House, Surry Hills

Howdy y'all,

I was planning to post a recipe today, but was kind of on a high after looking back at my inventory of Sydney posts that I can't wait to share with you so I'll do that one next (in a few days) hehe.

Anyway, if you've done enough research about places to eat in Sydney, House and Chat Thai are two Thai restaurants that must've caught your attention, as it did mine. However, we ended up choosing House over Chat Thai this time around for two main reasons (though, I hope I get to try Chat Thai in my next visit to Sydney). They were:

1) It was also recommended by the same amazing blogger that introduced me to Porteño

2) I've read so much about their BTS (Better Than Sex) dessert that I had to try it

What I enjoyed most about eating at House is that it introduced me to a whole new world and dimension of Thai Cuisine. Specifically, Northeastern Thai cuisine. In a nutshell, the website explains that Northeastern Thai cuisine places a heavy emphasis on the use of fermented anchovies, contains very little soup/gravy and uses close to no coconut milk. Inneresting, riiight?

So NO, you wont find your usual Pad Thai, Green Curry or whatever you've been used to anywhere here. It totally broke my mindset of what I knew and expected Thai food should be and I LOVED it. Let me show you what I mean...

View outside of the restaurant (located within walking distance from Central Station)

"Nua Daed Deaw" -- Deep fried sun dried marinated beef strips served with jim-jaew dipping sauce

Tender and lots of flavour. A really appetising starter to the meal...

Sticky Rice

What a charming way to serve your rice. To me, it was more chewy than sticky. Different to the texture of glutinous rice, or "lo mai fan", served in Chinese cuisine. This long grain rice was really enjoyable to eat, well separated with a nice bite

"Tom Saap Kra Dook Aorn" -- Spicy soft pork ribs soup with lemongrass, glangal, kaffir lime leaves, Vietnamese coriander, Thai sweet basil, lime and chilli

Soup was great. The consistency was slightly thick but jam-packed with natural flavours. It was intense, but the mixture of sweet, salty, spicy and sour really opened up my appetite to keep going for the next sip. Really well balanced. Also, the soft, tender pork was simply delicious!

So much fresh ingredients that went into making just one bowl of soup. Lovely

"Yum Sea Food" -- Spicy salad of calamari, prawns, green mussels, celery, tomatoes, coriander and onion served with chilli and lime dressing

To me, the calamari in the salad was the most outstanding part of the dish. It was perfectly chewy and tender. And together with a bit of crunchy raw onions or tomatoes in one bite, DELICIOUS.

"Tum Mua Pla Krob" -- Green papaya salad with crispy anchovies, dried shrimp, beans, thai eggplant, cherry tomatoes, peanuts, garlic lime and chilli

Though we had two salads, this one tasted totally different from the one before. It had a stronger peanut flavour in the dressing but was just as delicious. Loooove crunchy young papayas. Or even mangoes, for that matter.

With the meal, they also gave a complimentary cup of raw vegetables (cucumber, green bean, lettuce, cabbage) which was SO nice to eat with all the leftover dressing from the salads.

I really enjoyed the flavour and freshness of the salads. Would love to come back and try more of the other salads one day, if possible. They've got such a wide selection.

"Larb Gai" -- Traditional Isaan salad of minced chicken with eschallots, shallots, vietnamese coriander, mind ground roasted rice, ground chilli and lime

This dish was spicy but sooo delicious to eat! Minced chicken was still tender and not overcooked. Yummo~

BTS (Better than Sex) Dessert

(can you see the syrup dripping off the sides?! sexxxxxy)

Finally, I present to you... The long awaited, one and only... BTS (Better Than Sex) Dessert *rooooaring applause from the crowd*

The BTS was so good... Sooo FRIGGIN' good............ You absolutely need to eat it with all the brioche, ice cream and syrup in each bite to fully taste this FOAHHH... I almost stood up in excitement.....

The "Pandan" ice cream served on the thick, crispy brioche was really smooth and creamy. And the "Gula Melaka" syrup, which had a slightly more roasted flavour was just incredible. You CAN NOT go wrong with putting pandan and gula melaka together, the combination is just unbeatable.

One last, glorious look at the BTS... Ooooooh... Aaaaaaah... FOAHHHHH ok, stop.

Can you see how cleanly we finished off the plate of BTS in the middle? Joy... Pure, unadulterated joy......

Overall, what I really enjoyed about the meal there (besides the BTS, of course) was that though the food was flavourful, it was still light (from the soup and salads). We didn't feel overly full, but it was just nice. Also, it was great to sit outside during the day because it was more open and the weather was perfect.

Hope to come back and try more of the other stuff on the menu because now that I've had a taste of what Northeastern Thai cuisine is like, I simply love it!! It's just a refreshing change...

Peace! =)