House

Pretty much go pass this restaurant on my way to work every morning, and finally went here on a windy night for dinner. Herby and I love spicy food, and Thai cuisine is definately one of our favourite. The punching hot from chillis, the saltiness from fish sauce and the sourness of the tamarind are matching with other perfectly. And House is serving Thai Northeast street food which is quite different to your average Thai food in Sydney. You will not be able to find the green curry chicken nor satay sticks in the menu. Be prepare for a tastebuds adventures :P

We were seated at the outdoor garden area; even though it was nearly 9 pm, 2/3 of the garden seating were still full. Since it was two of us, we ordered a salad, a soup, a main and some rice to share.

  

 Som Tum Pu Pla Raa

Tom Kruang Nai

Jaew Horn

I love green papaya salad (som yum), and this is one of the dish that iI always order in a Thai restaurant. The "Som Tum Pu Pla Raa" is a salad of green papaya, garlic, lime, chilli and salted crab with fermented fish.  Opps ... this was definately my mistake to order something with raw crab ... they were far too salty and fishy for me. And since Herby had a sensitive stomach, we only had a bite or two and left most of them behind.

Next was the "Tom Kruang Nai". It was a spicy mixed entrails beef soup with lemongrass, kaffir lime leafm galangal, garlic, coriander, lime nad chilli. The soup was spciy,sweet and sour at the same time; and full of aromatic herbs. The chunks of beef were meaty and the beef tripes and beef stomach were soft and tender. It was very delicious, and we enjoyed the soup til the last drop was gone. And we love the "hot pot" that the soup was serve in, it helped to keep the soup hot for quite a while.

The "Jaew Horn" was an Issan style hot pot of chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, squid, pork liver and seasonal greens. Another dish served in "hot pot" ... This was almost like a soup, and wtih bits of everything to suit everyone's taste. The soup itself was not as aromatic as the "Tom Kruang Nai", it was more sweet and mild and gingery.

Verdict? The "Tom Kruang Nai" was the best dish of the night. So ... Will I go back? Sorry ... probably NO. The amount of MSG in the food compare to others must be quite high. We got home and both drank at least 3 -4 cups of water and still feeling thirsty.

But the main reason that is holding us back is the hygiene ...  As we were sitting at the ourdoor garden area, qutie a few of cockroaches were runnning around under our chairs and table, and we spotted a group of cockroaches near the main entrance as well while we were leaving ...

But dispite all these negative experiences ... i still love their "Tom Kruang Nai".

House

202 Elizabeth Street,
Surry Hills,

NSW 2010

Tel: +61(2) 9280 0364

Website: www.housethai.com.au/