Mellow Thai

Salt and Pepper Squid

We love coupon deals because of their amazing value, but of all the restaurants we've tried,  there are not many that we would actually go back to, especially if paying full price. Mellow Thai, in Leichardt (an hours drive from home) is probably the first we've been (and will continue to go) back to, an unexpected surprise as we're not that crazy over Thai food.

Watermelon Juice Blend, Thai Iced Tea (Background)

On our first trip, we came with a voucher from Cudo- at $29 for two people, the voucher entitled each of us to a non-alcoholic drink, any entree and main each. And we loved that it meant any entree or main, none of the restrictions we've come to expect with these coupon deals.


Of course this naturally lured us towards the pricier options, which we rarely order when paying full price, though we thought the prices on the menu were pretty decent. The drinks menu consisted of plenty of Thai teas and coffees though we preferred the juices, with their plethora of flavours to choose from.

Mango Juice Blend, Lychee Juice Blend (background)

The juices were freshly blended, we we notice chunks of watermelon going straight into the blender after ordering. My lychee 'juice blend' was a lot more exciting with a couple of unknown ingredients going into the blend. Although lychee isn't usually one of favorite flavours, this juice was very refreshing and easily the favourite on our table.The mango juice blend is quite smoothie-like and is also good, though  slightly thicker and heavier than the lychee. We also order a Thai lemon tea, with a hint of lime which gives it quite an exotic taste, something I wouldn't mind getting used to!

Fried Soft-Shell Crab $12

We start off with plenty of deep fried options for entree, and though they were all in nice single serving portions, easily filled us up substantially. We start off with some plenty of deep fried foods- deep fried calamari which is a little boring to be honest, but luckily the deep fried soft-shell crab is anything but. Its a good thing the deep fried soft shell crab is cut into small bite-sized pieces as we all go straight for them when they arrive at our table. Flavoured with plenty of seasoning and a touch of spiciness, they're anything but healthy and were easily the favorite entree of the night, though with our love for soft shell crab, any dish of soft shell crab would have done fine for us.

Pork Toast $7

My cute pork toasts had quite a resemblance to their prawn counterparts both in looks and in taste, although the texture of the pork was slightly less bouncy than prawns. The vinegar dipping sauce was an interesting addition, as I usually have prawn toasts with mayonnaise, and works surprisingly well with the pork toasts.

Tom Yum Goong $8.90

Soup is also included as entree so we go for the Tom yum soup. We like that it's not too spicy for our tastes, yet it still manages to be really flavoursome. The flavours are just perfect the way we like Tom Yum soup (which may possibly be different to everyone elses tastes?) and is definitely one of the best we've ever had in Sydney. The serving is quite large which is great for sharing!

Black Pepper Lamb Cutlets $23.90

In addition to the typical chicken, beef and seafood options, the menu also offers the option of lamb cutlets for most of their stir fries- an interesting option I think, as I usually have my lamb cutlets grilled. Being a lover of lamb cutlets, I had to choose a stir fry with them and went for the black pepper version which we find has a strong pepper flavour but is much too salty for our tastes. Having lamb cutlets means that the meat comes in huge pieces, something we're not really used to but we find a welcoming change as the texture of the meat is quite enjoyable.

Chilli basil lamb Cutlets $23.90

Being one of our favourite thai flavours, we chose the chilli basil stir fry, again choosing lamb cutlets as our choice of meat. The chilli basil is less salty than the black pepper, this one a little more on the sweet side so we find this one more enjoyable. We do find however, that chilli basil works better with the usual beef, chicken or seafood.

Fried Barramundi with Green Apple Salad and Chilli Relish $23.9 

(Bpla Todt Nahm Bpla)

Perhaps the best thing about being able to order anything off the menu is that we can order the deep fried fish- one of the priciest items on the menu but so worth it! There's two versions of the deep fried fish, and we go for the apple version, covered in a light sauce, with typical thai flavours of lime, chilli (a little too spicy for our tastes!)and soy. The sliced apples give add a refreshing touch to the dish, though we did at first, think that the combination of apple and fish was a bit weird. The fish meat is removed from bone, and cut into bite-sized chunks before being deep-fried, giving each piece a considerable amount of crunch- a bit too crunchy infact, it makes your mouth hurt :)

Garlic And Pepper King prawns $21.90

We couldn't complete the meal without ordering from the chef's special part of the menu, and we decide on some Garlic and Pepper King Prawns which come as a few large prawns stir fried with plenty of vegetables. We're a little disappointed that the prawns don't taste as amazing as they sound on the menu, probably because the prawns themselves don't absorb much of the flavour, but they were quite enjoyable.

I didn't take any pictures on our second trip back, but their 'Yellow Mellow', a curried soft shell crab dish was absolutely amazing- if you ever visit Mellow Thai, you must try it!!