Montien

By Franz Scheurer

Almost an institution in Naremburn, Montien feeds the locals in the restaurant, as well as offering take away and home deliveries. It’s immensely popular and rightly so.

The restaurant is in three distinctive rooms, the top one is predominantly yellow, the front room a few steps down is earthy with mainly chocolaty browns and the back room is happy orange-red. Artworks are subtle and worth taking a close look at. I especially like the painting of the reading Buddhist monk on a white canvas in the top room. Wooden chairs are rickety but comfortable enough and tables are small with good linen, and cutlery (fork and spoon, as you would expect in Thailand) is classic Thai wood and ‘gold’, weathered by innumerable encounters with the dishwasher.

The menu contains the suburban Thai standards, but if you look past them you’ll find a lot of interesting dishes, even some pre-chilli fare. The blackboard is a must read and changes regularly. The food is fresh and appetising with clean and concise flavours. This is a heaven for vegetarians; lots of choice and really interesting food. I particularly liked the ‘Tofu Tod’, deep-fried bean curd served with a rich, unctuous peanut sauce (a bit like having satay without meat). Their version of ‘Tom Yum Goong’ shows off a terrific broth with heat and sourness in good balance. I found my favourite dish on the blackboard, so it is only available some days, ‘Moo Pla’. Roasted pork belly, cut into tiny slivers (including the crackling), then stir-fried with white pepper, heaps of garlic, fresh green peppercorns, lots of fish sauce and some tamarind water and served with a handful of deep-fried Thai basil leaves. It’s perfectly in balance and a dish I want to eat. Desserts are worthy, too. Try the homemade ‘Coconut Ice Cream’ or the texturally challenging ‘Sticky Rice with Thai Egg Custard’.

They are licensed and even stock my favourite beer, Little Creatures. The wine list is ho-hum to ignorable, but the beer list is good. Service is affable, fast and smiles are included. Value for money is, as you would expect for a small, suburban eatery, excellent. Now this is not Sailor’s Thai, nor Spice I Am, but it’s a bloody good suburban Thai eatery.

Score: 6/10

For more information or bookings:

Montien (The Art of Thai Food)

272 Willoughby Road

Naremburn NSW 2065

Tel.: 02 9436 2932

Take away: 02 9966 8541