Tom Phat Pad Thai/Coconut Poached chicken salad BRUNCH

• Establishment: Tom Phat BRUNCH
• Address: 184 Sydney Road, Brunswick (#19 North Coburg Tram, get off Barkly Square stop and walk about half a block towards Dawson Street and it’s near the Westpac bank)
• Hours: Wed to Fri 11am – 11pm & Sat to Sun 8am – 11pm
• Contact: http://www.tomphat.com.au/  email
• (03) 9381 2374
• Visit date: 17^th June, 2012

Having the incentive of getting a good breakfast (it was more like lunch time) was enough to drag my sorry arse out of bed and float over to Sydney Road where the first pick of food places was had a foreboding waiting time because it was packed to the brim with urban whalers and skinny jeans folk.

I’m grateful that only half a block up was Tom Phat that had a more inviting atmosphere and table space! Also quick table service and friendly smiles from the staff.

Ordering food here is kinda hard because of the dishes are so scrumptious that trying new dishes are daunting but are worth doing because being stuck in a comforting food rut is doing no one any favours. So I ordered a Long black with a side of milk $3 to give us some time to scour the menu for devouring. The ladies reclining in the window seats seemed to be enjoying this Almond milk shake $7 which enticed Olleh to get one.  The people sitting on the communal table with us saw Olleh getting stuck into his so they too, ordered Almond milkshakes. Yes, I was envious but I had to refrain because the ice cream in the milkshake contained sugar of course…..damn! But it was ok, I was happy with my buzz kick caffeine hit even more so because there was no frothy milk.

This was one of those rare occasions where I like to share my food, so a large Pad Thai $17 ($14 for small) and Poached chicken salad $15 was in order. I think I actually clapped my hands and squealed when the waitress came over carrying these mouth watering beauties!

The Pad Thai had perfectly cooked rice noodles slicked with a tamarind, egg and fish sauce concoction, about 6 plump juicy prawns where I ate the tails, roasted peanuts, chives, piled high with bean shoots and a wedge of fresh lime drizzled over the top. The reason why I really loved this dish was that the prawns had this smokey bbq charred (the nice type) flavour. That Pad Thai was light yet filling at the same time and there was so many flavours going on!

Coconut poached chicken salad $15 with roasted chilli dressing, cashews, herbs and bean shoots was another winner and having this with the Pad Thai was great match despite that they looked similar. The reason why I ordered this was that I wanted to show Olleh that I wasn’t a chilli wuss but I think having the creamy coconut curry style sauce may have dampened the chilli fire that I was psyching myself up to eating. But never the less, it was explosion after explosion of crunch, flavour and the sweet snap of juicy bean shoots and strong fragrance of the coriander.

Flat white: 3.5 out of 5

Food: Surprisingly fantastic for meals more suited to summer eating but then again, I think you can eat anything at any time of the year, just as long as you ENJOY it!

Bonus point for:

• The music that they play there. ‘Close to my fire’  by Slackwax was a darling sultry jazzy trip hop vibe to my ears. (From the Hotel Costes Vol. 15 album)

• The dish/plate crockery that I love so much. I eventually acquired some for my kitchen because the edges are curved upwards and excellent when you have to balance a plate on your lap.
• Also I must apologies again for using profanity when I told the waitress of what I thought of my meal:

“Excuse my French but that was just fucking awesome! Sorry….I…it…it just was so awesome. I’m sorry I swore.”

“No worries”, she laughed. “That’s the only response I LIKE to hear!” (or something along the lines of that).

• Their many Gluten free menu options!

Chance of returning: High because I haven’t been disappointed yet.