another thing that we had was the sticky rice with pandan essence and mangoes. Living in the Philippines, I would say that the Filipinos do a dish that's really similar and I find it more appealing to me. It might be because of the mangoes cause the sweet and fragrant mangoes in the Philippines are to die for.

I can't wait for the next Night Noodle Markets! But then, it's still in October which is a fair bit away. Nevertheless, some of the food found at the markets can be found all over Sydney anyway. When it comes to the Night Noodle Markets, the food, ambiance, and friends make it so worthwhile.