krua thai - 37 bridge rd richmond vic 3121 9428 6128

nothing particular stands out about this place. as part of a two-restaurant chain, anka thai has tried to bring thai food to the mass market. the mcdonald's of thai food, if you will. the waiters are in matching national dress, there are authentic looking artefacts around the walls that were probably bought cheaply in bulk from a dodgy outlet in smith st brunswick and the food is authentic but australianised thai.

after bullying our way into the best table in the house, we left the ordering to the more local of our number. tom yum, the thai restaurant barometer, was pretty good and got a thumbs up from those who had been around a bit. the green chicken curry was swimming in crude and the beef thingy was tough like a mother-in-law. there was something else, besides the rice and roti, but was obviously so special that we fail to remember it two days later.

hot is not on the menu - refer 'australianised thai' in your dictionary. byo chilli or go somewhere like thai classic. this is a good place to take your relatives from the country whose idea of gourmet is a sprig of parsley on their pie floater - show them some culture from the big smoke. serious thai eaters can do better.

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