Chat Thai

Intro: Traditional yet modern infusion Thai cuisine making a big impact with a window theater!

Details: 20 Campbell St, Haymarket, Sydney (02) 9211 1808

Surroundings: Rustic setting, two levels, feature wall adorned with a natural habitat styled plantation. Visiting Sydney on my first official food tour, I was intrigued to see why a line was forming outside this eatery.

From the street view ‘window theatre’, you can see the chefs preparing fresh satay skewers, coconut cakes, deep fried desserts, fish balls, cutting up fresh ingredients amongst other things that make you salivate. Of course, I was way too hungry to wait as I was going to be placed at number 37 in the waiting list! Hell no!

So we went back the next day and was happy to wait being placed at number 25….

Liquid consumption: The Sweet Traditional Red Iced Tea with caramelised milk is addictive. It’s nothing I’ve tasted before which is why I came back for seconds. It helped neutralise the chilli fired dishes and went well with the Fish Balls (pictured below). Love a place with interesting non alcoholic drinks.

Entree: Char grilled Chicken Satay skewers came with mint, onion and salsa style salad along with an abundance of satay sauce. Fresh Spring Rolls was excellent- was not deep fried and was served fresh on a honey soy base topped with fresh chili exploding with immense flavour. Also good were the fish balls topped with sweet chilli sauce- this dish brought back many childhood memories. More fish balls babay!

Main: Gai Tort– Crisp fried chicken marinated in coconut milk, coriander roots and garlic. The chicken was deep fried (no batter) juicy and tender with an accompanying dish of soy chilli dipping which was fiery yet left a sweet acidity on the palate.

Sukho Thai– Thin rice noodles in chicken stock with fish paste dumplings, shrimps and pork loin, fresh cut greens and peanuts. (below) With the variety of fresh vs cooked ingredients in this dish, it was definitely the highlight. It reminded of a Vietnamese salad.

Dessert: No room

Bring a date here? You can, but it gets packed out and a long wait for a table is not exactly romantic.

Service: Welcoming, friendly

$$$: 42 total spent

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Times revisited: 0

Check out another recent review by fellow foodie Chocolatesuze.

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