Thai Pothong, Newtown

The household hasn’t been out for a collective dinner for too long. Following some thai food nostalgia moments (initiated by Sindel and mainly about Thai Pothong’s Four Season Tofu), we all make our way to Thai Pothong.

There are so many Thai places on King St, but Thai Pothong is in my top 3, for multiple reasons:

1. They can always take large last minute bookings because of their huge space
2. The food is yummy!
3. The waiters/waitresses/waitstaff are fabulous
4. We play the ‘serve ourselves rice game’ when we’re there lol. More about this later.

As per usual, I make a last minute booking (don’t want to wait on a Friday night) and we are seated in the back section - a great view of the amorous paintings lol.

Entrée time!

Miang Goong

As soon as our Thai Pothong plan was hatched, Herr Moutarde had declared he was having Miang Goong. These pretty little things are served on an edible Betal Leaf and contain a prawn, some crunchy toasted coconut, bits of red onion and sweet chilli jam, topped with a cashew nut and some caviar. They can be a bit messy to eat, but are sooo good! The combination of flavours and textures is lovely.

I love communal/sharing courses and the entrees at That Pothong are perfect for it.

Four Seasons/Three Flavours Tofu (Tao Hoo Se Rod)

This dish was always known as Four Seasons Tofu but when we went back, it had been renamed Three Flavours Tofu and had switched from the regular to specials menu. Things Change… Never mind…. Sindel ordered this without hesitation lol. The tofu is quickly fried – crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a sweetish, sour and slightly spicy red sauce drizzled on the top. had to have a piece!

Vegetable Curry Puffs (Garri Puff)

I am never one to turn down curry puffs. My standard “can’t decide what I want” drama for the night was that I couldn’t choose an entrée. The only thing that I felt strongly towards was the Four Seasons Tofu and I knew Sindel was already ordering that:) Daisy Moo offered me a way out – she wanted 2 entrees! I immediately took ownership of one – these curry puffs lol. They were fresh from the fryer (crispy!) and the filling was potato and veggies, served a clear vinegary/tangy sauce that had bits of cucumber and red onion in it. Yum!

Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla)

Daisy Moo ended up ordering these, which came with the same sauce as the curry puffs, except with added crushed peanuts.

BBQ Octopus (Plamoukyang)

Unlike indecisive me, Chocolate Queen knew she wanted octopus from the start. The octopus had a smokey flavour and the sauce that came with it was surprisingly hot (chilli, not temperature). Chocolate Queen preferred the other entrees to her own, but I found these quite good, and happily ate the rest lol.

Sindel is a vegetarian (seafood and eggs ok) so I was really glad with this range of entrees – it meant we could all share:)

Mains Time:

Snapper With Coconut Milk & Chilli Sauce (Pla Lad Prik)

Daisy Moo and Sindel shared this gorgeous fish. It was deep fried (hmmm another deep fried dish lol) and topped with a tasty sauce. The fish was tender and flavoursome and despite the bright colour, the sauce wasn’t overwhelming. I think I’m going to have this next time. I snuck in this shot before the efficient waitress could carve him/her up:)

Green Curry (Gang Keaw Warn)

Chocolate Queen had the Green curry, which is made with chicken. She thoroughly enjoyed it:) My favourite part about this curry is that they put in little baby eggplants. Like the other curries here, the sauce was thick and packed with flavour.

Herr Moutarde had Red Duck Curry, which despite only having a ‘mild’ chilli rating, set our mouths on fire lol. Lucky we all like spicy food. The duck was tender and although it really was devastatingly hot, I’d still order it again. I couldn’t get a decent shot of it though, the lighting conspired against me lol.

Panang Duck Curry (Gang Panang Red)

I chose the Panang Duck Curry. The sauce was thick, nutty and creamy!! I love this dish:D

At Thai Pothong, they serve you unlimited rice from ornamental looking, silver rice holders, which look like big trophies to me lol. They sit at the end of your table and the instant you reach for a rice refill – a waiter pops out of nowhere to serve you rice! Many a time, we’ve tried to serve ourselves, waiting until no waiters are in sight…but we Fail Every Time. A game we have never won…

Thai Pothong
294 King Street
Newtown, 2042, NSW
Phone: (02) 9550 6277
Fax: (02) 9519 8050
http://www.thaipothong.com.au/