Chat Thai

Overview

Chat Thai is the worst kept secret amongst Thai people living in Sydney. With a focus on street food and dishes that are meant to be for Thai palates only, Chat Thai was meant to be a Thai person's Thai restaurant. But when you do the mainstay favourites so well, and at very, very reasonable prices, it's inevitable that the cat will get out of the bag.

If you want to try something new, we recommend you sample the tom saap — a hot and sour soup with braised pork ribs. But for those who are less adventurous, the chilli fried rice, padt si-ew or ki mao are excellent.

Chat Thai also has five varieties of som tum (green papaya salad), which embodies the balance between the salty, sweet, sour and spicy elements Thai cuisine is known for. For the uninitiated, start with the som tum thai and venture onto the pickled crab or fermented fish variants when feeling brave. Also, remember to specify your level of spiciness because the default is often too hot for most. You have been warned.

To drink, it would be hard not have Thai milk tea with cha dam yem — a tea on the sweet end of the spectrum that's hard to resist.

And do note that if you arrive during the dinner rush, expect to wait at least 45 minutes or longer for a table. Try and get in early and they might be able to offer you dishes still made from the lunch menu as well.