This is Thai Thae, a casual Thai restaurant focused on traditional Thai dishes. The menu centres on soups, curries and wok-fried dishes, with noodle and rice-based options.
Tom Yum Noodle Soup ($24.90, mild with prawn)
The dish featured a spicy Thai soup with mushrooms, lemongrass, galangal, chilli, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, lime juice, coriander, tomatoes, bean sprouts and Thai herbs, served with fresh thin rice noodles.
The tom yum soup was bright and well balanced, with a vibrant herbaceous profile alongside its tangy and savoury character. The mild spice level provided sufficient heat without becoming painful, while onion added a touch of sweetness. The fresh rice noodles had an enjoyable al dente texture, rather than the springier texture of thick bún or the more crumbly texture of thin bún found in Vietnamese cuisine. There were four prawns, all of which were overcooked, although they remained flavourful.
Kaeng Pedyang ($27.90)
The dish featured roasted duck with a spicy red curry sauce, pineapple, lychee, cherry tomatoes, kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil.
The red curry was the highlight, with a rich, flavourful and aromatic profile balanced by sweetness and spiciness, with the herbs providing lift. The accompanying components were less successful. The duck skin was reasonably crisp, but the meat itself was mushy, as though the thick layer of fat beneath the skin had not rendered fully during cooking. The dish contained only three lychees, two cherry tomatoes and a handful of pineapple cubes, limiting the contribution of the fruit and vegetables.
The curry sauce would have paired particularly well with rice, but given the $27.90 price of the dish, the additional $3.50 charge for rice felt difficult to justify.
Pad See Ew ($20.90, + $6.90 for crispy pork)
The flat rice noodles were stir-fried with sweet soy sauce, pepper, egg and Chinese broccoli. The dish arrived with pronounced wok hei and visible charred sections on the noodles, although the smoky flavour itself was less intense. The pork was generous and flavourful but lacked the promised crispiness. Overall, it was well seasoned, with a surprisingly greater proportion of pork than greens.
Pad Thai ($20.90, + $6.90 for crispy pork)
The thin, round rice noodles were stir-fried with bean sprouts, garlic chives, red onion, diced tofu, crushed peanut and egg. The noodle shape was an unexpected departure from the usual flat noodles, although it retained a springy texture. Its greater surface area made the dish feel heavier and less bright, even with the addition of lemon juice. The pork was again generous but lacked the promised crispy skin. The flavours were on point, but execution was less consistent.
Overall, Thai Thae showed a strong grasp of bright, herbaceous and aromatic Thai flavours, with the tom yum particularly well balanced and the red curry providing a rich, cohesive base. However, the visit also revealed several execution issues only a few weeks after the opening of the new Melrose Park location, including overcooked prawns, poorly rendered duck and sparse accompaniments.
Thai Thae is located at Shop G41, Melrose Central, 33 Hope Street, Melrose Park, NSW 2114.