06 October 2010

3 Mama Chef's Thai Restaurant ~ Haymarket \ City \ Thainatown


One good Thai deserves another. After a great feed at Thanon Khao San on the weekend we try the delights across the road at 3 Mama Chefs Thai Restaurant on Pitt Street, Thainatown.





Three Mama Chefs is one of the crop of little Thai joints down the southern end of Pitt Street that's always full of Thai punters. We checked out the menu the other day and found it had some Thai street food goodies and just had to come back.



Ice Thai Coffee - $2.90. Super sweet, just like anywhere in Southeast Asia. And just like Thailand we are given a tiny allotment of serviettes, though in Thailand the serviettes would be miniscule, thin and pink.



Chef's Suggestion #13 - Spicy Stewed Pork Soft Bones Soup - $13.90. When the lovely waitress brought this to the table she asked in amazement "you like spicy?" We think they get a lot of backpackers from the hostels in the area who don't like spicy. This soup is plenty spicy without blowing your head off, a clear, tangy soup with lots of fresh spices and tender pieces of pork on the bone. This soup comes without noodles so its a good idea to have some rice with it.



#1 in the noodle section of the menu - Stew Duck Noodle Soup - $10.90. This dish was divine and great value with a whole duck maryland. The broth was sweet and rich and went well with the glass noodles. Even the two little cubes of blood were ok, I'm not usually into blood stuff, don't let it turn you off this wonderful soup. We were both over the moon with this one, a new favourite.



#7 from the salad section - Crispy Cat Fish Salad - crispy fish with cashew nuts and Thai dressing - $13.90.



The crispy cat fish salad was a wonderful surpise. We expected deep fried fish fillets but received some kind of crispy fried floss. It didn't taste very fishy but the texture was wonderful, especially when  contrasted with fresh salad and apple slices; and some cashews for crunch. The Thai dressing was sweet and mild with tiny dried prawns for punch. We have only come across this 'crispy fried catfish' once before many years ago in an upmarket-ish Bangkok restaurant highly recommended by a Thai friend, Anna Cafe. We were over the moon to have it once again.

BACK AGAIN IN DECEMBER 2O11...



Back for more duck noodle soup. One of those soups that isn't amazing on the first sip but god-like by the bottom of the bowl when all the ingredients have melded. $10.90.



Soup with chicken, winter melon and preserved lemon - around $10. An amazing soup - a clear broth with big hunks of chicken on the bone and slices of plain stodgey wintermelon. The preserved lemon is actually a preserved lime we think, the citrus flavours permeate everything, it's almost Greek in flavour. If your into Asian soups you should definitely try this.



Stewed pork leg with rice - about $10. Lovely slow cooked pork on plain rice. The chili sauce nicely cuts the sweetness of the meat.



Fall-apart piggy.



We love how they serve tube shaped ice in the drinks, just as they do all over Southeast Asia. Nothing chills like tube ice.



Sorry we couldn't get a good front photo folks, there was a bum out the front who insisted on being in the picture. He seemed like a nice gent but lacked certain qualities required of models.

3 Mama Chef's Thai Restaurant is at 410 Pitt Street Haymarket. Ph 9212 3933. Open 7 Days 11am - Midnight. This is another great place to deviate from the normal red curry stuff and try something different without spending a fortune, and without feeling like part of the herd.

3 Mama Chef's on Urbanspoon

12 comments:

  1. I've seen that 'cat fish' trick on the television recently...it's actually fish that they make into some sort of powder and then fry. Looks yummy - not sure about the cubed blood though...squidgy.

    Ah - found it! It was an episode of Poh's kitchen and here is the link: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/stories/s2975895.htm

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  2. Nice one, thanks Miss Melba (and Poh!), we were stumped as to how they made it. Hope the Dehli belly is better :-)

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  3. Looks good but the name is curious..that apostrophe has me puzzling over how many chefs and how many mamas are involved at this place.

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  4. Hehe - it's a free mindbender to ponder while waiting for your meal :-)

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  5. Hmmmm sounds yummy! Will make my way there soon. Have you tried this little place called Thaiantown? Yup, that is the name! It's on Goulburn St just opposite the Masonic Centre. The boat noodle soup is amazing....full of flavor! One of the rare times I slurped up all the soup. Mmmmmmm there is Thai coffee to. I sure miss my south east Asian coffee

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  6. Eve you're a gem! I just looked up Thainatown, it looks wonderful, we might give it a try on the weekend.

    There was a wonderful run down old place on Pitt Street that I think was called Thainatown (I could be mistaken), would you happen to know if they are related. I hope so, we are quite sad we never went there before it closed.

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  7. Hahaha...you are most welcome, Mr Shawn! Not sure if they are related. I only just returned to Sydney after absence of 15yrs. So much has changed and I am wandering the streets of the city trying to get a glimpse of the old Sydney I miss.

    Being Singaporean, I eat breathe and sleep food! So trawling the streets of Sydney for good takeaway to feed me while I am here.

    Oh give the green curry a miss. I prefer the one from Chat Thai.

    I like this place cos it's always filled with Thais and Asians. Good sign.
    I think they might be a bit heavy on the oil and MSG....but hey that's how it's done in Asia.

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  8. Yesterday was weather for the ducks (at Victoria Park)...at least that was what my Uni friends would say 15yrs ago!!! Somehow my brain short-circuited that saying to "today is weather for duck!" so i wandered into 3 Mama Chefs and got the Stewed Duck Noodle soup! Hehee...what can I say my brain is weird! I recall watching Babe and all I could think of after the movie was "siew yok" (crackling roasted pork belly) rice and pig organ soup!! Terrible.
    But I digress.....back to the Duck Noodle soup.
    The soup is divine!!!! The duck was yum but the soup!!!! It is my new favourite....but the boat noodle soup at Thainatown is still a close 2nd. Yummmm

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  9. Lol @ weather for duck. It's great to hear a second opinion on the duck soup, dang it's good!

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  10. I always get hungry when I go to the Aquarium! All those lovely fish...mmmmmm

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  11. Hahaha...Miss Chicken....i totally know what you mean!!! I think it's conditioning for Chinese people as almost all good Chinese Seafood restaurants worth its weight will have fish tanks for you to point to the ones you want to eat!!!!

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Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).