14 July 2009

Spice I Am: Thai, Surry Hills (9 July 2009)

90 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.spiceiam.com


Spice up your lunch

Even though I was still recovering from a weak stomach from my fatty French dining experience at Chez Pascal the night before I was totally inspired by Tasted By Two's food blog review of Spice I Am for lunch the next day to try their Boat Noodle Soup so I could compare it to the one I had at Chat Thai. The broth definitely had a lot of depth to the taste and I enjoyed it very much. My Malaysian born colleague enjoyed his Guay Jab with delicious bits of pork although found the soup a bit on the sweet side for his taste buds. I asked for some lime to squeeze in our soups (possibly sacrilege?) which we thought worked really well and gave the broth another dimension — try it.

Previously I've only visited for dinner for their yummy Mussaman Beef, Basil Crispy Pork Belly, Duck Curry and Soft Shell Crab but hope to visit again for lunch now. Timing is everything to get a seat in this very popular restaurant which still remains one of my favourite Thai restaurants in Sydney.

Other places for Boat Noodle soup:
Bangkok Wok - 12 Oct 2009
Spice I Am - 9 July 2009
Chat Thai - 4 June 2009


Boat Noodle (beef) $7.90 - Lunch Only



Guay Jab: Flake rice soup with pork, egg and fried tofu, pork blood jelly $7.90 - Lunch Only

Squeeze of lime

12.30 pm – Still plenty of seats

1 pm – Packed with lunchtime queue


Sydney's finest tap water

14 comments:

Forager said...

Love Spice I Am! Haven't tried those boat noodles before - were those rice noodles or chewy tapioca noodles? Looks yum either way. My favourite thai dish would have to be the som tum. Mm..

Bean Sprout's Cafe said...

I went there for dinner 2 weeks ago. The crispy pork pad prik khing was very good. But beef nam tok (eastern spicy beef salad) was disappointed.

I have been wanted to try Long grain.. (you tried before) but wait for having enough money first lol.. My thai friend used to work there and he said food at Long grain is even better than lots of Thai restaurants in Thailand. The head chef know about thai food more than he does..haha

Simon Leong said...

Hi Forager, i think they were curled up flat rice noodles.

Hi Bean Sprout's Cafe, I've been to Longrain a few times and really enjoy there food especially Eggnet, Salt and Pepper Barramundi, Salt and Pepper Soft Shell Crab. With a few people it works out quite good value because some dishes are quite generous to share.

Betty @ The Hungry Girl said...

Ooh, I love Boat Noodles. I haven't found a really good one in Sydney though, will have to give this one a go! And no, squeezing lime on it sounds perfect (I would do it too!)

Mr. Taste @ tastedbytwo said...

Haha fresh limes aren't sacrilege - the bottled ones on the other hand...

When I'm lucky enough to eat boat noodle homemade, there are always all sorts of lemons and limes and bean sprouts and chilli sauces and chilli powders of varying intensities. Everyone's noodles end up completely different

Two fit and fun gals said...

my fav thai dish is pad thai, can you reccomend another rice noodle dish i might love? :)

spice i am is quite popular amongst the foodies, and it is indeed on my list to go eat at

Simon Leong said...

Hi Betty, I think either Spice I Am or Chat Thai will satisfy your Boat Noodle cravings although I'm no expert on them as it's the first time I've tried this dish. I usually like a good Pad See Ew for an alternative rice noodle dish. If you like Chicken Pad Thai then they seem to do a nice one at In The Mood For Thai on Crown St.

Hi Mr Taste, so glad the squeeze of lime wasn't sacrilege phew. I think it actually made it better for me.

A Table For Two said...

believe it or not, I still havent been to Spice I aM!!! so sad....

Simon Leong said...

Hi A Table For Two, we'll it's time to pull out your finger and get there pronto. I wanna see some kick-arse photos :-) and I'm always keen to come along if you need a posse to try a few things.

Sammie said...

My colleague took me there recently. I tried the Guay Jab and I am hooked to say the least!

Simon Leong said...

hi sammie, glad you've found a favourite at spice i am. i wish i worked closer to it so i could have it more often :-)

Anonymous said...

Spice I am has always been a place I will take my family from Thailand to try the authentic Thai food in Sydney.The only place you can not book but can expect the best service and the best food. Iyara(classic word for elephant)in Gladesville is another good one.try their banana flower salad, softshell crab, chilli fish(pla rad pric)and pineapple fry rice. been there three times, haven't come across one that not good.great food, great atmosphere and supercheap.

Simon Leong said...

hi Anonymous, thanks for the recommendation of Iyara. i hadn't heard of it before. i used to love spice i am but went recently and found some of the dishes not as good as i remembered. i visited Chat Thai Haymarket for the first time recently and thought it was pretty good as well :-)

Anonymous said...

I have taken a Thai friend from Canada to try the Sukhothai noodle (Chat Thai) in Manly.So good, feels like eating street food in Thailand. I will try Chat Thai Haymarket next time I visit Chinatown.Thanks for the recommendation.

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