Home Thai, Haymarket

We have an interesting situation here where this eatery is a cafe-slash-Thai-restaurant. I mean, of course a lot of cafes also have a lunch menu, but that normally consists of standard cafe fare, like sandwiches, pasta, salads etc. Meanwhile, this cafe/restaurant hybrid gives out full restaurant menus for lunch and dinner, with very similar offerings to their sister restaurant, Home Thai located on Sussex St (although with a slightly smaller selection available - hardly noticeable though, because the menu is still quite extensive).

We dined here for lunch, and were seated upstairs at a table right next to the kitchen area. The delicious smells coming from the kitchen were very, very tantalising, and luckily, the food itself didn't disappoint either.

Pad thai with pork ($10.90)

I went with a Thai classic, pad thai served with pork. Some people may say it's a very safe and perhaps boring choice, but because of that similar mindset, I haven't actually had a pad thai in a long while, so it was nice to eat it again.
The presentation was good, and I love how they left the palm sugar, ground chilli and crushed peanuts separately in neat piles on the side so you can mix it in yourself. And the taste was excellent - ingredients tasted very fresh, and with each mouthful, the rich flavour of everything just came together very well. The sour zing from the lemon with the sweet and sour taste of the tamarind sauce, the tender pork pieces with juicy fried tofu and fresh crunches of bean sprouts, topped with a nutty, sweet and spicy taste from the condiments that you freshly mix in yourself.
I'm sure other pad thais have similar ingredients too, but somehow, the taste and quality of this pad thai (on this particular occasion) was just that much better than the other Thai places I've been to, and I can happily say that it's probably one of the best pad thais I've had.

Anyway, enough raving, and onto the other dishes, shall we?

Laksa ($8.90)

The thing with food blogging is that often I post pictures of my companions' food, but I don't always get to taste what they are eating. This results in a super detailed description of some dishes, and short/vague comments on other dishes. Anyway, I hope you can gauge from the picture how tasty this laksa looks, and all I can say is, the person who ate this dish was very pleased with how it tasted. Thumbs up!

BBQ Pork with rice ($9.90)

From what I can recall, the BBQ pork with rice was said to be good, but nothing special. Personally, I rarely ever order BBQ pork when I eat out because I can eat it at home, and it tastes just as good. It's often one of those quick meals when my parents are not bothered to cook - they just buy a block of BBQ pork (already cooked and marinated, and displayed on a metal hook at the shop window) and then we cook some rice and grab some veggies and viola! Dinner sorted. Simple, delicious and satisfying. And much cheaper/more value if eaten at home, I should add. Definitely I think it's more a Chinese dish than a Thai dish, but understandably, there are probably a few crossovers between the different Asian cuisines. 

Pretty decor! :)

Ok, final words about Home Thai - the decor and atmosphere were very nice! It's not a particularly big place, and at lunch, all the tables get filled and it's a lively, buzzing atmosphere. The wooden furniture, brick interior and ample natural light from the large windows give it a natural and rustic vibe, and I especially like the decor near the staircase - beautiful chandelier, and artwork on the walls.

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Home Café & Thai Restaurant
Corner Liverpool St And Dixon Lane, Sydney, NSW 2000
Ph: 02 9261 3011
Website: http://www.homethaicafe.com.au/