Return to Thai Pothong

Fifteen years ago, this restaurant was already a highlight, operating on the southern side of King Street, Newtown's main strip in Sydney's inner west.

A weekend ago I had the opportunity of re-visiting Thai Pothong. It has significantly expanded its floor space and street frontage. There was a healthy hustle and bustle about the ambiance on a Saturday night. My group had initially wanted to re-visit another of King Street's continuing and consistent performers, a Vietnamese restaurant called Than Bin, but we had not booked earlier and obviously expected a full house. We had sauntered along King Street and then remembered this Thai place.

The same sanuk (love for life) feelings from way back when were accentuated by the waiting staff members, as they clasped both hands in traditional greeting to customers. The menu however is totally revamped, with packages labelled as Chiangmai, Bangkok or Phuket settings - what a terrific idea. We ordered ala carte ca rte, and I noted the larger servings compared to before. The dessert variety remains limited, but not the smiles offered from some effective synchronised team spirit in attending to the nuances of different clients.

At the entrance, there are two distinct lines offered - those with prior bookings and those without. Once you get a table, there are no restrictions on time allocated, as an increasing number of some Asian restaurants in Sydney suburbs are practising. We stayed almost the whole night, once we ensured the parking meter was covered.

I had a taste of my perennial favourite, roast duck curry. What stood out that evening was the three flavoured marinated deep fried fish. It was interesting that a Malaysian Pernanakan dish, kueh pie tee, was served as an entree, disguised under the name of Singapore's Katong.

Deja Vu

I hardly watch tv anymore, but just for the memories, here are my best delights:
- Slumped down on the sofa with the family watching Cantonese-language soap operas;
- Getting entranced and absorbed with Discovery Channel documentaries, especially those with eye-captivating graphics and well portrayed historical re-enactments;
- Enjoying the Red and White New Year musical stage performances from Japan's NHK or the suave and smooth live shows from Hong Kong's TVB;
- following intently with Mum on the exact recipe measures given out on Malaysian television cooking shows;
- Literally double-tasking with both the images and subtitles on Euro movies screened late night on Australia's SBS channel;
- Sitting through three hours of Hindi-language movies that cover the whole plethora of issues under a life, from dancing around trees to having sumptuous feasts; and
- Soaking in my first cosmopolitan arts programme on the telly box from Singapore's Channel 5.

New Supply Chains

Five years ago, the Wollongong area's concept of Asian food and ingredients was seen to be caught in a time warp, with anything labelled short and long soups, sweet and sour or satay sauced expounded as the representatives of something Oriental. East Asian or South-east Asian parents of overseas graduands at the nearby University did not stay around after the ceremonies to partake in Wollongong cuisine - they rushed off north to Hurstville, Cabramatta or Sydney's Chinatown, to have their seven to ten dishes in celebratory banquets, which may reflect their unfounded fears of non-Asian food or just reinforces their gusto for food from back home.

The so-called Chinatown Street in Wollongong Central - Keira Street - has several outlets of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai and Malay origin - but they do supplement these offerings with a sampling of southern Chinese dishes. Asian food is accepted in Wollongong as noodles, peanut butter laden sauces and small mouth bite pieces of meat or vegetables marinated with lemon grass and chilli pastes. Some go brave and provide upmarket surroundings in furniture and decor. Some practical places charge at reasonable prices but can review their food taste strategies. Attempts at yum cha resulted in a limited variety of choice. It can be confusing to other Australians - but it only takes to realise that many South-east Asian dishes are prepared by ethnic Chinese.

In the past 12 months, there has been a change of scene and slight improvement in offerings of Asian cuisine. I can now get duck cuts with egg noodles in a refreshingly hot soup in Corrimal. Chinese-styled barbeque meats (whether in chicken, pork or duck) are now seen hanging in a small shop window along Keira Street. The night strip along Corrimal Street in downtown Wollongong also has a new Chinese restaurant to compete with the Spanish, Greek and Italian fare. With all the fresh produce from the ocean and farms in the Illawarra and South Coast regions, I long for an Asian restaurant to come up with a refreshing cuisine utilising such local produce and inspiration.