It’s stunning at night, and during our two hour dinner, there was a continual stream of passers-by stopping and doing a double take. What catches your eye, or at least mine, is the row of coloured drinking glasses along the illuminated shelves that span each of the side walls.

Even more important than a nice fit out is the food, and while I can’t vouch for its authenticity, having never been to Thailand, I can wholeheartedly vouch for its deliciousness. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a meal this much.

As is the case with most Melbourne restaurants these days, there are a number of small dishes, designed for sharing. We started with three – the larp gai, kingfish sashimi with potato and miso, and betel leaves with prawn and fresh coconut – and all were fantastic. The highlight though was the latter, which was rich and clean (a difficult combination), and had beautiful texture.

Then we moved on to the larger dishes. Salted salmon in coconut cream was basically a really well executed, red curry. Cucumber and cos lettuce on the side were a nice addition, as they providing a contrast to the richness of the coconut cream.

A hot and sour Thai beef salad, cherry tomatoes, coriander and fresh lime was equally good. On paper it’s a pretty standard Thai dish, but what I wasn’t expecting was the texture of the beef, which was almost jerky-like. That may not sound appetising, but it actually worked really well.

The single bum note was one son in law egg, which had been cooked beyond soft boiled. Happily, when I pointed this out, they brought out two more, and this time the yolk was a perfect consistency, although the outside of the egg wasn’t quite as crispy as I would have liked.

While desserts are not usually the strong point of Thai menus, in my experience, Easy Tiger offers three interesting options. I had chocolate and pandanus leaf dumplings with melon, which is a visual surprise and a taste sensation. My girlfriend had the equally good steamed duck egg custard, rice ice cream with poached dragonfruit.

There’s a basic wine list and a really good beer list. The latter features the fantastic Hitachino Nest White Ale, which I think goes perfectly with Thai flavours.

The tables are well spaced, and the floor is covered in a thin carpet, so despite it being quite busy when we were there, noise levels were absolutely fine.

Surprisingly, and thankfully, it’s not one of those no reservation restaurants, although there are two sittings (at least on a Saturday night), which contributed to a feeling of being slightly rushed by the staff, who were otherwise fantastic.

Speaking of reservations, you probably want to book soon. I have a feeling that, given the location, style of eating, quality of food, initial reviews, and amount of Twitter buzz, it’s going to be very popular, very quickly and deservedly so.

Related posts: Mamanee Thai Restaurant

What ‘it’ is, is a converted milk bar serving really good food and coffee. We tried the avocado, basil, cottage cheese, spinach and poached egg with fresh lemon on toast. While that sounds like one ingredient too many, it’s actually perfect, particularly the delicious cottage cheese. And despite only coming with a single egg, it’s reasonably filling and great value at just $11. The bread comes from Hawthorn’s Knead Bakery, and is has great texture thanks to the walnuts in it.

There are a couple of things that could be improved, such as the the coffee, which is just okay (not great). And like a lot of places that have enjoyed quick success, the service can be a bit slow. Our coffees arrived well after our meals. With food as good as this though, these faults are easily ignored.

A quick glance at the menu, and I could see it ticked another box on price, with most curries and stir fries at $13.50. This is a little pricier than Thaila Thai, but rice comes free with these dishes at Mamanee. Vegetarian dishes are

With the food prepared up the front, I could see the raw ingredients were on display, which gave me further confidence. Everything looked good quality, including the meat. Tick.

I ordered a green chicken curry and a chili basil beef stir fry, and I’m pleased to say that both were great. The curry had a bit of filler vegetable in the form of large chunks of carrot and potato, but was well cooked and there was a bit of fire to the rich green sauce. Likewise, the stir fry was equally good, with the vegetables quite crisp, not having been overcooked or fished out of a freezer as is the case at some Thai restaurants. Tick.

Servings are generous, both the main dishes and the ‘complimentary’ rice. Tick.

Related posts: Easy Tiger

Recommended.

There’s the standard range of curries, stir fries and salads to choose from, all at around $10 for vegetable or chicken/beef, with seafood a few dollars more.

Curries here are drier and less soupy than those at most Thai restaurants, but they’re still rich with coconut flavour. The meat is good quality – in the case of the chicken, it actually seems to be breast meat. Another difference is that the vegetables are a lot crisper, as the curries are cooked quickly in very hot woks, which also impart a nice ‘bbq-ey’ flavour to the meat.

It’s a similar story with the stir fries, which are available with a number of ‘flavourings’ such as as chilli & basil and satay. The serving sizes of the stir fries are particularly generous, and come with a lot of vegetables.

The satays are recommended, although they’re deep fried, and the salads are a great palate cleanser. As with a lot of Asian cuisine, it’s best suited to sharing multiple dishes.

Unless you’ve got a very large appetite you shouldn’t require more than 1 dish per person, meaning, with rice, you shouldn’t need to spend more than $13 – $14 each. The fact that it’s BYO makes it even more affordable. Take away is also available, although the serving are smaller.

See also: MamaNee Thai Restaurant