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Strong Australian ‘Thais’
villages in Thailand, the family diaries of the long-dead grandparents and folk of various Thai regions. These memoirs contained the family recipes that would be modified and recreated by David. He then over time facilitated the delivery route of the ingredients required back to Australia.
Matthew Michaelis
When Thai food Many years ago in a rounded the corner I hit the top floor land far, far away… andWhen rounded the corner, I saw Many years ago… I know that every time a person kicks off a story with this familiar intro, whole generations start rolling their eyes like Mr Squiggle impatiently waiting for Miss Jane (google it!); however, I feel the need to qualify that some of the details following may have blurred over time. Anyhoo… many years back (24 years to be precise), I was told that I should eat in a pub in Enmore in Sydney. Being the good foodie I was, I followed the lead to an indescribable looking street on the border of St Peters and Enmore. Darley Street was (at the time) a badly lit street at the industrial end of Enmore. My destination was a pub called the Botany View Hotel, an art deco pub that was a little worse for wear, rounded edges and tiled for that late-night chuck-up. I ventured meekly upstairs to this new bistro restaurant wishing I were somewhere else.
the very well-known face of a Thai restaurant owner with his family on a table in the corner. I had only recently reviewed his Thai restaurant in Kings Cross (one of the better-known and larger Thai eateries of the day). I was miffed to say the least – what business does a Thai-born, Thai-restaurant-owning person have in a joint like this? I asked myself. I sidled up to him, shook his hand and said, ‘What are you doing in someone else’s Thai restaurant?’ He quickly retorted, ‘I can’t make food like this; this is the stuff my grandmother used to make, and it’s really hard to get these ingredients in Australia.’ How fas cinating, I thought. I sat and ordered, with a lack of belief that anything could be that interesting (at the time). What came forth, I can honestly say to this day, was the most different and exciting food I’d tried;
Cultural Thai-ins Story & photos Matthew Michaelis
You don’t have to travel far these days to have the world on your tastebuds; it’s one of the benefits of living in a multicultural country and living in the hub of Asia. Thai cuisine includes some of my favourite foods and in the northern rivers we’re spoilt for choices in Thai restaurants. Here are a few to get the juices flowing.
The incarnation of Thai cuisine it almost blew my mind! Not many at this time had been treated to such strong and interesting uses of flavours. Kaffir lime and galangal, with copious fresh lime juice, Thai basil, ground nuts, fresh coconut cream and freshly pasted sauces yellow, green, red. I remember quizzing the waiter as to the peas in my dish – ‘These are unusual peas,’ I said. He looked over to me and put me straight: ‘they are Thai eggplants, not peas; though they do look like them,’ he said in an understanding tone.
A Thai-d up Aussie At the end of the meal, I just had to meet the chef and owner of the restaurant that had alone changed my view
Fresh, contemporary with Traditional Thai-d in In many cultures you’ll find that the indigenous populations will cook regional and national foods generally very well. You can see Australia’s multicultural legacy in action when people like David Thompson – who is not a Thai – can become an authority on Thai cuisine in that country. In much the same vein, John Verano, head chef and owner of Traditional Thai in Byron Bay, is preparing and cooking amazing Thai dishes. John came from Columbia to Australia when he was four and was eight years old when he turned his hand to cook-
22 December 9, 2014 The Byron Shire Echo
Australian chef David Thompson is known as one of the world’s foremost authorities on Thai cooking.
on multiculture cuisines in one sitting. I was expecting a Thai national to come out. More shocks were about to happen – a pasty (white) and slight Australian guy walked out and introduced himself – ‘Hi, I’m David Thompson the chef ’. ‘Wow!’ I expounded, ‘you’ve tipped me on my head.’ I remarked. And he had absolutely with this fresh and entirely different taste. David explained that he’d just returned from working in Bangkok for some time. He could speak and write the language fluently and had procured, on his travels into
ing. He rapidly replaced his mother in the kitchen and by thirteen was cooking full meals. ‘I was good at it, so good that I knew it was my calling,’ he told me. In 1988 he started an apprenticeship at the Opera House with Rowland Commercial Catering and then as an apprentice under Neil Perry at the Rockpool in Sydney. It was David Thompson who influenced John with his exceptional treatment of Thai cuisine. As an apprentice he took several cooking classes with Thompson himself at his Darley Street Thai restaurant in Enmore and found that, after meeting and working with Thompson, his own perception of Thai cuisine was changed forever.
For those who still don’t know of him, David Thompson is now known as the world’s foremost authority and expert on Thai food – yes, the same guy and an Australian. He went on to open another Darley Street restaurant in Kings Cross (since closed) and then another in The Rocks in Sydney – Sailors Thai, which is still pumping. He gained the attention of Christina Ong, a well-heeled hotel owner, and through this business relationship an international reputation was spawned with Thompson’s Nahm restaurants. The first was established in The Halkin, a boutique hotel in London’s Belgravia district. Through Thompson’s direction and care this eatery attracted Europe’s first and only
Michelin Star for an Asian restaurant. His second venture is now one of Asia’s most respected eateries – Nahm opened in the Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok. This restaurant was very recently named No 1 in the S Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2014 Awards (fellow Australian, Tetsuya Wakuda, placed at No 7). Thompson closed Nahm in London as the fresh ingredient supplies (that we’re spoilt with in southeast Asia) were not reliable in Europe – so rather than bring down his quality and reputation, the restaurant was shut to concentrate his energies on the Bangkok venture. The moral of this fairytale is not a moral at all; it’s a thankyou to a shy and retiring chef who enlivened the traditional energy of an Asian cuisine and showcased the possibilities in Australia. Thompson effectively gave Thai cuisine a profile and delivered it successfully to a reasonably unadventurous Aussie palate at the time. Today there are few Australians who’d turn their noses up at a well-made Thai dish – I cook it and eat it with gusto. Here’s cheers to all good Thai eateries and to David Thompson for a modern incarnation of Thai food.
Left: Hot and sour green mango salad with caramelised pork and grilled prawns from Traditional Thai.
Both John and his partner Mariana Pavlova are consummate professionals and this shines through their creative and standout menus. ‘We source and make everything ourselves here fresh from scratch – we pound our own curry pastes, make our chili jam, sweet chili sauce, dressings, sorbets, ice-creams, etc,’ Mariana told me. ‘We source a lot
of our produce locally or travel up and down the coast to hunt for particular traditional ingredients such as pea and apple eggplant, green peppercorns, betel leaf, etc. We only use sustainable Australian seafood, all of which comes from the Ballina Fishermen’s Co-op as soon as the boats come in (we don’t have fish on the menu, as we only use fresh fish when it’s available). Also we cook every single individual dish to order to ensure maximum quality and freshness of flavour,’ Mariana added. I can attest to the quality and flavours being served here as I’ve
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