Cheap eats: Sukhumvit Soi 38
A $12 menu at this city favourite restaurant will spice up your lunch break, writes Jessica Galletly.
YOU can dine at Michelin star restaurants, queue for brunch at the hottest new cafe or follow Google’s lead on “best pizza/tacos/noodles in town”.
But some of the tastiest food to be had while travelling is on the street.
Adelaide Thai restaurant Soi 38 took that concept and fitted it into a dine-in, restaurant setting — albeit a casual one. Chef Terry Intarakhamhaeng’s unapologetic use of spices and fresh, local ingredients makes it one of the best Thai joints in town. But it’s his Mon-Thurs lunch menu that really channels the streets of Thailand, with serious bang for buck.
There are three, seasonal dishes on Soi 38’s $12 lunch menu. And, with the usual a la carte options also available, you can easily pair a lunch special with a starter or side and still come in under $20.
It’s a Tuesday and I’m the first person in the restaurant at noon. Half an hour later, all but a few tables are full.
Service remains attentive despite the increase in trade, and when my date and I are asked if we’d like a snack to start, we go for it.
Crispy, blackened roti stuffed with vegies is ideal to share between two ($14), served with a zesty-pickly sauce that’ll get the tastebuds going.
Crisp fried SA squid tentacles are given Thai treatment with fried chilli, green peppercorns and Kaffir lime leaves, but could do with a little less cooking time for tenderness, and a touch more salt. Do squeeze on the charred lemon. The generous bowl is excellent value for $13.
Our favourite of the two $12 lunch specials we order is the mee kati, aka spicy peanut curry, served in a deceptively deep bowl alongside a tangle of vermicelli noodles you’ll want to moisten with the desert-red sauce before they stick together.
The curry, available with chicken or tofu, is the love child of a Thai red curry and satay, with just the right amount of heat and sweetness. Pimp it with the chopped raw beans, pickle, bean sprouts and sliced omelet for texture.
The guay teaw moo, or pork noodle soup, will transport you straight to the noodle cart lined streets of South East Asia. Soothing, aromatic — and more aggressive with chilli this time — the fish sauce-spiked broth is topped with sliced rare pork and pork meatballs, and a loading of noodles that could probably be scaled back a little, unless you’re ravenous. It’s a simple, but true winter warmer.
Kudos to a menu that stays true to street food, without having to eat it out on the street.
ADDRESS: 54 Pulteney St, city, 8223 5472
OWNER/CHEF: Terry Intarakhamhaeng
FOOD: Thai
PRICE: Lunch menu $12, “snacks” $12-$13
DRINKS: Local wines, craft and Thai beers, gin, iced tea
OPEN: Lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat
ATMOSPHERE: Timber tables and floors with pops of yellow that keep things casual but warm
CROWD: City workers by day
TRY: Mee kati
TIP: Snacks are generously sized to share
SCORE: 8/10