By Franz Scheurer
To find a good Thai restaurant in Dubbo is unexpected and most welcome. Tish Pintusen runs the place with a firm hand, everywhere at once, displaying incredible dexterity and aplomb. She handles the large table of noisy locals as well as she handles the schmusing couple in the corner and her wait staff, although not quite as assured with their English, manages to keep up.
The restaurant is, as the name suggests, surrounded by roses in every colour and shape. While the restaurant itself is divided into a large dining area and a small waiting area (for take away) and bar, and the wood panelled walls help dampen the noise, despite the restaurant being invariably full. Framed pewter artworks adorn the walls and the tables are simply set with slatted wooden placemats and simple stemware.
The menu is a great read and an effective scale gives you an indication of the heat in the dishes. We try the ‘Chicken Satay’, the ‘Tod Mun’ (fish cakes) and the ‘Vegetarian Curry Puffs’, and love the consistency of the fish cakes and the gooiness of the curry puffs. The satay is rather boring and we put this down to our preference for Malay satay.
For mains we share the ‘Gang Mussamun’ (lamb curry cooked in coconut milk with peanuts, potato and onion), the ‘Rose Gai’ (steamed chicken served with a sauce of ginger, fresh chilli, soy sauce, lemon and coriander) and the ‘Pad Thai’ ‘soft rice noodles stir fried with egg, chicken & prawn). The lamb curry was excellent (although not what I expect as a Massaman curry) and both the other dishes were good; the perfect food to eat with steamed rice.
For dessert we tried the sticky rice with Thai custard, the sticky rice with mango and the banana crepes, which were good, though we missed the drizzle of coconut cream which we’re used to on sticky rice desserts.
Service was speedy, friendly and efficient. Value for money was exceptional ($140 for three, including a bottle of decent white wine) and the whole atmosphere was one of hospitality and eagerness to please.
Score: 6.5/10
For more information:
Rose Garden Thai Restaurant
208 Brisbane Street
Dubbo NSW 2830
Tel.: 02 6882 8322