Suwan Thai, Lower Plenty

Suwan Thai has been my local Thai for many years now. In fact, when it used to be across the road and was more a humble little establishment, I used to work at the Mexican restaurant that was in its current site and I used to always get Pad Thai from Suwan and eat it before work (once I got sick of nachos and tacos!) And then my beloved Mexicali Casa closed down and Suwan Thai relocated to the bigger premises and probably hasn't looked back since, as it is always packed to the brim.

The food is always good. The flavours are fresh, flavoursome and balanced. The food is value for money. The service is pretty good. Its just somewhere you can count on to always present the same quality.

Last week I visited with my good friend whom I met whilst waitressing at Mexicali (oh, all those nacho's we ate together!) so we decided to go back to where it all began for our fortnightly dinner.

We started off by sharing some spring rolls and curry puffs. The curry puffs here in particular are super yummy, served with a gorgeous sweet chilli cucumber sauce. Stuffed with a delicious
mince and coated in crunchy pastry, these are my go to entree for sure.

The yellow curry was sweet and creamy with just the right amount of heat. The chicken is not those gristly bits you sometimes find in Thai curries, but instead gorgeous lean bits of breast chicken. Its really enjoyable and served in a lovely tealight candle heated bowl.

My favourite dish is the Nuer-Aroy, stir-fried beef with cashew nuts, vegetables, a 'special sauce' and sesame seeds. The sesame seeds really make the dish different from your typical Thai stirfries, and combined with the balanced yummy sauce its a definite must try. My parents ALWAYS order this one when they go also.

And what Thai feast would be complete without some roti bread with amazing satay dipping sauce?

We helped digest our food with a big pot of peppermint tea, and it was served in this gorgeous elephant tea pot which I thought was so cute.

Although I love gallavanting around to new restaurants in the city, I feel pretty lucky to have such a well-rated and consistent local Thai in the area (its a definite factor in my love for Montmorency/Lower Plenty and my desire to stay living here ;) ) as where are you without good quality Thai take-away? Lost... and hungry!