We recently had a meal at Spice I Am – a new Thai restaurant in the inner-Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst.
It was a mixed dining experience – the parking was truly horrendous, we walked past the restaurant three times without seeing it and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince the waiter to put any lime cordial in my lime and soda. On top of that, the restaurant was almost unbearably noisy, particularly when a flock of squealing women in outrageously short dresses landed at the table next to us.
Oh, but the food was wonderful! And very reasonably priced – we had a set menu for $55 per person, which included two entreés and five mains, shared between the four of us, plus an individual dessert each.
The meal began with Bour Tod, a prawn fritter served on a crispy betel leaf (pictured above) and Tod Man Pla, a deep fried fish cake (below). Deliciously different in both texture and flavour, even though both were served with crushed nuts and chilli sauce.
Mains included Moo Gob Pik Pao, pork belly stir fried with chilli jam, tomatoes, spring onions and chillies….
…Thai Roast Duck Salad, in a palm sugar, chilli and lime dressing…
…the favourite of the night, Gaeng Keow Waan Nua Toun, a richly flavoured green curry of slow cooked beef fillet, apple and pea eggplants, kaffir lime leaf, red chilli and Thai basil…
…and Gai Pad King, a milder dish of chicken breast and shitake mushrooms with fresh ginger and soy bean paste.
For dessert, there was Khao Naew Dum, warm black sticky rice with coconut icecream, coconut custard and fresh mango.
I haven’t eaten in the city for a long time, and I’d forgotten how quirky parts of it can be. As Pete was moving the car (for the second time), he walked past an Oporto Chicken outlet, and there, at 7pm on a Saturday night, was a woman in a skimpy bikini, eating a burger. And as he pointed out, Darlinghurst isn’t anywhere near the ocean…
. . . . .
Spice I Am
296-300 Victoria St.
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
tel. 02 9332 2445
www.spiceiam.com
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
There ought to be a smiley which is drooling. That looks absolutely delicious :))) —– Great food pictures! (Have small test batch of amaretti in the oven, that’s what I popped in to say, how nice to make something easy!) Jo
Give me Thai…Give me Thai….Give me Thai
I can’t believe how well your photos turned out – given the dim lighting etc. Gosh they make me hungry just looking at them!
Mmm Yum C, J.
J, every single dish we had was hot and spicy.. :)
yeah go figure, but the pics are great with your new(ish) pocket camera!
Hi C, great review – I’ll be checking this place out for sure!
Ever get any comments from the staff when you start taking notes & photos? Service improve, drinks start coming out quicker, etc……?
Daz, I wish – as I said, I couldn’t even get lime in my lime and soda! Having said that, the food service was great. If you’re going to eat there, just be aware the parking is abysmal. Best place to park is near St Vincent’s Hospital and walk up.
Jo, Oz, SG – thank you! Thai cuisine makes food photography easy, it’s so colourful and visually appealing!
A meal like that makes me jealous!
Don’t they have decent Thai in Paris? :)
No decent Thai – but lots of Vietnamese. French don’t like super spicy either. Will have to visit in Feb!
Oh you just reminded me how much I miss (really good) Thai food. We just cant find it here. Even the little corner Thai stores in the Eastern Suburbs are better than the Thai “restaurants” we’ve tried. Australia is blessed by it’s asian influences.
Wow, I never realised good Thai food was so hard to get overseas! As you know, Dan, we take it for granted here – it’s usually good and very cheap…