Long Chim, Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Of all the restaurant openings in the recently refurbished State Buildings, none has been as highly anticipated and hyped as Long Chim. And with good reason - it has been 20 years since Australian born Chef David Thompson last had a restaurant in Australia. During those 2 decades, Thompson has gone from strength to strength - his Nahm in London became the first Thai restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star. Although the London branch is now closed, Nahm in Bangkok was ranked the #1 restaurant in Asia on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants List in 2014, and continues to be highly placed. Additionally, Thompson's uncompromising authenticity and encyclopedic knowledge of Thai cuisine has made him an international authority on Thai cooking; his book Thai Food is the Larousse Gastronomique of this most complex of Asian cuisines. Throw in his much loved SBS food series Thai Street Food and its beautiful companion book, and its easy to understand why the fact Thompson chose Perth for the location of his next restaurant is such a big deal. Having dined at Nahm late last year and being massive fans of his cookbooks, Alissa and I invited my parents Alan and Maya to join us for dinner to see if Long Chim lived up to our lofty expectations.

Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

To say that Alissa and I are fans of David Thompson would be an understatement. Earlier this year, Alissa, my parents and I cooked a Banquet Menu from Thompson's Thai Food Cookbook (as well as Grilled Pork Skewers and Mango Sticky Rice from Thai Street Food) and it was one of the best Thai meals we've had the pleasure of eating. I thoroughly recommend both books as essential reading for Thai Food enthusiasts; Thompson's encyclopedic knowledge of Thai cuisine results in recipes that are at once familiar and yet unusual as they revive recipes and versions of recipes from centuries ago.

Err Rustic Thai, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

When planning for our trip to Bangkok and Hong Kong, Bo.Lan was one of the restaurants high on our list of places to check out. Unfortunately, the poor Aussie Dollar vs Hong Kong's pegged currency meant our time in Hong Kong was set to be much more expensive than we had initially planned, so cuts had to be made to our initially more extravagant plans for both countries. Bo.Lan was one of the restaurants that was unfortunately cut, however we were alerted to the existence of Err - a new 'urban rustic' Thai restaurant from chefs Bo and Dylan of Bo.Lan. Excited by the chance of trying their food (albeit in a more casual setting), Alissa an I quickly added it as a last minute addition to our itinerary.

Le Du, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Although long highly regarded for its national cuisine, its only been in the last few years that Bangkok's fine dining scene has come into its own in terms of international recognition. With both Nahm and Gaggan having topped Asia's 50 Best Restaurants lists in 2014 and 2015 respectively and reservations made at both, Alissa and I were interested to try one of the more up and coming restaurants as well. Having seen Chef Ton in David Thompson's Thai Street Food series and receiving some solid recommendations for his restaurant, we decided to try Le Du,  a restaurant serving thoroughly modern food that builds on ideas and flavours from Thailand's rich culinary tradition.

Krua Apsorn, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

In researching places to eat in Bangkok, Krua Apsorn was a restaurant repeatedly recommended, including multiple shout outs by David Thompson himself. Something of a Bangkok institution frequented by foodies in the know, Krua Apsorn have a few branches in the city, however the original branch on Samsen Road near Samsen Soi 9 is considered the branch to visit. Although the restaurant does apparently take reservations, their website is in Thai and I wasn't sure if sending them an email in English would be understood, so we decided to chance it and get to the restaurant for their opening. Just as well we did - almost every table was already booked, and waiting outside in the hot weather would not have been very fun at all.

Mango Tango @ Siam Square Soi 3, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

After our meal at Thip Samai, Alissa and I wandered down the street in search of one of her all-time favourite desserts - Mango Sticky Rice. Eating this classic Thai dessert at a street food stall was a fun experience, and it was a well made example of the dish. While doing research on Bangkok's best Mango Sticky Rice stalls and stops, I stumbled upon a post by friend of the blog WenY, recommending a very deluxe take featuring Mango Ice Cream and Mango Pudding from a small chain called Mango Tango. Given the heat and humidity of Bangkok's climate the ice cream sounded like a winning addition, and with a Mango Tango outlet just across the road from Siam Centre, it was very conveniently located for a cooling afternoon snack.

Thip Samai, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

After a wonderful five week honeymoon eating our way through Asia in 2013, Alissa and I were excited to head off for the continuing adventures of Alissa and Don Eat Asia in 2015. What started as a Japan trip with stopovers in Bangkok and Hong Kong ended up focusing on our stopovers to the point that we decided to drop Japan altogether - especially with the considerable rise of Bangkok restaurants like Nahm and Gaggan making a convincing case for Thailand as a truly great candidate for destination dining. With the risk of flight delays and missing our reservations meaning Gaggan and Nahm would have to wait until later in the week, Alissa and I headed out for our first meal in Bangkok at Thip Samai - a restaurant said by many to serve the best Pad Thai in Bangkok.

Joop Thai, Albany, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

During our last few trips to Albany, Alissa and I have been a little disappointed with the lack of really interesting premier restaurants. The cafe's on York St and the Terrace are fine and all (Gourmandise and Co is particularly impressive), however its really hard to find places that really shine as true contenders for the city's best and most interesting restaurant; even the better dining options recommended by our family in the region have lagged behind memorable dining experiences like Pepper & Salt in Denmark, and Foragers in Pemberton - strange, considering Albany is a city compared to those much smaller towns.

One strong recommendation we hadn't followed up on during our last few trips was Joop Thai - a restaurant that is apparently a firm favourite with the locals and was thus a top priority for us to investigate this time. Located on Lockyer Avenue, Joop's premises look like it had once been home to a Sizzler or one of those old Pizza Huts before they stopped doing dine in service.

Galangal, East Victoria Park, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

A few weeks ago, a few friends send me an invite to join their new dining group. Called 'The Occasional Dinner Surprise', the groups mission statement is simple:

The tiny Thai joint at the end of your street that's a bit dingy, but makes a bangin papaya salad. That weird place that serves up delicious plump pierogi, but you think the chef might be on parole. And the crazy Korean cafe round the back of the ugly squash courts, doling out wicked kimchi. That's what this is all about. We want to set ourselves a challenge, and try out the hidden suburban dining gems of Perth. 

RULES 

1. It has to be on a back street somewhere, away from the main strips of Northbridge, Leederville, Subiaco, Vic Park, Freo etc. 

2. No trendy newcomers. Only hardy perennials that have been doing their thing for years. 

3. Bonus points for ugly exteriors. 

4. Bargain prices = happy.

A noble goal, and one that is close to my heart. As much as Alissa and I do enjoy trying out some of Perth's best and most beloved restaurants, there is something lovely about the Occasional Surprise of discovering one of Perth's best kept secrets buried deep in the suburbs. I mean, within a 10 minute radius of where Alissa and I live in Bateman (hardly the culinary epicentre of Perth), we've discovered one of our favourite ramen joints in Perth, the deliciousness of Hawaiian/Japanese Fusion food in quite possibly the ugliest restaurant in Applecross, a seriously good noodle house in the middle of no where and - before their move to Nedlands - the incredibly difficult to book restaurant Marumo (sadly, pre-blog days). I was immediately excited by the idea of the group, and although Alissa already had plans for the evening, I decided to partake in the group's inaugural dinner at Galangal Thai without her.

Red Opium, East Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Thai food will always conjure up memories of my childhood. Being young migrants, my parents didn't have a lot of money during the lean years of the late 80s/early 90s, and it wasn't until around the mid-90s that we were affluent enough to afford the pleasure of going out for a proper restaurant meal. During that time Sala Thai in Fremantle became a firm family favourite for birthdays and other special occasions. Thai cuisine left a strong impression on my palate from that young age; its ability to balance sourness, sweetness and heat in the one dish is still a pleasure to this day, and David Thompson's two cookbooks are regular sources of inspiration in our kitchen at home. Alissa and I have returned to Sala Thai a few times, however are always on the look out for new places to try. When we heard of Red Opium's concept of 'Thai-inspired tapas', it immediately made our ever-growing restaurant wishlist. 

Located in East Perth in what used to be a basement karaoke bar, Red Opium really lives up to its name. Drawing inspiration from 1940s opium dens, the design aesthetic is executed wonderfully, with liberal swathes of red and an Asian fusion theme that is at once iconic and yet on-trend and modern. 

Alissa particularly liked the paintings that graced the walls and their depiction of individuals of ambiguous gender - suggestive of Thai kathoey/ladyboys.

I had been wanting to try the Khantoke Dinner Set ($50) which requires 4 or more diners, making this an excellent occasion to catch up with good friends. Joining Alissa and I were Hayley and Dugan. Hayley and I used to be part of Spatula, an art collective that interrogated and challenged contemporary food production before the four of us in the group decided to focus on other projects. Dugan was something of a silent fifth member, and his skills as a welder were instrumental in helping us build our most famous, final work - a three wheel macadamia-nut crushing tricycle that became an on road cooking show (seriously).

The Khantoke Dinner Set includes three of Red Opium's tapas-sized items, a soup course and four mains to share. Yin and Yang Dips were the first to arrive - one being creamy prawn and coconut, the other mince pork and tomato. The arrangement of papadum-like crackers on one side of the dish and pork scratchings on the other seemed to suggest dip-specific pairings and Dugan's experiment with the prawn dip on the pork scratchings proved to be 'interesting' but not necessarily complimentary. Within their pairings however, these dips were very good indeed. The creamy prawn and coconut dip reminded me somewhat of a very fishy congee, which worked well with the crackers.

Being a pork fanatic, the mince pork dip was probably the more immediately likeable of the two options, and the idea of using pork scratchings instead of crackers was inspired. This was a fairly simple dish that didn't necessarily blow our minds but did at least set Red Opium off to a good start.

A plate of Assorted Spring Rolls served with a Thai dipping sauce was the next small plate to arrive. As it turned out, there were two or three different types of fillings to these spring rolls, of which I tried two. My first sample was the fairly conventional vegetarian spring roll common to Asian restaurants of all descriptions. Most Asian restaurants tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to spring rolls, opting for frozen factory produced mass productions that end up underwhelming. These definitely tasted like they were made in-house, and the resulting freshness meant this was a cut above the average. The other I tried was a meat spring roll filled with a red curry mince pork. This was even better than the vegetarian spring roll, reminding me of thin casing samosas - but all the more delicious for the red curry inside.

The dipping sauce itself was excellent, having that lovely balance of sweet, salty and sour you'd expect. Not wanting to waste what was left in the bowl, Hayley decided to drink the rest.

The Son in Law Eggs were the last of the small share plates to arrive, and continued the quality standard of the previous dish. Twice cooked with a nice crispiness and sweet due to the tamarind, this was a fairly simple and traditional dish done well.

Acting as an intermission between the tapas-sized share plates and the large main plates, the Tom Yum Goong was amongst the best I've had. There is a complexity of flavour to Tom Yum soup that in perfect balance results in a dish greater than the sum of its parts, and Red Opium achieved this with their version. The Tom Yum came in mild, hot and extra hot options, and I could feel the tingling burn of the extra hot and coughed as it made its heat apparent.

The mains appeared on the table in quick succession. First to arrive, the Som Tum salad with Soft Shell Crab was announced as a 'coleslaw' by the waitress - a reasonable analogy for this classic green papaya salad. The balance sweet/sour balance of the dressing was excellent, with the papaya providing a nice, fresh crunch. Also providing crunch were the crispy soft shell crabs. These were not exactly necessary given the sheer amount of other food, but were a welcome addition.

F-Duck seems to be Red Opium's signature dish. Their version of the famous Duck and Lychee Red Curry, The duck comes as slices of roasted breast with a whole drumstick. These were juicy, meaty and well seasoned pieces of duck that were thankfully not overly fatty. The red curry may look a bit stingy but actually was about the right amount for the four of us. Having already tasted the red curry in the spring rolls we knew that it would taste authentic, however what was interesting was how the curry was smoother and more refined than what I would usually expect from red curry. It reminded me of the refined curries of Dum Pukht, and the inclusion of baby carrot and some brussel sprouts made it look like a classical French dish. This is definitely a must-try dish.

I don't eat beef very often and don't order it unless its part of a tasting menu, so it was a surprise for me to find the Masaman Beef Curry to be the dish of the night. As with the F-Duck, the curry was smooth and refined in comparison to other Masaman curries I've eaten, and its nuttiness was addictively good. Most impressive was how melt-in-your mouth soft and flavoursome the beef was, so much so Alissa originally thought it was lamb. This was quality beef cooked perfectly; just touching the beef with a fork was enough to cut off a piece to eat.

Arriving a little while after we'd already been enjoying the other dishes, we had completely forgotten about the Cod of the Day. We were already beginning to feel really full by that point, however it was great to try yet another fantastic dish. Tasting the fish and its tangy, sweet sauce took me back to the '90s when we used to order a similar fish dish from Sala Thai. As its one of their more expensive dishes and since we're generally there with smaller groups, I have not ordered the fish in at least over a decade so it was a lovely nostalgic trip tasting this sauce again.

We were really full by the end of the meal, and ended up leaving a potato and some of the Som Tum salad behind. Seeing that I had been taking photos and guessing that I was a blogger, the staff seemed concerned that we had not eaten everything and asked if there was something wrong. We reassured them we were just extremely full and that we really enjoyed the meal. After paying, Hayley opened a belated birthday present Alissa and I had bought her in Singapore - some Royce' chocolate.

Hayley kindly shared the chocolate with us - a nice, small dessert to cap off a satisfying meal.

The Verdict: Excellent
For $50 each the Khantoke menu was excellent value, giving us a good taste of what they have to offer and left us so full we couldn't even eat it all. Red Opium's small share plate and mains concept combined with its hip design aesthetic is a real winner and would be a strong recommendation for one of the best Thai restaurants in Perth. We'll have to give Nahm Thai a go next, but we'd definitely come back for more. I've gotta know what a Deconstructed Green Curry is all about...