Indochina Thai

Indochina Thai, the restaurant that may or may not combine three countries worth of culinary delights (Indonesia, China and Thailand) but judging from all the previous reviews, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a large menu full of all these types of foods. I certainly was hoping for some good “value, quality and creativity” as the last two Thai reviews were a little bit shocking especially in the service department. Indochina is in the Entertainment Book this year for all you people who are on a tight-fisted budget, but more importantly I hope I can provide a good review this time!

Final Score: 8.8/10

So I think that I have now had all the traffic light colours of Thai curry! Red, green … and finally yellow curry was recommended this week from a very knowledgeable waitress. I must mention first, that upon arriving, a pleasant waiter ran up to greet us at the door and showed us our tables. He then proceeded to pour us water and before I knew it, he was gone, leaving us to decide on our meals. Great start so far? I think so!

The waitress who took our table knew her stuff, and she rattled off about four of the best dishes that were on offer to me. I asked her which of the four would be the best, and she said that I would definitely not be disappointed with the yellow Thai curry. Quick, decisive and knowledgeable … and best of all no hassles with the communication, just what I am looking for when I am asking for a meal recommendation!

The meal itself was pretty good. I will say that I still prefer a red Thai curry over any other colour of the traffic light range, but this still wasn’t bad. By nature, this differs from the other two coloured curries due to it’s use of roasted spices and turmeric instead of fresh chilies and red curry pastes. It also had a distinct extra sweetness to it, maybe utilising extra brown or raw sugar too, and combined well with the coconut milk. The meat used was chicken thigh, and unfortunately it didn’t really suit the dish. The meat was too soft, almost to a point where it was like eating chicken sorbet. This is where using chicken breast instead of thigh would have boosted the ratings here, but otherwise not too bad. Some extra vegetables in the curry would have been great too, and although tasty to begin with the flavours did get a bit bland by the end of the dish … mind you, the serving size was very decent so maybe I just over-ate! Overall not too bad though.

Service during the night was great, with some chances for people to order some extra bevvies during the evening without hassles. I even forgot to order an entree of Pandan Chicken after we had all ordered mains, and the waitress added it to the list without a worry. Meals came out fairly quickly, as there were only 8 of us dining tonight, and also the restaurant was only half full. There were no mix ups with theorders as well (but there shouldn’t be anyway!). Even as we were leaving, another waiter ran to the door to thank us out of the restaurant … and it seemed that it was one of their regular duties to make sure customers left with a hearty farewell! This was a great positive contrast to the previous weeks of crappy service, what a relief! Inside the place was neat, kind of modern cafe style and not over the top. Not homely but still enjoyable, perfect for a casual night out.

It’s pretty clear, good impressions last … and having good warm friendly service at the very start and beginning is what I remember the most. The food isn’t bad either, and the takeaway menu is great value!.

Service [9.6/10] : Excellent service, almost silver class but without the poshness!
Quality [7.8/10] : Not too bad, but I suggest using breast fillet. Tasted good though.
Venue [8.7/10] : Neat, modern and welcoming. The boat at the front was a nice touch!
Value [9.1/10] : A good score for great service and good food for a low price, very nice!

Reviewer: Chow’s Adelaide Thai Review