Thai Curries

My advice would be to find a Thai friend who is willing to take you on an eating tour of their favourite food stalls. Otherwise here are a couple of my favourite street food sites in Bangkok.

Thai Sweets

Number one would have to be Soi Ari; by Skytrain it is N5 or 5 stops past Siam, the main interchange station. Follow the exit Phahon Yothin Soi 7, otherwise known as Soi Ari. (Soi is the Thai word for street)

Satay

Number two is Tong Lor; Sukhumvit 38: by Skytrain head towards Soi On Nut which takes you right to Tong Lor station. Follow the exit to Soi 38.

Som Tum (Papaya Salad)

Of course there are many other places around Bangkok and throughout Thailand, where great street food can be found. Every night, the streets of Chinatown in the old part of Bangkok come alive with food vendors serving all kinds of fried, grilled and fermented treats. But finding the best street food is another matter and is always subjective. However, finding a great food stall or exotic new dish is all part of the fun of being in Thailand.

Khanum Beaung (Thai Sweet)

Enjoy Thai Street Food

Let’s face it, we all eat way too much and especially when wine, beer or sweetened beverages are enjoyed with the meal. Are we to go the same way as America and super size not just fast food portions but everything that passes our lips?

In Sydney, there are far too many Thai restaurants that serve super size meals; but are these really value for money? These super sized servings appeal to a segment of the market whose choice is quantity at the expense of quality. There are an abundance of these eateries but I am proud to say Chedi Thai will not join their ranks.

Ideally, eating Thai food is a communal affair involving two or more people, principally because the greater the number of diners the greater the number of dishes ordered. Generally speaking, two diners order three dishes in addition to their own individual plates of steamed rice, three diners four dishes, and so on.

The ideal Thai meal is a harmonious blend of the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and sour, and is meant to be equally satisfying to eye, nose and palate. A typical meal might include an entrée, a soup, a steamed dish, a stir-fried dish and a spicy salad all served with a variety of sauces into which the food is dipped. This would be followed by dessert and/or fresh fruit.

So when eating Thai make sure to leave room for dessert.

Enjoy shared meals

King Street Newtown

But where do you park in Newtown? King Street has metered parking on both sides of the road but be aware that King Street is a clearway from 3 pm until 7 pm weekdays. So when planning a diner in Newtown, it is a good idea to arrive at 7 pm; just as the clearway ends.

It is advisable to use the meters as this stretch of road is a great revenue earner for City of Sydney. On many occasions, unlucky diners have returned to their cars to find a parking ticket; which can be greater than the cost of their meal.

Many side streets adjacent to King Street, also offer meter parking but spaces are hard to find. There are small parking bays on Wilson Street and behind Mitre Ten but you must be lucky to secure a spot. These parking bays are often targeted by thieves, so make sure nothing of value is left in your car.

An alternative to on street parking is Chedi Thai. Our complimentary secure off street parking is available to customers dining at the restaurant. This has proven to be very popular with diners who are going to a show at one of the many venues in Newtown or Enmore.

Chedi Thai Street View

Please see blog entry Pre-theatre Dining in Newtown, for our special pre-theatre deals.

If you require additional information, about parking at Chedi Thai please call 95161127.

Enjoy Chedi Thai

Word of Mouth

So what influences a customer’s word of mouth? It all depends of expectations. In Australia there are no Michelin star restaurants; so we must rely on the SMH Good Food Guide awards to know; which restaurants are at the top of the foodie chain. Sydneys’ 3 hat restaurants are: Bilson’s, est, Marque, Pier, Quay and Tetsuya’s. So it must be all gastronomically downhill from these dizzy heights of gluttony. But then this makes it so much easier for casual dining restaurants like Chedi Thai, with no hats or awards but so many regulars.

All hoteliers know that 5 star guests are hard to please; as expectations when the bar is high are difficult to appease. But when your restaurant is located in Newtown customers do not expect more than average. This is the secret to success and where service, food and ambiance can all work together to produce a memorable experience and positive word of mouth.

But occasionally we get customers who for what ever reason can not be pleased. They want to ruin your business because their meal was slow in delivery or their dietary needs where confused with their lack of knowledge about a certain type of cuisine. One bad customer can spoil the broth.

Fortunately, we have some extremely positive reviews and many regular customers who bring their friends and tell their colleagues. So it can work both ways. But word of mouth is important and is a combination of many factors; which make a positive dining experience. Crucial factors such as first impressions, service, ambiance, quality and presentation of food, and finally lasting impressions; all culminate to make a customer a regular and a promoter of your business.

All customers want to be remembered, thanked and appreciated. So you better make your good bye as gracious as your welcome. I like to offer a customer a small gesture of appreciation for dining at Chedi with a complimentary liqueur, dessert or coffee. It doesn’t cost much to make someone feel special.

A good friend of mine once said “if you can’t say something good about someone; then don’t say anything”; but then he is an exception.

Word of Mouth Visualized shows that bad comments have a far greater multiplier than good comments. Just like the old saying “bad news travels fast” and that was before the spread of twitter. In hospitality, when a mistake is made it is crucial to ensure the customer feels that they have been treated and compensated fairly. It might be a complimentary drink, meal or discount. As it is much better for the customer to leave satisfied with their dining experience than unhappy.

So in conclusion: to all those fantastic customers, who appreciate our dining experience: we salute you and hope you tell all your friends about Chedi Thai.

Enjoy Chedi Thai

Thai Green Curry

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

30 grams green curry paste

Vegetable oil

1 kaffir lime leaf

200 grams coconut milk

150 grams of chicken breast

10 grams palm sugar

Fish sauce

2 Thai eggplants

12 pea eggplants if available

15-20 leaves of sweet basil

1 red chili

Directions

Heat up a saucepan, then put the green curry paste in it with just enough vegetable oil to fry the paste.

Stir the curry paste for a few minutes then add the kaffir lime leaf and about1/2 coconut milk. Stir it, then bring to the boil.

Add the chicken, the palm sugar and remaining coconut milk, and stir until the chicken is cooked, before adding the eggplants, sweet basil and chili. At this point, taste it to see if it needs a few drops of fish sauce. Your curry is now ready to serve.

Tips from the Chef

1. Since the green curry paste already has plenty of flavour, do taste it before deciding whether to add fish sauce. Add a few drops of fish sauce right at the end of cooking, but this will depend on your taste.

2. You can make the curry greener and more aromatic as follows: Put 50 grams of coconut milk, a sprig of coriander and 10 grams of sweet basil in a blender and blend well. When the curry is cooked, add this mixture and stir gently.

3. If you can’t find fresh kaffir lime leaf you can use dried ones. You will need 10 dry leaves for every fresh one. Before using them, put the leaves in water for 10 minutes, and then dry them for a few minutes until you can smell the distinctive kaffir lime aroma.

Enjoy green curry

For all those who missed that episode; I will give a microwave version of the show. Two contestants Jake and Joanne had to play Russian roulette with their taste buds and identify 23 ingredients in a pot of Thai Green Curry. As this challenge was designed as a taste test; the authenticity of the recipe is not crucial to the outcome. But it is my opinion that anyone professing to be a Master Chef should use a recipe that it authentic and be true to the culinary heritage of the cuisine. In this case Thai.

After the 2 contestants identified several ingredients such as chicken, kaffir lime leaf, baby corn and lime zest correctly; Jake thought he could taste palm sugar and as a result was ousted. Actually, if the show was produced in Thailand; Jake would have been correct. As most authentic Thai Green Curry recipes would use palm sugar instead of white sugar. But I believe only a real Thai chef could taste the subtle difference between sugar and palm sugar.

But what my Chef found odd was the use of baby corn in the recipe. By including baby corn the entire flavour of the curry would change. And in the words of my Chef “not be delicious”.

So, I would recommend that when Master Chef crosses over a culinary border they should ask a local or else their culinary expertise could become a recipe for disaster.

Green Chicken Curry

A recipe for Thai Green Curry Chicken is available under the Recipe category of Chedi Blog

Enjoy real Thai

I returned to Sydney after a 10 year stint in Asia, so I am quite particular about food, service and the restaurants I like to frequent. While living in Thailand, our favourite restaurants where located inside some of Asia’s best hotels, such as the Sukhothai, Grand Hyatt Erawan and of course the Bangkok Oriental.

So when I landed back in Sydney and was confronted with mediocre meals, service with attitude and Master Chefs, I was somewhat disappointed. The Sydney restaurant scene I fondly remember from the 70’s and early 80’s was dead and buried. Great restaurants such as Cassim’s, Yellow Book and Dimitri’s 5 Doors; where cops and crooks dined at adjoining tables; compliments of the ATO: were no more.

But then I met Darren Templeman, who is the Chef owner of Restaurant Atelier in Glebe. He is originally from England and runs Restaurant Atelier with his wife Bernadette. Darren really knows a lot about food and wine. He introduced me to Sebastian of Bar Mattino in Chippendale and soon I had 2 of my favourite places to eat.

Restaurant Atelier

Now after being home for over 5 years, the list of my favourite places to eat in Sydney has grown to include Sushi E for Japanese, Pizza E Birra for Italian and Dragon Eye in Hong Kong for Chinese. Sorry, but I can’t find good Chinese food in Sydney.

When not dining at Chedi, I often go to Thaifoon in Darling Harbour for great Thai food with a spectacular view. I now know where to eat in Sydney.

Sydney Skyline from Thaifoon

Enjoy good food

An extra bonus for patrons of The Seymour Centre; is a special pre-theatre offer of 10% off the total bill when dining at Chedi Restaurant.

Sapphires at The Seymour Centre

In addition, Chedi Restaurant has secure off street parking; which alleviates the frustration of looking for car space in Newtown. Diners simply park with us and then drive their car to the theatre. Please call Chedi 95161127 for directions to our car park.

Enjoy live theatre

Barry was so head over heals in love with Sara that he couldn’t help to show off his delight at being just married.

Soul is where everything begins - Van Morrison

Actually, Barry is an extremely good break dancer and got the party in the mood by getting down and dirty.

Enjoy dancing

After service I told my wife about the customer’s comments. Her reply was perfect, “only canned straw mushrooms in brine are available in Australia”. And thus the brine spoils the taste of the soup; fresh is always best.

Canned Straw Mushrooms from Thailand

We have previously used oyster mushrooms in our Tom Yum Gung but customers told us they prefer the taste of button mushrooms.

Fresh Button Mushrooms

Straw Mushrooms

Following a Google search for straw mushrooms, I was surprise to find that the variety is not grown in Australia because is closely resembles the toxic Death Cap mushroom.

Death Cap Mushrooms

This excerpt is taken from an article on the website Get Farming.

“The Death Cap may be confused with other, edible mushrooms such as the Straw Mushroom used in Asian cuisine.

All parts of the Death Cap are deadly if eaten, with one cap sufficient to kill a healthy adult. Initial symptoms of stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea may occur between 6 and 24 hours after eating.

There is no full antidote for the mushroom’s toxin. Once eaten, survival depends on early recognition and treatment.”

Tom Yum Gung Soup

So now I can say with confidence that we only use fresh mushrooms in our Tom Yum Gung soup and promise not to poison our regulars.

Enjoy fresh