I love discovering a new restaurant. I’m a Yelp Elite for 2016 – which means from time to time I’m invited along to dinners to check out cool new spots in Perth. Anyone can become a Yelper – simply review your great foodie and retail finds on the Yelp app and if you do it a lot, you’ll be chosen to take part in some delicious dinners with fellow Perth foodies. For the uninitiated, Yelp is a review site, similar to Trip Advisor and Zomato.
I was checking out Wok St Chow House in Northbridge. It has been open just a few months and has already gained an excellent reputation for it’s authentic Thai street food flavours. What I soon realised as I approached the Lake Street eatery was that not so long ago it was home to Darlings Supper Club.
The interior is dim and moody – lit with a green florescent panda light. It seems as though years ago this building would have been an old cottage. It’s charming and cosy with many little nooks to sit in.
We were sitting out the back in the leafy covered courtyard, overlooked by the adorable murual of Yum Yum the panda. There were about 30 of us in the Yelp group. I was excited to sit opposite fellow Perth Food Blogger and fountain of food knowledge Nini of Nini Foodielicious. We were all lucky enough to sample a lot of Wok St’s dishes. Though mostly Thai – the Wok St Chefs also draw inspiration from Filipino and other Asian Street Food. Here’s what I tried…
The crisp prawn crackers with a house made chilli jam didn’t long! Everyone was hungry and ready to eat!
I’m not usually a fan of wings, but these fried marinated chicken wings were super meaty and the Sriracha sauce was finger licking good.
The Kililaw fish was similar to a ceviche an coated in a mild lime and coconut sauce.
The house made Thai fish cakes with sweet chili sauce were very tasty little morsels!
The marinated beef strip with a Loas Naam Jim had a spicy chilli kick. But nothing compared to the “miang larb ped”.
Flaming hell!! That’s where my poor mouth was at with just one bite of the “miang larb ped”. Hot & sour chopped duck and roast rice with herbs is served on a betel leaf. I love duck, but I didn’t even taste this one – there was too much burning going on! As a sidenote, the “crying tiger” beef flank is even spicier, certainly not for the faint hearted!
Unfortunately we weren’t forewarned about the extra spicy dish and hadn’t seen a menu. All the dishes have some level of spice, but I’m never one to choose hotter than a medium heat. A kind waitress got poor Nini some watermelon to cool her down! There is a “cooling plate” at Wok St, which tells me that there are lots of hot gobs here!
And that was just the “starters”! Already feeling a little full, out came the main dishes…
The vibrant Thai green chicken curry was full of fresh herbs.
Wok St’s traditional pad Thai was easily the best I’ve had outside of Asia. The fried noodles were brimming with egg, chicken & prawns.
My favourite dish of the night was “Kanna muu grop”. The sticky and crisp pork belly was absolutely do die for and brimming with Asian greens. The Kai-lan oyster sauce brought the dish together – I could have eaten the whole bowl.
So that was our feast! All that food was shared between four of us and I was absolutely stuffed afterwards. If you love Asian street food then head to Wok St. I’m impressed – just no crazy spiciness for me next time.
Wok St is taking part in Eat Drink Perth this year and is holding a dego at Wok St Chow House… the epic 8 course “Degust-Asian” is a delicious and spicy feast of authentic street food, with the option to match your meal with a cheeky cocktail or two. Not to be missed!
When: Wed 6 April & Thu 7 of April
Time: 5pm – 9pm
