Attendees: Beata, Steph, Craig, RobThis little eatery is hidden away near the big Hoddle St intersection. Unless you purposely venture this far you are unlikely to accidentally stumble upon it. It has a warm glow amongst the closed stores. The shopfront is non-descript aside from a handwritten board of curry specials. In fact for awhile I am convinced it is nameless. We deduce it is Thai from the flag on the back wall. I finally find the name when I stand outside staring as we are leaving. Tom Toon Noodle House.
The décor consists of wooden shelving with an assortment of knick-knacks (assumedly from Thailand) including vases, jars and children’s toys. Beside our table is a bookshelf filled with books which gives it a homely atmosphere. As does the odd ant parading along the shelving. Maybe.
We are presented with two menus. An A2 laminated page and the extended flip menu. I’m assuming the one-pager is some sort of house speciality menu as it doesn’t match up with the other menu. Of course, if there is no logical thought behind it, that would make sense too. Just in case you don’t have enough menus there are photographs of selected dishes behind the counter and a specials board.I’m having language difficulties with the waiter. We are trying to order satay sticks, not believing the lack of entrees on the plethora of menus. He is offering us something akin to satay but not quite satay. We agree.
The result is skewered chicken, grilled in spices with a watery, tangy satay-like sauce. On the end of each skewer is a piece of pork. Of course. Whatever they are called, it’s light and tangy. The spring rolls are also good with a light crispness and juicy filing.
Number 27 (on the laminated menu) is described as "rice noodles, meat with spicy flavour". It is outstanding and we demolish it within moments. It’s full of flavours (chilli, sweet soy, ginger) accompanied by a lovely chargrilled flavour.The green curry is exceptionally creamy and given the thumbs by Rob, who claims he only like Indian curries. Perhaps the language barriers come into the play again because after asking for a prawn curry we clearly receive chicken.
From the specials we have the duck with lemongrass. The lemongrass is a bit overpowering with crunchy slices throughout the dish. The duck itself is well cooked but without the crispy skin of Chinese BBQ duck.
We are still hungry so order another Thai classic – Pad Thai. We make a second attempt at ordering prawns and speculate whether this one too will come out with chicken. But this time they get it right. For me the Pad Thai is not flavoursome enough and I feel there are too many crunchy beanshoots in it.
As the name 'noodle house' suggests, it should be famous for its noodle dishes and if you ever come here, try the Pad Kee Mao. Although the portion sizes are disappointingly small, the flavour and cheap price makes up for this.
Ratings
Spring rolls 6.5/10
Chicken skewers with satay-like sauce 6.5/10
#27 Pad Kee Mao (rice noodles, meat with spicy flavour) 9/10
Green curry (chicken) 8.5/10
Special (duck with lemongrass) 7.6/10
Pad thai 7.4/10
