SA Weekend restaurant review: Von Modern Thai

Ordering the chicken curry from this Adelaide Thai restaurant sparks a worried look from the waiter – so how does it stack up in the heat department?

Thai basil wok fried pork belly at Von Modern Thai, Flinders St,

Our waiter has the worried look one might expect when asking to swim with piranhas or cuddle a tiger – not simply order a chicken curry reputed to contain a substantial measure of chilli.

Did we heed the warning? Of course not.

Did we regret ordering the curry? Yes. But not for the reason that you might imagine.

Dinner at Von Modern Thai has many moments like this that defy expectation, starting with the first peak inside a restaurant squeezed into the ground-floor of a boutique hotel at the eastern end of Flinders St.

Von’s dining room has the feel of one of those fiendish chambers in the movies where the walls are closing in. Tables are cheek-by-jowl and necessarily limited in dimensions.

But this is no humble street shanty. From the sleek black paint job, to the timber battens absorbing noise on the ceiling and the white-clothed tables set with shiny golden cutlery, it could easily double as a swanky nightclub.

The dining room at Von Modern Thai, Flinders St.

Not that the music, an awful techno dirge, would pass muster, nor the staff who are way too charming, polite and helpful to bother with having an attitude.

Come to think of it, everyone around us looks chuffed to be there – a state of mind no doubt assisted by an excellent wine list, full of options that are highly drinkable and well matched to this style of food.

To the menu, then, a colourful, plastic-coated publication in which each dish is described in some detail, complete with a photo. A paragraph at the front explains the restaurant name is an acronym for “Very Own Neighborhood”.

What it doesn’t expand on is the meaning of “Modern Thai”, so if I may be so bold … this is mostly familiar Thai dishes (tom yum, larb chicken, green curry, pad thai et cetera) plated with a touch of pizzazz and adapted to suit the perceived tastes of a contemporary western audience.

Vegetarian spring rolls are a good place to start. Wrappers are super-crisp and shatter pleasingly under pressure to expose a mix of finely shredded veg (including threads of black fungus) that has been left with enough al dente bite to add another layer of texture.

Pork dumplings are let down by the filling, with the mince mixture finely ground and sausage-roll solid.

The dark pool of pork broth surrounding them, however, has a lovely meaty depth, tempered with hints of sourness and a tickle of heat. Fortunately, the bowl comes with a spoon for slurping.

In the seaflowers (aka sea stars) it is the heavy, doughy case that is the problem, rendering the prawn, scallop and squid mousse that forms its petals almost inconsequential. The red curry sauce, again, is a saviour, with coconut sweetness disguising a sneaky touch of heat that creeps up quietly from behind, a few seconds after finishing.

Seaflowers at Von Modern Thai.

This makes the trepidation around the use of heat in the larger courses more puzzling.

Exhibit number one is that curry which, despite the dire predictions, is a toothless tiger, with the only identifiable chilli in the fresh slices strewn on top and the promised shrimp paste used in microscopic quantities.

What we’re left with, then, is a sweet coconut broth containing dry slivers of chicken breast meat and assorted vegetables.

Southern Thai curry with chicken at Von Modern Thai.

The same goes for the som tum, a potentially ferocious combination of green papaya, cherry tomatoes, beans, peanuts and chilli that is traditionally pounded together in a mortar and pestle. This version, while a nice, fresh side salad, seems to be a collection of components rather than the finished product.

Som tum Thai salad at Von Modern Thai.

Pork belly is slowly cooked, then thinly sliced, before using in a stir-fry, so the meat has the appearance/feel of bacon, without the curing. Green beans and bamboo shoots add some interest, while a decent soy/oyster/chilli sauce and particularly the fragrance of fresh Thai basil carry the day.

Desserts lean heavily on the Euro kitchen with raspberry creme brulee and dark chocolate gelato alongside a sticky rice with mango puree.

By the time we come to order, however, we are told the kitchen has closed. And this time, unfortunately, we aren’t given any warning.