Holy Basil is easily one of the most famous Thai and Laos restaurants in Sydney and with their expansion into Western Sydney, we’re glad we don’t need to brave the crowd at their original Canley Heights location or make the trek into the CBD. Situated on the banks of Parramatta River, there’s a gentle breeze coming through the restaurant even on a early autumn afternoon.
This is the Jackfruit Fresh Fruit Shake ($7.50). It’s smooth with an enjoyable (canned) jackfruit flavour, although it is a bit thin.
This is the Custard Apple (Soursop) Fresh Fruit Shake ($7.50). This one tastes like frozen soursop blended with water, and again tastes a bit thinner than what we’re used to at home.
To start, we have the Home Made Curry Puffs ($8.90) (4 pieces), described as ‘savoury vegetarian triangles of potatoes, peas, carrots, corn and fried until crispy’.
We enjoy the bite and flavour of the vegetable innards, although the pastry was soft and would’ve benefited from an extra 0.5-1 minute in the deep fryer for crispiness.
This is the Ox Tongue ($15.90), described as ‘marinated ox tongue thinly sliced and served with Holy Basil’s dipping sauce’.
We’re fans of the smokey flavour from cooking the ox tongue on the grill and enjoy the fatty and juicy medium rare tenderness of the meat.
This is the Tarte Beef Salad (Raw) ($15.90), described as ‘tarte beef cured in lemon and mixed with tripe and fresh herbs’.
Finding this raw beef salad on menus at Thai restaurants has been a challenge since our first encounter at Kaffir Lime Thai & Laos Cuisine and it turns out we’ve been culturally ignorant and larb is actually a Laotian dish — we’ve been looking in the wrong place all along!
The small squares of beef are tender and pair well with the tripe and the sweet sour sauce that delivered that signature Thai heat that starts off mild before gradually knocking us out with the spiciness. The herbs are varied and add fragrant flavour without relying heavily on onion.
This is the Pad See Ew with Beef ($14.90), described as ‘stir fried flat rice noodles with sweet soy sauce, egg and Chinese broccoli with beef’ (also available in other meats and seafood).
We enjoy the big sheets of noodles (around 4 cm wide) that we’ve not encountered elsewhere yet work well to soak up the sweet savoury sauce.
This is the Thai Basil Fried Rice with Chicken ($14.90), described as ‘fried rice with chilli, basil, Chinese brocolli, onions, bamboo, cucumber with chicken’ (also available in other meats and seafood).
I’m slowly warming up to the idea of ordering fried rice at restaurants and this one does not disappoint with its mix of textures and flavours, along with the gentle heat from the chilli, the freshness from the vegetables.
And of course, no visit is complete with their signature Holy Basil Fried Ice Cream ($14.90), described as ‘ice cream wrapped in pastry, fried and served with special caramel sauce and coconut crunchies’.
We’re fans of the crispness of the paper thin pastry that delivered just enough flavour to let us know it’s been deep fried and elevates the triangular slab of vanilla ice cream. The caramel sauce adds a hint of sticky sweetness, while the coconut crunchies add a nutty chewiness (despite not being crunchy).
Holy Basil may well be one of our favourite Thai restaurants along with Khao Pla with the added advantage of serving Laotion cuisine. We’d be glad to return.
This is the Pad Thai (with chicken, $14.90). The noodles have a good bite, with a balanced mix of sweet, sour and savoury with a hint of freshness from the beansprouts. As usual, I prefer beef as my choice of protein as I like to avoid chicken breast.
This is the Pad Kee Mao (with chicken, $14.90). D enjoyed the noodles but found the flavour more subdued and the heat more restrained than he’s used to at other restaurants where the chilli is incorporated into the sauce of the dish rather than presented as a vine of peppercorn on the side.
This is the Pad See Ew (with beef, $14.90). We revisit this dish and find it’s our favourite of the noodle dishes. The extra wide noodles are smooth with a delectable bite that makes them perfect vehicles for the smoky wok hei and the sweet savoury sauce, punctuated by the fresh coriander and tender beef.
This is the Pineapple Fried Rice ($14.90). I’d enjoyed the version from Thai La-Ong, but this one didn’t compare unfortunately. There were only a few pineapple chunks, which also lacked that bright sweet pop of flavour that’s the main draw of the dish.
This is the Tarte Beef Salad (Raw) ($15.90) again, described as ‘tarte beef cured in lemon and mixed with tripe and fresh herbs’. The flavours and textures are familiar and tasty, and we’re delighted that the dish is consistent between visits.
And finally, we also revisit the Ox Tongue ($15.90), described as ‘marinated ox tongue thinly sliced and served with Holy Basil’s dipping sauce’. The ox tongue is touch more cooked than the medium rare pink hue from a previous visit, but the meat retains its tender texture with its smoky flavour.
With our favourite dishes being the pad see ew, the tarte beef salad and the ox tongue, we’ve got our go to selection for a quick meal.
Holy Basil is located at Shop 5, Meriton Altitude, 330 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150.