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. Sydney’s’ 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.

Many recipes for Thai Green Curry recommend making your own curry paste. But in multicultural Sydney, any Asian grocery will have a selection of packaged curry pastes, which can be used if you do not want to make your own.

I never watch Masterchef Australia; due to being at the restaurant when the show is televised. However, one of our Chefs mentioned an episode on June 3rd which was an Elimination Challenge featuring Thai Green Curry. As all Masterchef episodes can be viewed on-line at the Masterchef Australia 2010 Official site; I went to my computer to view.

Our location in the heart of Newtown’s entertainment quarter makes Chedi Restaurant ideal for pre-theatre dining. Perfect proximity to The Vanguard, Carriage Works, Enmore Theatre and of course The Seymour Centre allows patrons to relax and enjoy a meal before the curtain rises.

A customer commented on the Tom Yum Gung soup that he had just eaten. 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.

The cover story in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Living “Dining in the Dark and other Restaurant Gripes”; was a pleasure to read. The article by Scott Bolies is a collection of complaints of what most annoys our restaurant critiques when dining out.

It’s not possible to praise Chedi enough for their combination of great food, great service, and complete confidence in their gluten free options. One of my friends suffers from coeliac disease, and finding a restaurant that serves reliably gluten free food (cross-contamination is almost always a risk) and can provide detailed information on what’s on offer, is always a challenge.

In Australia we have responded to this gastronomic trend with the likes of Neil Perry, Curtis Stone and Bill Granger. No national cuisine has been spared by the glare of the media and has been chopped, stirred and fried by the likes of Tetsuya Wakuda for Japanese, Kylie Wong for Chinese and Martin Boetz for Thai. Which leads me to ask; where are the Thais?

There are many Thai restaurants in Sydney, who proclaim to serve only Authentic Thai Food. But having lived in Thailand for 10 years, I am puzzled to define what actually authentic Thai food is?

The food is very very good. Each dish had its own crisp distinctive flavour with ample portions. We recently travelled to Thailand where we enjoyed some wonderful meals, and I can say the food at Chedi is comparable and in some respects better.