Tawandang, Haymarket

After seeing the post from chocolatesuze about this new resto in George st and looking at the Pork Knuckle with crispy skin on the pictures, then and there, I decided to check this place out on the weekends. I went with some of my friends on a Sunday night. So glad that I've made booking in advanced as it got pretty packed during dinner hour.

I read briefly about the restaurant being not fully serving Thai dishes but also German (Just the pork knuckle & beers). Apparently this was a branch from the Original restaurant in Bangkok. As they are fairly new, their website is still under construction :) Looking at the menu, everything was of reasonable prices and looks inviting!

Ordering as usual does not take long for me, while we were waiting for the dish to come out, I noticed that most of the customers are Thai. Which is a good sign in my opinion meaning that the dish was Thai Authentic as I hardly came across Thai patrons in my "go-to" Thai Restaurants.

I read from chocolatesuze review that the the drinks here are refillable except for the beers, so I confirm with the waitress and it is true! We were eating for 1.5hours and they promptly refills the drink. Bebski had 5 glass of milk tea in a seating! :) The milk tea is fragrance and the sweetness level is just right :)

Thai Milk Tea $4.50

Decided to order something soupy at it was raining outside. Was torn between tom yum goong or curry but majority prefers Tom Yum Goong which is very rich, has a good punch of sourness and there are quite a generous portion of the king prawns too. What I love also from Tom Yum Goong is the mushroomsss :) I Highly recommend this one! Mr.US think this is the dish of the night!

Tom Yum Goong $17.90

The crying tiger is ok, nothing special about it, I do think that the meat need more seasoning ;)

Crying Tiger $15.90

The star of the night - Ka Moo Tod - Crispy Pork Leg served with mashed potato, sauerkraut and spice sauce. I loveee love loveeee the spicy sauce! That is what I call spicy. There's a good punch of chilli and it really does intensify your appetite! The meat fell of the bone and the skin my oh my, crispy crispy goodness~ Don't know how to put this in words, you just have to go and experience it yourself <3 The let down probably is the sauekraut which I think needs more sourness to it.

Ka Moo Tod $22.90

Pad Kra Prao Moo - Pork mince with basil and chilli. Another dish with good punch of heat. Just at the right level of spiciness i would say. I dont mind to have it more spicy than it is. But it is a good dish, it tasted like the usual pad kra prao in other thai restaurant ^^

Pad Kra Prao Moo - $15.90

Soft shell crab was not my first choice as I would like to try out the deep fried catfish. Unfortunately, they don't have it that night and this was my "Plan B" dish. But I don't regret my decision. It was delicious. Can't say much, I just can't get enough of it!

Pu Nim Tod Prik Krue $17.90

From all the desserts they have on the menu, apparently they only serve 3 that night and dumpling in coconut sauce sounds appealing to me as I was expecting chewy sticky dumplings like Taro Balls in Meetfresh. But..... don't if it meant to be soft, it does not have the texture that I'm looking for. But it is still tasty and not overpowerly sweet.

Sweet Dumplings in Coconut cream sauce $5.50

Overall dining experience .... Couldn't be any much better! The staff is super duper attentive considering how pact the place get at night. I really hope that they have all the desserts soon as I will definitely be back with Bebski to eat some more pork and definitely the catfish!!

Chat Thai & Home Thai, you have a major contender now ^^

Highly Recommended~!!

SECOND VISIT

21st APril 2014

After accompanying my Brisbane friend to Home Thai, Now its my melbourne friend that came and I brought him to taste the amazing pork knuckle in Tawandang :) Below are three new dishes that I tried there..

Papaya salad with Roast pork.. The papaya salad and the sauce works well for me.. with some crushed nuts and cherry tomatoes on top complemented everything very well. The pork however, I can't figure out which part of the pork that they used. It was chewy and very fatty T.T It's hard for me to distinguish whether it was meat or plain fat :p

Papaya salad with Roast Pork $13.90

Didn't get the chance to try this dish in my previous visit.. Thankfully, they have it this time... The fish is shredded and deep fried while keeping the moist texture and not oily & not too crispy..It tasted like fish flakes with the combination of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chilli and basil.. This dish is highly recommended as well!

Deep fried catfish with herbs $15.90

Cho chee goong $17.90

The description in the menu says prawn in red curry sauce.. The curry sauce is thick and for me, it can be cook a little more as I can still taste it quite raw. Maybe it's how the dish should taste like and it's maybe just my palate's perception ;P But the prawn is fresh and cooked perfectly.