Sydney has long had a love affair with Thai food, and the city’s bounty of Thai restaurants has set the bar high for any incumbent eateries. With more than 70 years experience in its kitchen, Appethai Restaurant is well and truly rising to meet the city’s high standards.
Appethai is not your neighbourhood hole-in-the-wall Thai takeaway, but that doesn’t mean they’re on the super posh end of the scale either. Instead the restaurant delicately treads the line between casual and elegant, with an emphasis on authentic dishes and flavours. That goal isn’t hard for the restaurant to achieve either – head chef Kongphak Phetputtrangkul has more than 20 years experience in the kitchen, while executive chef Yoavapapongse Praisang has been cooking Thai food from generations-old recipes for over 50 years.
In reality, those 70-odd years of experience translate into a menu rich in traditional Thai flavours. Start your meal with Appethai’s seared chilli scallops, where premium Hokkaido scallops are doused with chilli sauce and paired with shimeji mushrooms and pea puree. If you’re a fan of tom yum soup try Appethai’s – served with king prawns and oyster mushrooms, the restaurant's version of the Thai classic is much more than a side dish.
Those looking for a meatier main should try the duck red curry (a fragrant mix with duck, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, lychee and young coconut) or the Thai-style barbecued wagyu beef (wagyu marinated in Thai spices and serve with shimeji mushrooms and spicy tamarind sauce). And before you ask, yes Appethai serve pad thai. Their version comes topped with juicy king prawns, dried shrimp and free-range eggs to make the favourite dish even tastier.
Don’t leave without trying the black sticky rice and custard for dessert. Appethai is open daily for dinner and from Thursday to Sunday for lunch.