23 November 2010

Isaan Street Food at House ~ Thai - Surry Hills


At long last we visit House in Surry Hills to sample their Isaan style Thai street food. Joy.






We sneak in an early dinner on a Monday night to beat the crowds. We just love the concept here: street food classics from the Isaan region in Thailand. It's fresh, spicy and wonderfully different to your average Thai joint. The best part is that House adjoins a pub. It's basically a beer garden, help yourself to drinks at pub prices!

Before House opened there was a pizza joint here which never seemed to do well. Miss Chicken and I often commented that it was a great spot for a Thai restaurant. The space has the look and feel of places we have visited all over South East Asia, big spacious indoor/outdoor restaurants come pubs. All it needs is some fairy lights, karaoke and brewery sponsored waitresses in skimpy outfits. Or in the case of one place we visited in Vietnam, a man on stage with a live snake up his nose.



Larb Ped - $18. Traditional Isaan salad of minced duck, with eschalots, shallots, Vietnamese coriander, mint, ground roasted rice, ground chili and lime. Delicious with a heat that sneaks up on you.



Nam Prik Pla Two Phon - Spicy mackerel dip served with fresh mixed vegetables - $12. We ordered this because it sounded so unusual.



Cold, salty, fishy. Familiar yet unusual, yum.



Extra veggies.



Sticky rice $5 per serve.



Gaeng Pak Waan Pla Yang - Country home style curry broth of pak wan leaf (star gooseberry leaf), smoked fish, roasted eschalots, roasted garlic and roasted fresh chili. $14.



This is the most interesting of everything we ordered. The broth has an unusual salty, fishy flavour that we were unsure about at first, but we soon got to like it. We probably wouldn't order this soup again but it excited us to no end, it really tasted like something you would get on the street or in a street side restaurant in South East Asia.



The fish were little sardine-like fellas. Miss Chicken liked them but I wasn't so keen.



Kor Moo Yang - Char grilled marinated pork neck served with jim-jaew dipping sauce. $10.



The joint is filling up as we leave, a good crowd for a Monday night.



House is at 202 Elizabeth Street Surry Hills, next to Triple Ace Bar. Ph 9280 0364. Check out the menu at
www.housethai.com.au. We are especially keen to come back for the $10 lunch specials...

House on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. i used to love the dips you would get in thailand with all the fresh vegetables and other assorted items to dip with. Do they serve Khao Soi there? I am yet to find a place in Aus that serves this. Always get it when I am in Chiang Mai.

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  2. Hey Susan - alas I can't see khao soi but thanks for the tip, we're heading back to Thailand soon and we'll be sure to track that one down. And the dips too. If you have more favourites we'd love to know -)

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  3. This place has the best line-up of Thai salads in Sydney IMHO. I love their salads and BTS (Better Than Sex) dessert item.

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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).