Monday, September 12, 2011

Sweet Rice

happy guyBIG HAPPY FACE!  This is pretty much how I feel, having finally finished the final part of medical transcription (MT) course, my certificate IV in business administration.  Remind me not to study anything again for a while...


...except a menu!


Come on, you didn't think I would grow out of my bad jokes while I was away?  I think they are genetic.  Anyway, Richard R kindly stopped by the Facebook page while I was on the break to give Sweet Rice a big thumbs up - "the yummiest, fresher best value Thai on this side of the Maribyrnong!"



exterior

This strip of shops is normally just a fly-by for us on the way to the beach.  Sweet Rice is a little Thai takeaway that has a small eat-in area.  It's a bit lonely at first but the staff were really friendly, bringing us chilled water and little paper cups for the kids and turning on gentle, percussive Thai tunes.

July to Sep 120
Green mango fish

It's cheap as chips with nothing on the menu over $12.90.  On a small whiteboard are the specials including this fish with green mango salad.  It was great - super-crispy battered pieces of really fresh fish with a fabulous, sweet salad of tangy shredded green mango, delicious whole dried prawns, red onion and lots of herbs.

July to Sep 127
Soft shell crab, $11.90

A Baklover family must-have - these are baby crabs which have a tender shell you can eat in their entirety.  This was great, the crab chopped into two-bite sized pieces with crunchy, curly batter that was not at all greasy.  It had a tasty sprinkle of onion and garlic.

July to Sep 121
Beef Masaman curry, $8.50

Massaman curries are from Southern Thailand and are apparently Muslim in origin (the name is thought to be a corruption of the word 'Muslim').  I wonder if they are Malaysian-inspired as they feature coconut milk and curry spices, not unlike a curry laksa.  This was delicious - very sweet and mild with gorgeous creamy coconut, the beef slow-cooked to lusciousness and the potatoes and carrots totally tender.  Ostensibly for the kids but they had to fight the adults for it.

July to Sep 124
Seafood pad cha, $11.90

This was a stir-fry of super-duper fresh seafood including proper fresh prawns, very tender pineapple-cut squid and more fresh, battered fish.  The vegies were delicious, again very fresh - check out the authentic pickled green peppercorns too!  The ingredients spoke for themselves, just accented by a little soy and chilli.  My only quibble is there was a faint taste of gas that can happen when there is a LOT of flame used in cooking - I get it sometimes if I put too much oil on vegies or meat and then the BBQ flames up.  Still, we finished the lot.

July to Sep 122
Jasmine rice, $2

Yes, I know this is a plate of rice, but it was so fragrant I had to mention it!

July to Sep 131
Sweet rice ice cream, $5.90


The eponymous sweet rice - glutinous rice wrapped around a purple preserved banana and steamed.  Served here hot for eating with mango and coconut ice cream, oh my!  The sticky rice was delicious, comforting and sweet like rice pudding.  The ice creams were great, quite closely textured, the coconut tasting of rich coconut milk rather than the more grated coconut flavour you get in coconut gelati.  Loved the contrast of the roasted peanuts and, at the bottom, slippery white syrupy fruits.

July to Sep 116

I will definitely be back here for Thai takeaway - it only takes a minute to get to straight down Geelong Road.  Everything was quite mild and sweet which perhaps reflects its suburban market, but it was all very fresh, well-made and unbelievably cheap.  There are lots of interesting things to explore on the menu like "king prawn chu chee" and "three flavour fish".  I am pretty sure the couple who run it are Thai and they are delightful.

"The yummiest, fresher best value Thai on this side of the Maribyrnong!" - Richard, I think you may be en-Thai-rly right!

For Thai ingredients, check out Nathan Thai Video & Grocery, a dedicated Thai grocer in Footscray.

Sweet Rice on Urbanspoon

Sweet Rice
102 Millers Road, Altona North (map)
Phone:  9315 3691
Hours:  Wed - Mon 11am-9pm (Tuesday closed)

sweet rice menu 1sweet rice menu 2

12 comments:

  1. Been looking out for a decent Thai nearby. Thank u so much for the recommend! If we go there often enough we could maybe encourage a higher rating on the scoville scale! Oh and welcome bak!!!

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  2. Food looks great!! Yummm cant wait to give this little beauty a try. Love hearing that more good food is popping up our way (West)

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  3. Thanks for putting up the take-out menu - handy - I've driven past this sooooo many times and just thought 'nah'. Surprised and happy to hear it is good... I'll have to wean hubby off of out new favourite take-out.. Motorino pizza. Their smashed green olive pizza is my new addiction. But thai will make a nice change : )

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  4. Hi Lauren. Thanks for trying it out! It's defintely more of a takeaway place than a sit-in. Great review - the food looks awesome in the photos. Green Mango fish is delish! I recommend Prawn Chu Chee - two massive king prawns cooked whole in a spicy curry sauce. Their prawn spring rolls are also interesting - long and conical and very tasty!

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  5. Hey, welcome back! Drove past there on the way to Bunnings a few weeks back and wondered???? Now I know. Wow - looks great!

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  6. You're back! Hooray, I missed reading all your dining out antics.

    Congrats on your scholastic accomplishments! I know the feeling and it's so good to be freed up... for more eating obviously.

    Thanks also for putting up the menu, so helpful. Though I'm not sure I'll be able to get past the soft shell crab. My favorite.

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  7. Welcome back. Your ang-moh kids kids fight over spicy curry? Very impressed. ;).

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  8. Good to hear you are back on the blogging trail. Must check out this Altona North Thai take away joint as I grew up around the area having spent my high school years around the corner from 16 Shops. We frequented the pizza shop there when we were in our teens and the occasional look in at the computer shop. Ahh memories!!! Ugh!!! Getting Old!!!

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  9. Hehehehe that smiley little man just totally made my day!!! Might just have to make a detour to check this out next time we go to visit my sister in law in Torquay!

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  10. We all missed you Lauren! Sweet Rice sounds definitely worth a try. (Have you been to the Thai in Charles St - can you compare?) Oh and just near Sweet Rice there's the La Bellissima home-made pasta shop, it's great!

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  11. Hi all and thanks for the love. It is nice to be back!

    Temasek, yes, get them to dial up the chilli! We did say we liked it hot but I understand their dilemma - "hot" means so many different things to different people.

    MD - Smashed green olive pizza, yummy!

    Yasmeen - thank you and yes - if there is even a hint of soft shell crab, I have to order it. MMM!

    James - no, not been to that one, hopefully soon. It is better than Thai Angels though. And thanks for the tip on the homemade pasta shop!

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  12. Thankyou for this recommendation. Just got home totally stuffed and sooo satisfied. What a gem! A little bit of a trek out to Altona but definitely worth it. We will definitely be back many times. I'll be dreaming about the Pad Cha for days. I also suggest you check out Pad Thai in Midtown Arcade in the CBD for pretty authentic Thai. Andy

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I love getting your comments! They're what make blogging worthwhile. Unfortunately, the amount of spam I get is obscene and it is so tiresome to have to moderate every comment, so I have had to turn on annoying word verification. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but please know how much I love you having your say!

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