Chiangmai Thai, Surfers Paradise

The last dinner in the Gold Coast during my May 2010 trip was spent at Chiangmai Thai. After many a day of research, I decided on this restaurant because it was rated as #1 in Surfers Paradise on both Urbanspoon and Tripadvisor. One of three establishments in the Gold Coast, it has won many awards since its first opening in 1993, such as best themed restaurant and restaurant & catering awards for excellence and so forth. I have yet to find out if they are affiliated in anyway with the Chiangmai Thai here in Melbourne, located on Lygon St, Carlton.

Chiangmai Thai is located in the Crown Towers Hotel at 5 Palm Avenue, Surfers. It was reasonably easy to find if you enter Palm St via Surfers Paradise Boulevard. As we entered, we noticed the huge swimming pool and gym on the righthand side (belonging to Crown Towers Hotel) and the outdoor area which I presume was also a swimming pool with a small bridge. On the left was the restaurant where small pavilions - able to seat a few guests - lined the side and coupled with the many golden and wooden decorations, it was as if I just walked into a high class restaurant in Thailand. The atmosphere was indeed quite romantic, not to mention very dark. As you can see from the photos, I had to use flash because it was just too dark to photograph anything without it. So sorry about the bad photos!


As there was only two of us, we weren't able to use the pavilion (what a shame!!) but decided to sit outside to enjoy the beautiful outdoor atmosphere. The seats were wooden carved elephants which were very cute, however, were so heavy that it was quite impossible to move.


The first dish we ordered was deep fried prawns, almost like the popular tempura prawns in Japanese cuisine. It was fried with coconut shreds which gave it a lovely coconuty flavour and was very crispy, a great start to the evening.


We also ordered a seafood tom yum soup which is my all time favourite Thai dish. I totally loved the sour and lemongrass flavours, together with the right amount of chilliness, this was by far my favourite dish of the night. I wish it was bigger though, because sharing it with Yuye meant I didn't even get a few mouthfuls. :(


I believe the next dish we ordered was some sort of pork sausages, but my memory's failing me so I can't quite remember exactly what it was or how it tasted :S.


My second favourite Thai dish has to be green curry, which is exactly what we ordered as a main - with duck instead of my usual chicken :). Fragrant with basil, curry and chilli, it's always the best dish to go with rice. I especially like it with a lot of sauce which I can pour onto the rice. :)


The last dish was a stirfry with lamb, veggies and basil. The best part of the dish was the fried basil - it was crunchy and very fragrant. I remember the lamb was tender and flavoursome, and tasted a bit like Chinese stirfry. We had ordered too much food so ended up taking the dish away and had it the next day in the hotel. :)


It was a fantastic night indeed. The romantic atmosphere, attentive and friendly service and of course the great food were all reasons I'd go back again. To top it off, I remember it was very cheap, although I don't remember the exact figure we paid. One of the better places to have enjoy a good meal in Surfers and definitely recommended.

For other reviews, visit Urbanspoon or Tripadvisor.

Chiangmai Thai
Phone: (07) 5526 8891
19 Palm Ave, Surfers Paradise 4217

Chiangmai Thai on Urbanspoon




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2 comments:

  1. What a lovely looking place! It actually reminds me of when we went to Bali and the lovely tropical decor there! :D

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  2. @Not Quite Nigella, yes it was very tropical! I almost forgot I was in the Gold Coast :) The photo doesn't do it justice at all!

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