SA Weekend restaurant review — Asian street food meets burger joint at Fire x Soi 38

Adelaide’s standard-bearer of authentic Thai cooking has fun with this new eatery where your curry might come loaded on fries, writes Simon Wilkinson.

Sai ua, the aromatic spiral sausage from northern Thailand, is shoved into a hot dog roll. Fries are sprinkled with a curry-paste salt or loaded up with massaman beef. Pork dumplings come with a green curry sauce. David Thompson this isn’t (though it is easy to imagine the venerable master of Thai cooking scoffing a few of those fries with a late-night bevvy).

Welcome to Fire, the new Asian-street-food-meets-burger-joint venture from the people behind CBD favourite Soi 38.

Given that restaurant’s own standing as a standard-bearer for authentic regional Thai cooking, the Fire concept, a bricks-and-mortar extension of the group’s wider festival and catering activities, might seem a risky diversion from the core brand.

On the other hand, it is a practical and waste-cutting solution to utilising the original Pulteney St premises now the mothership has shifted to a larger and more suitable location a few blocks west.

Not much has changed at the first site, with the existing soft pinks and beiges of the decor now incorporated alongside splashes of deep scarlet in cartoony graphics on stickers and light boxes spread along the main wall.

On a wet and dismal evening in the city, business is quiet, other than a regular stream of delivery drivers collecting their orders from the counter by the kitchen at the back of the room. The place needs some noise and atmosphere. A lively playlist would help, as would service with a bit more attitude and spunk.

Slow-cooked lemongrass brisket with salad from Fire x Soi 38. Picture Jacqui Lim

After all, this is food designed for fun times rather than serious contemplation. Chefs Terry Itarakhamhaeng and Bailey Spada have workshopped ideas generated at staff parties, festivals and other happenings where getting a fill on the run is one of the priorities.

That said, the Soi 38 ethos holds. You might not be exploring the same cultural depths but fresh produce is still here sourced carefully, pastes are made from scratch and the crucial components of sweet, sour and salty are always in balance. As the name Fire implies, there is also some spice, but more of the type that creeps up slowly from behind and taps you on the shoulder, rather than having you crying for mercy.

A short menu encompasses both traditional favourites (yes there is green chicken curry and a pad thai) and East/West fusions. Bigger, meatier plates are sized to share.

As is a snack of cauliflower “popcorn” in which the florets have been chopped into nuggets, lightly coated in a batter and fried golden. The only spice comes from a sriracha mayo dipping sauce but the mix of crisp edges and tender veg inside means a large bowl disappears quickly.

Supplied Editorial Dining room at Fire x Soi 38. Picture Jacqui Lim

Fire offers no seafood at this stage, so the more familiar fish cakes are successfully reinterpreted with chicken that delivers a similar springy texture and works well with the aromatic additions of Kaffir lime leaf and friends.

Basil chicken is faithful to the hawker classic, but better, with the thigh meat coarsely minced, plenty of the wilted herb stirred through and the spice and sauce ratios on the mark. A puffy fried egg to the side isn’t strictly needed but can prompt discussions about what came first.

Pork ribs have been slowly braised in master stock, deep fried and finally rolled through a sauce that provides a lip-sticking finish as well as broad-spectrum heat from a combination of chilli, wild ginger and sprigs of green pepper.

Preparing the brisket takes two days as the meat is marinated in a slurry based on lemongrass, seared, slow-cooked overnight and finished over a grill until the outer layer is dark and intensely flavoured. It is accompanied by a large heap of excellent fries and a fairly ordinary tossed salad (ordering the papaya som tum as a side is an easy solution).

One thing to note here is that the “Fire” concept grew from Soi 38’s pop-ups at outdoor festivals, where the grilling is done over wood coals. You could watch the meats turning over a flame and taste that lingering note of smokiness. That isn’t possible here.

The trade-off is that you don’t have to fight for a seat, balance a paper plate on your lap or eat with disposable cutlery. The food will be hot and drinks supplied without a long wait at a bar. Add some good music and a bit of atmosphere, and I know where I’d rather be.