Meal #7 - Central Thailand

Thailand is currently undergoing a coup de grace, and with eleven people coming to this week’s meal we practically overthrew the rest of the clientele and took over the restaurant!

Vilom Thai
Authentic Thai Cuisine
357 Smith Street Fitzroy
Open 7 Days, Dinner Hours 6pm–11pm

Although Vilom Thai has a traditional-style décor, compared to many other places we’ve been too, theirs was practically demure. Considering the current political and military climate of Thailand, we were all concerned when our waitress came to take our orders wearing a t-shirt, with a print of a revolver pointed at us with instructions as to “The First Rule of Gun Safety.” FYI – that rule was to “Not Piss Me Off!” We all, quietly and politely, ordered our meals…

As alluded to earlier, this week saw eleven Thai tasters take on test of Vilom Thai – our largest contingent yet! They were: Imogene, Chris, Erika, Boasty, Rami, Philip, Caroline, Dom, Deb, Helen and Paul. We decided that with such large numbers it would be easiest if everyone ordered their own meal and that we would share them around.


Entrée:

Por Pia (Spring Rolls) – Vegetables. Thai style spring rolls served with sweet chilli sauce.

Satay – Tender chicken marinated with coconut milk & Thai spices. Served with peanut sauce.

Goong Tod – Home style prawns in batter served with onion rings & sweet chilli sauce.

Soups:

Tom Yum – Chicken. A favourite Thai soup with fragment lemongrass & lime leaves.

Wonton Soup – Small parcels of pork with finely sliced ginger & garlic served in a clear broth.


Mains:

Kaeng Ped (Red Curry) – Chicken. A dish made with coconut, bamboo shoots, chilli paste, red capsicum & basil.

Kaeng Kiew Whan (Green Curry) – Chicken. A Green Curry dish similar to Red Curry. Prepared with green chillies & basil.

Kaeng Ruang (Yellow Curry) – Beef. Thai yellow curry prepared with coconut milk, potatoe, pumpkin, fresh Thai Herbs & basil.

Matsaman Curry – Chicken. Cooked with roasted peanuts, potatoes, pumpkin and fresh basil.

Gai Yaang – Grilled chicken fillets marinated in Thai herbs & coconut milk.

Crying Tiger – Grilled beef slices served with a hot spicy sauce.

Vilom Thai Salad – Fresh salad with prawns, tomato, onion, cucumber, boiled egg, served with peanut sauce.

Chilli Soya Bean Sauce – Tofu. Stir fry with chilli paste & soya bean oil & bamboo shoots

Pad Thai – Chicken. Fried noodles with bean shoots, egg, ground peanut & tofu.

Sides:

Saffron Rice – Fried rice with saffron, fried onion in a coconut milk

Coconut Rice.


The Meal:

Only a few people ordered appetizers, but they were all favorably received. The traditional Thai Tom Yum soup was excellent – a spicy-hot soup with a hell of a kick!


All the curries were great and were complimented well with the coconut rice. Pad Thai is a must at Thai restaurants, and the dish we had did not disappoint. The greatest surprise of the meal, however, was the Crying Tiger – not only was this spicy beef dish fantastic, but its name lead to many shocking puns like “Crying Tiger, Hidden Spice.”


Overall:

With Thai restaurants on practically every second corner in Melbourne, we had all previously experienced this cuisine many times. Vilom Thai’s food was well above average; all their traditional dishes (Pad Thai, the red, green, yellow and matsaman curries, etc) were as expected, but where they shone was with their more unusual meals, such as the Crying Tiger. With at no more than $25 each (depending on what we ordered), Vilom Thai is reasonably priced for its fare.