Fat Noodle, Treasury Casino, Brisbane CBD

Conveniently located in the Treasury Casino building, it allows easy access for events or gatherings even just for a quick lunch or dinner with family and friends. Luke Nguyen has created this restaurant to be a place where people can come and enjoy the traditional family recipes from South East Asia to the table although the main dish of the restaurant would be their 20 hour Fat Pho Noodles, their Fiery Laksa and Vietnamese Chicken Salad.

'Crispy Calamari with Thai Salad' (AUD$14) was a light and simple dish to order when you're not feeling to eat quite as much. Panko fried crumbed calamari served with shredded cabbage, tomato with a Sweet and Sour dressing. Although it did seem like a good idea at the time to eat less that night, the dish itself actually came bigger than I thought it would be.

There were about 5-6 large panko crumbed fried calamari topped with crushed peanuts and there were also fresh chilli cuts on the shredded cabbage. Most of the sauce did lie at the bottom of the bowl so make sure you give it a good mix before eating it. If not, it will seem like eating a plain no dressing salad. If you don't like chilli as much like myself, do try and take as much of the fresh chilli slices out of the dish itself and place it on the paper menu place mat or elsewhere you see fit before mixing the salad. The Panko fried calamari was definitely the highlight of this dish being thick and nicely thinly crumbed.

'Chicken Pad Thai' (AUD$18) is a classic Thai dish that consists of thin rice noodles with chicken breast, peanuts, bean sprouts and eggs. What intrigued me was that it wasn't as dark as the other Pad Thai dishes I have had before as well the crumbed peanuts and the bean sprouts were placed on top and on the side along with a wedge of lemon. Usually, they would all be mixed together while it is being stir fried in the pan.

As for the Pad Thai itself, I did think that it lacked the punch even if it did look pretty in its presentation. By squeezing a little of the lemon onto the dish and mixing it altogether along with the peanuts and bean sprouts, it felt that it needed abit more soy sauce to enhance its flavour. Overall it was alright but not extraordinary..

One thing I do have to say is that sometimes trying to get the attention of the waiters to top up your water or refilling your tea is a bit hard as they sometimes wander around other areas of the restaurant and I have had experiences where they seem to walk past you or avoid eye contact.

Siam Samrarn, West End, Brisbane

Known for its authentic Thai cuisine with hand carved teak furniture, stylish interior and their loyal customers who just keeps coming back over the years. Being located at The Markets in West End, diners are able to have easy access to parking as well as dessert restaurants and bars in the neighbourhood after finishing their meals. The menu consists of more of the traditional as well as combining a variety of unique dishes that represents the past and future of Thai gastronomic culture.

'Deep Fried Crispy Pork with Garlic' ($17.9) is simply as what the dish is called, deep fried crispy pork topped with fried crispy garlic. We had quite a high expectation for this dish but sadly it wasn't as delicious as we thought it would be. The fried crispy garlic was well done allowing all of the deep fried crispy pork be able to infuse the garlic flavour. However, the deep fried crispy pork was sliced very small and the batter was just not bland but not flavoursome either. Some of the deep fried crispy pork also didn't taste like it had any pork in it and just seemed to be the deep fried crispy batter by itself so that was a let down. Once or twice is fine, but not when many were like that and only some had pork inside it whilst alot more of it were just deep fried batter.

It would have been better if the pork was sliced in a chunkier piece or just slightly bigger than how it was, allowing diners to actually see that there is meat inside as well as being able to chew it instead of just eating simply crispy and crunchy batter. Do be careful when you bite some because some may hurt your teeth as it was just simply too crunchy and hard. Although there were a side salad placed on the side, it didn't help at all with the dish but maybe asian greens may have been a more suitable choice. Overall, although we both love our garlic, the dish was sadly a let down for us as it had many hard and tough pieces, lack of actual pork meat, too thinly sliced pork in the batter as well as having only deep fried batter and no pork.

'Gang Keaw Wham aka Green Curry' (Chicken: $17.9) is a Thai green curry with coconut milk, green beans and bamboo shoot as well as a choice of your own meat, may it be beef or chicken, tofu or vegetables. I do have to say that although the green curry may seem abit small but it actually is an efficient amount where you can share it with another. The amount of green beans, bamboo shoot and chicken breast pieces has never let us down as the whole green curry is always filled with it. The spices and herbs is just right, not too mild and not too spicy either which was good for me although bear in mind when you do get to the bottom of the bowl, that's where it tends to get spicier.

'Coconut Rice' (Small: $3.5)

Temple Thai, Milton, Brisbane

Temple Thai is located on Park Rd at Milton delivering delicious Thai dishes and has a bar behind called Tuk Tuk bar. I would usually not go to a Thai restaurant in Milton but the mister told me that it was not too bad when he came with his friends the other time. We started with Singha beer while we looked through the menu.

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Ying Thai 2, Lygon St, Carlton, Melbourne

Ying Thai 2 is a branch of Ying Thai at Lygon St, Carlton. Although I would usually not eat Thai food or any other type of cuisine other than Italian here at Lygon St, my other half had told me that he wanted to go to Ying Thai and that there was a dish that was a must-try. So, without further discussion, we decided to head our way there from the CBD. Ying Thai is an authentic, humble and very green Thai eatery. There has been many buzz previously about this place but every time I do go to Melbourne, I tend to wander off elsewhere, by what I mean is that I would go to other restaurants to eat or to try. When you do try look for it, it may be very crowded and you may have to wait for a bit for a table but they do serve their dishes pretty quickly. Plus, indoor and outdoor seatings are both available.

Many artwork of traditional cartoons on the whole left side of the restaurant's walls.

'Yum Sam Grob' (Crispy Pork Skin: $14.9) is a mixed salad with prawns, squid, vegetables and their special sauce topped with Crispy Pork Skin. You may choose Crispy Fish skin if you would like a more seafood based and/or if you do not want pork. I wonder why this dish is so popular and I quite understand why. Being presented nicely in a green leaf plate (which actually reminds me of a similar plate I have at home as well..) and topped with coriander, it may seem like a healthy dish when you know you are ordering a salad. But then, when it comes out, there seems to be more meat/seafood than the mixed leaves which I am not going to complain since it is great having a salad but then the meat or toppings isn't limited as many salads do tend to have more greens rather than its dressing or toppings.

When ordering this, remember that this would take you to Thailand, bringing you street food but served nicely and you are eating at a proper restaurant. Another thing that I may add is that with this dish, you will be able to get your buds tasting the sweet, salty and sweet, as well as crunchy and crispy through each of the different elements within the dish. The salad is placed at the bottom so do give it a good mix if you prefer but if not, then start digging into the well marinated prawns and squid giving you a sweet but sticky as well as a salty base then go into your Crispy pork skin and I have to say that they are not stingy with the portion and cutting. The Crispy pork skin were great, big chunks and crispy throughout with a more tangy but sweet marination as well. Having cashews and the salad as well as onions and tomatoes here and there allowed the dish to have a brightness and also makes it more refreshing than the warmth of the cooked seafood and hot crispy pork skin.

Be careful as it can get a bit spicy for some but just right for others. It was a bit spicy to me but then my level of spiciness that I can handle isn't much but I did not mind it at all, even if the spices were hitting my tongue, I still wanted to dig in for more. A must have and it will leave you smiling throughout the meal. A great dish to share as I don't recommend it having it alone as it can get quite repetitious in terms of taste and also it's better to order a few dishes and try as many as you can with your friends or family or date. No wonder this dish is popular and what everyone raves about when they hear about Ying Thai.

'Pud Thai' (Chicken: $15.90) is a classic Thai noodle dish but this is one of the noodle dishes I always opt to buy rather than the other options. A thin rice noodle stir fried with the meat of your choice with bean sprouts, vegetables, dried shrimpes, crushed peanuts and egg. Sounds simple? But when you do have a taste of the dish, you then realise why every Asian country have their own traditional, classic and signature rice or noodle dish.

Having the crushed peanuts on top allows you to mix the noodles when it arrives in front of you to have that equal amount as well as balance. If you do have peanut allergies, do tell the waiter when you order so that they won't put it on top or even, you could ask for it to be put aside. I'm sure they won't mind. The pad thai was rather sweet overall and the soy sauce colour was not very visible but amongst it, you can taste the garlic, chilli and the other spices they have added in combined well and made the dish delicious.

Kinn Thai, Westfield Garden City, Upper Mount Gravatt, Brisbane

Kinn Thai lies on Westfield Garden City's forecourt along with many other restaurants bringing you an ambience of relaxation, beach-like design while also allowing you to have your night outs, dates and catch ups. Kinn is the only Thai restaurant amongst the others and no wonder why it can get so packed on weekends and yes, even on weeknights. Do book a table but if you're lucky, just walk in and a few minutes wait will get your table ready. "Kinn" actually means "Eat" in Thai which is a very unique interpretation for a restaurant name to have but when you think about it and as stated on their website, '..like eating is with family and friends to relax and share'.

'Pad Thai' ($16 for Chicken/Beef) is another classic noodle dish we always order whenever we go to a Thai restaurant. Pad Thai, I would have to say is best with Chicken or Seafood. Presented nicely with a quarter of a lime wedge as well as crumbed peanuts on the side allowing you to mix as much or as little as you would like. 

Traditional Thai stir fried rice noodles with bean sprouts, egg and crushed peanuts and of course, the meat of your choice. A simple but yet artistic and full of flavour dish carries out the spices and herbs used. Remember to squeeze a bit of lime wedge and mix it with the crushed peanuts to give it a bit of a zing and extra crunchiness. If you do not like peanuts or have any allergies, do remember to inform the waiter beforehand while you order so you would not have to spoon aside the crushed peanuts off the plate.

The lighting went a bit weird afterwards so it went really bright yellow as you can see from the photo below. But here's a close up of Pad Thai. The bean sprouts and red onions allows the dish to have its crunchiness along with the crushed peanuts which makes it an exciting dish. The flavour was spot on however I would've liked it if it was more distinct but nevertheless, the whole combination of the chicken, egg and bean sprouts worked really well.

'Green Curry' ($16) can be done with your choice of chicken or beef only. The Green curry is a classic that you have to try everytime you go to a Thai restaurant, well, for me anyway. Flavoured with green chilli paste, green beans, bamboo shoots, eggplant, kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil. Do note that this dish is a bit spicy and even if you ask for it to be milder, it seems that they weren't able to as it still came out spicy. Yes, we asked the waiter if we could have it mild or less spicy if possible as we... well, me.. am not a fan of spicy food. A bit of spicyness I can handle, but more than that then I would need a jug of cold icy water by my side.

At the first instance, I noticed the oil floating on top of the green curry which was not a nice thing to see. As soon as we mixed it all up together, it wasn't as noticeable. However, when eating it by itself, without rice I mean, you are able to feel how oily the dish is. When mixed in with the rice though, it was quite strong in terms of the green chilli paste but yet had subtle bits and pieces which would make the dish seems more elegant but delicious at the same time.

The green beans and the bamboo shoots was great and was sufficient in amount. I would have loved to have had more Thai basil leaves in the dish as it leaves off that nice aroma. The portion is enough for one or even to share, but may not be when you are really hungry at the time while eating this dish. I prefer the Green curry the best out of the rest of the Thai curries available but that is just my personal preference.

Blue Basil, Ciputra World Mall, Surabaya, Indonesia

It's not often you see a Thai restaurant around so when one popped out in Ciputra World Mall, I was interested in trying it. Although the location may not be very eye-catching, being behind the escalator and at a corner, the interior do live up to its name having a blue light ambience and blue motive cushions and so on. It was rather empty when we arrived but a few tables started to fill not long after. It may be hard with contending with the other restaurants around since there are other different choices of cuisines to eat where Indonesians are more aware of and used to.

 'Pad Thai' (IDR45rb - AUD$4.5) is a traditional Thai dish consisting of stir fried thin noodles with prawns, bean sprouts, bean curd, chives and dried shallots. They also served it with a vinaigrette chopped chilli and pickles on the side where I did not try it. On the side of the rectangle plate, they do offer a bit of a slice of lime wedge, chopped nuts, ground chilli pepper, bean sprouts and chives. 

The Pad Thai seemed to be sweeter than usual, hence the reason of having the sides of the lime wedge and so on to allow the taste to be more balanced. When you do mix it all together, it does taste much better than how it was originally. I also thought however it was a tad too oily.

'Tom Yum Kung' (IDR29rb - AUD$2.9) is usually what everyone would order when eating thai, which is an authenic hot and sour prawn soup enriched with thai herbs and lemon grass. There is another option of buying it with milk which I think they meant coconut milk/cream which would make the soup creamier. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Tom Yum soup as it wouldn't be the first dish in my mind to order but I found this dish to be very sour. The waitress did offer a rice to go along with it, but I always felt and ate the soup as an entree instead of a main. But ye, probably a bowl of rice would have been better but if not, definitely too sour than it should be.

'Keng Keao Wan Kai' aka. Chicken Green Curry (IDR34rb - AUD$3.4) is definitely a dish that you should try when you are here because I felt that this was probably the only dish that I quite liked out of the three. However, do note that the portion is quite small so even sharing it between 2 people may not be enough. Even for one person, you might still get a bit hungry, of course not if you eat it with a bowl of rice. The curry is made from a green curry paste cooked in coconut milk, fragrant basil and eggplants. The meat is your choice which varies how much the dish would be in where we chose Chicken as the meat. The eggplants was only a few plus there were a few chicken pieces along with some greens such as green beans inside. A little splatter of cream/coconut cream is on top where you are able to mix the curry with it to give it a creamier taste.

It would have been nice if the curry portion would be a bit more but the combination of the chicken and eggplant was done well, a bit spicy but the spices and herb was enough to get that distinct flavour of the green curry which was nice.