Nytiate Bangkok Cafe & Restaurant, Elsternwick

The last time I used a discount coupon was at a Thai restaurant called Nytiate Bangkok Cafe & Restaurant in Elsternwick a few weeks ago for lunch. The reason I purchased the coupon was because of its reasonably good review on Urbanspoon, having over 80% 'like it' votes is not something that's so easily achievable. However, I was slightly disappointed with what was offered, both in terms of food quality and atmosphere, though the speed of sending out dishes and level of service were commendable. I believe there has actually been a change of management in recent months, so people shouldn't take the votes at face value.

I've been to numerous Thai restaurants in the past and compared to those that shine with gold statues, fresh flowers and fancily dressed waiters, Nytiate was plain to say the least. However, I didn't give up upon entering the restaurant because the menu seemed enticing. We were able to choose 2 entrees, 2 soups, 2 mains and 1 dessert from the menu for just $29, although drinks were not included. It would have been great value if the food was good as well. We decided to order 2 drinks (their drinks list is tiny, 4 in total) - a Thai coconut juice and a raspberry flavoured 'mocktail' for $3 each. The coconut juice tasted like it should, slightly sweet and subtle in coconut flavours. However, the raspberry 'mocktail' was really just a sweet raspberry cordial. I'd assume the other mocktail is the same standard so I would definitely not recommend their mocktails to anyone.

Lychee drink & Raspberry Mocktail - $3 each

The entrees were acceptable. The first dish we chose was chicken satay skewers valued at $9.90. What we got were 4 small chicken skewers with a nice coating of peanuty satay sauce accompanied with 2 pieces of white toast. I would have liked my satay sauce to be more chunky with roughly chopped peanuts because I like the crunching sensation when I'm eating my satay. Nytiate's satay was a bit too on the smooth side for me. Other than that, the taste was reasonable, maybe a little bland but still flavoursome and the chicken pieces were tender.

Chicken Satay Skewers - $9.90

The second entree that appealed to us was the Tord Mun Pla, described on the menu as 'deep-fried patty made from fish, kefir lime leaves, green beans and red curry paste served with cucumber relish'. It wasn't dissimilar to the fish cakes I was often served at Vietnamese restaurants. Fish ball type products are not Yuye's favourite so this dish wasn't the highlight of the meal for him. I liked the fish cakes however, just because I love the combination of sour, chilli and fish sauce flavours. I especially liked the little bits of cucumber in the sauce which provided me with entertainment as I clumsily picked them out of the sauce while we waited for our soups to arrive.

Tord Mun Pla (fish cakes) - $8.50

There were only two soups on the lunch menu (I was told the dinner and lunch menus were the same over the phone, however, I don't believe this was true) so the wise choice was to order one of each. I ordered the tom yum soup with prawns which the menu again explains as 'the most famous of all Thai hot and sour soup flavoured with fish sauce, lemongrass and lime leaves'. I agree that it's probably the most famous soups in the Thai cuisine that is known to western society. So much so that many non-Thai Asian restaurants have tom yum as a noodle or soup flavour. In my opinion, it sums up Thai flavours very well, incorporating sour, sweet and chilli components while accentuating the hero of the dish - the prawns (or other main ingredient of your choosing). However, I was slightly disappointed with Nytiate's version of this otherwise fabulous dish. The soup was a bit bland, a bit watery and lacked depth. In fact, it looked so boring that I had to move bits of coriander to the centre of the bowl for my camera to even focus. It wasn't bad by any means but it definitely didn't excite me.

Tom Yum Soup with prawns - $9.90

Yuye got the Tom Kha soup with chicken which is a 'delicious aromatic Thai coconut soup flavoured with galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, lime leaves, lemongrass and chilli'. I've never ordered this soup before as tom yum was always at the tip of my cravings and I always thought ordering the same dishes at different restaurants provided the best comparisons. So when I tasted Yuye's soup after tasting my not-so-exciting tom yum, I was instantly sold. It was so rich, smooth and creamy with just the right burst of lime flavour that after one spoonful, I was ready to chow down the whole bowl. Yuye wasn't happy at the idea and pointed out that I had in fact ordered my own poor little soup that had since been demoted to a corner of the table.

Tom Kha with chicken - $7.90

Mabrown, Balwyn

Mabrown is a Malaysian/Chinese/Thai restaurant near the corner of Belmore Rd and Balwyn Rd in Balwyn. My friend Winwin suggested to dine at this restaurant for our 'double date' and although it was a fantastic get together and the quail was irresistible, the service was just terrible. I don't usually expect anything from Chinese restaurants since it's probably not in their nature to have great service and so we didn't really complain. I didn't see smiles on the waitresses' faces all night and when we asked one of them where our rice was, she just said in an uncaring voice to wait and then never came back! We had to ask, I believe, the owner of the restaurant for the rice again. Nevertheless, the spicy quail was to die for and was the only thing that saved the night.

It's not a surprise that Mabrown's signature dish is the spicy deep fried quail. Not being a big fan of quails normally, I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. The skin was crispy but not too oily, the meat was perfectly flavoured (I can tell it's been cooked well when all the flavour of the sauce has gone inside) and was just the right spiciness. It sure was a lot of finger-licking goodness! We ordered 8 quail pieces between the 4 of us but I felt I could have eaten more than 2. :P

It is so popular with the patrons that quails can be seen on nearly every table and we were suggested to call up and pre-order them!

The beef rendang was a slight let down after tasting the wonderful quails. The beef was a bit dry and the sauce was really average as well. None of us liked it much and left it till the end to eat.

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. :(